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FSBO

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New Jersey
We own a SFR that has a mother-daughter layout so we're trying to get some clarification prior to listing our home for sale so we can bypass any unforeseen hiccups down the road. When you walk in through the main entrance you can go left to the mother / main part of the home, or you can walk down the hallway and make a right into the second part of the home. The main part of the home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, all the standard stuff. The daughter / other side of the home has a kitchen as well, bedroom, living room and another bathroom. It is legally a SFR on paper and not a 2-unit.

A little backstory, we refinanced our home in 2012 and our loan officer told us that the 2nd kitchen could create an issue with the appraisal. He instructed us to remove the stove, cap the gas line, move the stove to the garage, and cover it with a tarp. Everything went smooth and the appraiser listed the 2nd kitchen as a great room.

As of right now the stove is back in place and fully functional as a 2nd kitchen, we also put in a refrigerator. So my question is this: Will a 2nd kitchen with a functional stove create an conflict with FNMA or FHLMC guidelines when it comes time for the buyer to have the home appraised or have any negative impact in general?
 
A little backstory, we refinanced our home in 2012 and our loan officer told us that the 2nd kitchen could create an issue with the appraisal. He instructed us to remove the stove, cap the gas line, move the stove to the garage, and cover it with a tarp. Everything went smooth and the appraiser listed the 2nd kitchen as a great room.



You can have it appraised as a SFR w/Aux. Dwelling Unit (in-law quarters). There are FNMA provisions for homes with ADU's. It should not be an issue unless the property seems more like a duplex than an SFR with ADU.

Or you can commit mortgage fraud, again.

Either way should work.
 
What does your zoning allow? I'm assuming it's Single Family Residential (SFR) but does it allow an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit - a.k.a. "in law quarters" or as you call it "mother/daughter") If zoning allows the ADU, then the 2nd kitchen should not be an issue, but again, something the appraiser will be (hopefully!) verifying in his/her research.

Also, are 2nd kitchens common in your market?
 
What you have is called a mother-in-law suite in my area. FNMA will loan on this type of property and they will loan on a duplex too. If its not a legal 2-unit, the appraiser will use a single family form, noting an accessory unit. Your lender may have certain rules about the feature aside from FNMA, so ask them about that if they are telling you there might be a problem.
 
I cannot fathom why lenders are so biased against a second kitchen area. The old timers often used to have two kitchens, often one stove was on a screened in porch for canning produce in summer when the kitchen otherwise became unbearably hot. I've appraised a number of older farms that actually had a separate building with stove and canning equipment. I know that dates me about 50 years, but who knows, it might come back. In my career we've went from galley kitchens (since no one cooked) to exotica in cookware as everyone tries to be a five star chef. I've seen my mother at canning time drenched in sweat because there wasn't any AC in the house and the breeze through the kitchen wasn't enough to keep cool even with a fan in the window. Once garden started canning included beans, making kraut, potatoes, tomatoes, jellies, apples, peaches, you name it. It got canned and stored.
 
If in doubt.....
Why not just remove the stove when you want to sell?
 
What county in New Jersey ?? In some areas, it wouldn't take much discussion with Town Hall to get it approved as an "In-law suite" to make it legal. Would be a nice Selling Feature. Are there many other dwellings with the 2nd kitchen ??

I think the Loan Officer on your Re-Fi in 2012 got a better commission on the SFR, and didn't want to mess around with this whole "2nd Kitchen" business.
 
<... snip.....> It is legally a SFR on paper and not a 2-unit.

<... snip....> Everything went smooth and the appraiser listed the 2nd kitchen as a great room.

The appraiser was either a moron, unethical, or both.

As of right now the stove is back in place and fully functional as a 2nd kitchen, we also put in a refrigerator. So my question is this: Will a 2nd kitchen with a functional stove create an conflict with FNMA or FHLMC guidelines when it comes time for the buyer to have the home appraised or have any negative impact in general?

Your question cannot be answered without a posting of the local planning department zoning laws that affect your property. This situation isn't just about secondary mortgage market guidelines. Your post implies that the improvement of a second kitchen, or second unit, is not a legal improvement for your property. This implies it was done without required permits and may or may not violate local fire codes. It implies that you KNOW that it is not a legal improvement, you KNOW it lacks permits, and that you already KNOW what the local jurisdictional authority has to say about it.

So you should hope for another unethical moron and a future buyer that fails to sue you for what you knew and failed to disclose to them.
 
Webbed feet always knows how to use just the right words...
 
I think the Loan Officer on your Re-Fi in 2012 got a better commission on the SFR, and didn't want to mess around with this whole "2nd Kitchen" business.

Yup. It is all about the commission and the least amount of work. I have a hard time believing the appraiser didn't see the kitchen with a missing stove and label it a great room without being misleading. I bet the photos from that appraisal conveniently left out the telling signs.
 
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