Please help! House in terrible shape!

[Terrel L. Shields]

The property does not meet secondary market guidelines and shouldnt be sold to fannie.

That much should be true enough, even if they 'fix it up' as the remaining life in a tear down is pretty much zero, right?

I consider a tear down to be a vacant land assignment with a twist.

 

[Doug Wegener]

I vote for land appraisal. I have had some of those in the past like this. If the house is in such bad shape it is obviously a tear down, I take pictures and measure the house and leave. I wont do land appraisals anymore so I just tell the lender it is a tear down and charge a trip fee.

Chances are the buyer is trying to get a 80% or more loan on a land value property. Im a bit surprised he told you he was going to tear it down.

 

[Jennifer Lee]

Update-Bye! Bye! Order

I turned down the order. Too many issues with the house. Thanks for all the input. I gave the client an option of doing a land appraisal or doing the appraisal with CB4 with a complete inspection from a professional and then I finally said, please find someone else (after further digging). He knew the deal was dead, prior to ordering the appraisal (he told me). But, I guess he figured he would attempt to find an appraiser that would leave out the fact that the house was sinking.

Have a good day!

 

[Mike Kennedy]

I turned down the order. Too many issues with the house. Thanks for all the input. I gave the client an option of doing a land appraisal or doing the appraisal with CB4 with a complete inspection from a professional and then I finally said, please find someone else (after further digging). He knew the deal was dead, prior to ordering the appraisal (he told me). But, I guess he figured he would attempt to find an appraiser that would leave out the fact that the house was sinking.Have a good day!

NICE GUY. ................with "clients" like that - you don't need Enemies. Replace "it".:new_2gunsfiring_v1:

 

[karinkelsey]

Take LOTS of pictures and send them to the lender...let the decision be theirs. It's not up to you to determine what they want to do with the loan or what their options are.

 

[Penelope X]

Hi Jennifer,

The first thing you need to establish with your client is what your scope of work will be. If it is understood by only the buyer and not your client that it is a "tear down", the client may be baffled by your news. Always disclose to your client what the condition of the property is and let them let you know which direction they expect you to proceed with. At that point, you can decline to continue on the basis you lack the experience (and bill the lender for your time thus far) or continue as long as you feel comfortable with what they're asking you to do. In my opinion, I agree with some of the other responders...this is a land appraisal with an improvement that, as you currently describe it, is uninhabitable and wouldn't meet HUD minimum safety requirements or current building standards. An assessment for removal of the improvement (check zoning and highest and best use issues here) and careful perusal of comparables that are in similar condition (check both SFR as "tear-downs" or "value is in the land" and vacant land with "tear-down" improvments). Another thing to consider is where is this water damage coming from...is it just a poor plumbing problem or is there a problem with seepage from the land...lots of potential issues here. Progress slowly and disclose all that you come across and keep the client informed. If there is a request to appraise the property "subject to", be sure you've broadened your scope of work to include whether or not a "cost to cure" will have to be included (with the typical professional charge for the additional research and work involved). This is sometimes assumed on the part of the client and they're not willing to pay for this later if it is a COD order. Make sure you and the client have spelled out your scope of work (as much as you can) in the beginning and let him/her know when that scope of work needs to be revised due to your findings at the site or during further investigation of the property.

Hope this information is helpful to you.

 

[erick anderson]

First thing I would do is call your client.....do they know of all the damage? Are they treating the deal as vacant land with Demo? I would start with the one who matters most....then see if you feel comfortable with the way they want it done. I have walked away from several an asignment because what the client wanted was not something I either, 1) was qualified to do, or 2) willing to do (i.e. not mentioning the true condition...."holes in roof do not equal sky lights.")

Uh, holes in the roof are known as Redneck Skylights, and they are very desirable in redneck areas.

 

[38Scarcello]

I turned down an offer for an 'uninhabitable' property yesterday. The borrower said it was uninhabitable. I never did see the property. Should I have taken his cash and ran? Is there a point where we say no? Not going to do it? I told him that I can surely inspect it, take your cash, but I do not know if anyone will lend on it. If it wasn't so far of a drive, I probably would have