Neighborhood Descriptions

[DB]

I'm not even in the clique and I know what it's about ... :rofl: :rofl:

 

[Stone]

I knew it was aimed at you Greg, though I don't know the inside reference. I just wanted it to be clear that I wasn't saying she shouldn't address them.

"Keeping my nose clean," as my mother used to say. <_<

 

[Justin Ashley]

I appreciate the examples given above. Should I mention where the nearest hospital is even thought it is not near the neighborhood I’m describing? It would reflect the response time in case of a medical emergency.

 

[Murray Bloom]

This is the only neighborhood, within the subject marketing area, that does not have a crack house, a meth house, or a murder, thus far in 2006."

Doug,

How long did you appraise in Baltimore?

 

[DB]

I think I spent a week in Baltimore, one night ... :rofl:

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

Just for fun I will post the one I had in a recent report:

EXPANDED COMMENT SECTION:
Subject located in an unincorporated area of Greenlee County,  the applicable taxing and zoning authority.  Subject has a  Duncan mailing address.

NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES AND CHARACTERISTICS:
Greenlee County has a population of less than 9,000.  The county is located midway between Phoenix,  Arizona to the northwest and El Paso,  Texas to the southeast;  approximately two hundred miles in each direction.  Tucson,  Arizona is approximately one hundred and fifty miles southwest.  Less than ten per cent of the area is privately owned land with the mining company as the majority owner and major employer of the area.  Private land is very limited with residential development in Clifton ,  Verde Lee-Loma Linda area three miles southeast of Clifton,  in the York Valley-Sheldon area mid way between Clifton and Duncan or in the Duncan area.  Morenci is a company owned town with company owned housing for the employees. 

Clifton,  with a population of 3,000 is the Greenlee county seat,  and located in a canyon formed by the San Francisco River.  The Corps of Engineers has developed a levee system to protect the downtown area.  Morenci,  with a similar population is a mining  "company"  town with company owned housing and located above the canyon adjacent to the open pit copper mine.  A neighborhood shopping center with several company owned and privately owned stores is located in Morenci.  Commercial development is along the highway in downtown Clifton and in a historic area known as Chase Creek.

Duncan has approximately 700 population within the city limits and is an agricultural area located along the Gila River.  Residential development and an elementary school have been constructed north of the river,  the subdivided area has been annexed into the city limits of Duncan. 

Approximately twenty to thirty residential property sales,  including site built and manufactured housing,  occur  annually in Greenlee County.  Additional residential properties are developed each year with both site built and manufactured homes built or installed on acreages or in lots in the Verde Lee,  Loma Linda,  York Valley and Hunter Estates areas. The county has approximately 2,800 residential properties.

Additional residential support facilities are located in the Safford area,  approximately forty five miles northwest of subject.

Inadequate planning and zoning occurred in prior years.  Some areas include improvements which may be considered dissimilar to each other.  Typical buyers have usually shown no objection to the appearance of incompatibility and values do not appear to be adversely affected by the mixed use of site built, manufactured,  and multi-family housing. 

FACTORS AFFECTING THE MARKETABILITY OF SUBJECT:
Subject is located in an area of low density development known as Sheldon and located approximately six to eight miles northeast of Duncan.  Residential development along Highway 75 and the Gila River.  Typical sites in the immediate area of the subject are acreages with horse privileges.  Manufactured housing is predominant in the area with older,  scattered site built housing.  Bus Service provided for K-12 students in the Duncan School system. 

So now the underwriter knows why my comparables are thirty miles apart, two years old with over 50% net and gross adjustments!

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Interesting...a full page describing the neighborhood. Good exercise but definitely over-kill for a typical appraisal on a Fannie Mae form. Notice you are given two small lines for boundaries and about three lines for description.

Please pay particular attention to Jo Ann's post. There is a time and a place for adding an addenda comment when warranted.

Here is what I believe should be addressed in the space provided on the form report (minimal data).

1. Is it a typical residential neighborhood.

2. Are schools and parks within the area.

3. Is shopping convenient.

4. Is there public transportation

5. Is there good conformity


This is a sample from one of my reports:

Neighborhood boundaries: Meridian Ranch Sub is bounded on the north by Kings Canyon Dr, East - Rainbow Bridge Dr, South - Londonderry Drive, West - Meridian Road in eastern El Paso County. MLS area FAL.

Neighborhood Description: Meridian Ranch is an upper median priced single family residential neighborhood 14 miles east of Colo Spgs in un-incorporated El Paso County. Schools and parks are within the subdivision, access to core area employment centers including the area's 5 military installations is good. No public transportation available at this time.

Market Conditions: Days on the market are stable at approximately 84 and the sales price to list price ratio is 102% based on MLS data specific to this neighborhood (marketing area). A total of 146 properties were used in this analysis, a copy of which is in the appraiser's work file. VA/FHA financing is common and readily available. The market remains strong.

I am not saying this is the only way to report the neighborhood but it has served me well over the past 26+ years and meets the requirements of my clients. One nice thing about Alamode software is the ability to retain several hundred neighborhood descriptions in the data base. Do it once and then use it over and over again. Unfortunately the transition to the new Fannie Mae forms did not bring over the neighborhood data base so I am re-writing all of them. Probably a good check as things do change over the years.

Hope you find this helpful.

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

Mike: have you tried copy and paste? Highlight the neighborhood description, copy, then paste into an addendum or word program. Next time you want insert that specific paragraph(s) highlight them in your keeper addendum then paste into your report. That way you don't have to physically retype any thing. Day One/Nova has a "pars" file where paragraphs can be saved with a title assigned. My paragraphs are called Greenlee County and Sheldon in my pars file. I then can do an insert and insert that specific pars file. Or I can go to my template addendum highlight the paragraph I want, then paste into my report or expanded comment section.

 

[Em Tee]

Originally posted by Mike Garrett, RAA@Jan 24 2006, 07:56 AM
Interesting...a full page describing the neighborhood. Good exercise but definitely over-kill for a typical appraisal on a Fannie Mae form. Notice you are given two small lines for boundaries and about three lines for description.

Please pay particular attention to Jo Ann's post. There is a time and a place for adding an addenda comment when warranted.

Here is what I believe should be addressed in the space provided on the form report (minimal data).

1. Is it a typical residential neighborhood.

2. Are schools and parks within the area.

3. Is shopping convenient.

4. Is there public transportation

5. Is there good conformity


This is a sample from one of my reports:

Neighborhood boundaries: Meridian Ranch Sub is bounded on the north by Kings Canyon Dr, East - Rainbow Bridge Dr, South - Londonderry Drive, West - Meridian Road in eastern El Paso County. MLS area FAL.

Neighborhood Description: Meridian Ranch is an upper median priced single family residential neighborhood 14 miles east of Colo Spgs in un-incorporated El Paso County. Schools and parks are within the subdivision, access to core area employment centers including the area's 5 military installations is good. No public transportation available at this time.

Market Conditions: Days on the market are stable at approximately 84 and the sales price to list price ratio is 102% based on MLS data specific to this neighborhood (marketing area). A total of 146 properties were used in this analysis, a copy of which is in the appraiser's work file. VA/FHA financing is common and readily available. The market remains strong.

I am not saying this is the only way to report the neighborhood but it has served me well over the past 26+ years and meets the requirements of my clients. One nice thing about Alamode software is the ability to retain several hundred neighborhood descriptions in the data base. Do it once and then use it over and over again. Unfortunately the transition to the new Fannie Mae forms did not bring over the neighborhood data base so I am re-writing all of them. Probably a good check as things do change over the years.

Hope you find this helpful.

Thank you Mike!!! I agree wholeheartedly. I saw a neighborhood description that started off "Mytown was built in 1895... blah blah blah". Really, does that have ANYTHING to do with the neighborhood currently being discussed? C'mon!

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Mary, are you sure you were not looking at one of my old appraisals? :rainfro:

Once upon a time, I hired an administrative assistant who was the former assistant to an old MAI here in Colorado Springs. She was also a former high school english teacher. She created a three page addendum on Colorado Springs that I included in all my residential appraisal reports. It was exceptionally well written and updated quarterly with economic indicators obtained from the economic development division of the chamber of commerce. Keep in mind, Colorado Springs was considered the foreclosure capital of the US back in the 80's.

We also included flood maps, plat maps, and a bunch of other stuff just to make our appraisals look more like narratives. I received a call from the chief reviewer that the VA regional office in Denver and he said..."Hey, we are not buying these appraisals by the pound. Drop all the extra stuff!".

So, I cut my reports by almost 10 pages and no one has ever complained it wasn't adequate for mortgage lending purposes. Every once in a while I will get a request for more comments concerning a particular issue but that is really pretty uncommon.

One of Fannie Mae's comments concerning the new forms was they were trying to eliminate addendum's and putting more details on the form. I like it! Also consider we have not had a fee increase on VA appraisals since 1993. I am not being paid to write a book.