Subject Sketch

[Rich Hahn]

I get a kick out of doing reviews and the sketch is spot on, doors toilets, cars in garage, cieling fan icons, then you get to the comps ane...excuse me!

Great sketch but why didnt you use the clone next door and went 2 miles away for a sale 30% larger..hello.

Then there was the homeowner who told me the last guy "missed a closet", darn him.

Sketch is in the eye of the beholder..

 

[Stone]

Then there was the homeowner who told me the last guy "missed a closet", darn him.

It is funny what people will remember. I have a good friend who is a stickler for detail (some might say too much so). He hasn't had a mortgage on either of his houses for more than a decade, and his last appraisal was in the late 1980's. He has told me three separate times that the last time he had one done, the appraiser noted an asphalt driveway when he had a concrete one. This was what he based the competency of the appraiser on, and I gaurantee that I will never state the driveway surface incorrectly. I may state several other things wrong over the years, but not the driveway.

 

[Farm Gal]

:rofl:
Agreed!

And if the homeowner doesn't have enough 'hang-loose' to over look it the appraisal board sure won't let it go, if they are mad about other things....

Several local ham-handed appraisers managed to get crosswise with other local appraisers over issues of competency... and what 'got them' at the board review level was the numerous descriptive eratta, not the value/comp selection issues

 

[jtrotta]

in the snowglobe we use MT - same as most homeowners

mental thelapathy (sp-corecto mondo) we think we draw all the particulars, therefore they are same mental thelapathy they use when they "estimate the value of their home" :lol:

afterall, they always fergit the house next door that SOLD fer $25K less, so ifn I fergits a room er closet, we're on the same mental patturn they follow :rofl:

APEX - "Afta Perplexing Experience - Xemplified" :mrgreen:


h34r:

 

[Steve Owen]

I use eight square graph paper in the field. Yeah, I know it sounds weird, one square to one foot three inches; it took some getting used to, but the stuff is artist stock and the extra thickness really helps. I bought out an entire closeout stock about five years ago and I'll probably still have some left when I go to sketching straight onto my computer in the field (kind of surprised none of you techies are doing that yet).

I draw all the interior walls, door swings, appliances, etc. Yeah, I know that no one would complain if I didn't, but with the computer it only takes about twenty minutes on the typical job. The advantage is that I feel like I know the house a whole lot better by the time I get finished. There have been times I might have missed some functional obsolesence if I had not drawn the floor plan.

Also curious as to what people are rounding off to? I used to round off to the nearest 1/2 foot, but find in this area people round off to the nearest 1/10 of a foot.

ANSI requires measurement to the nearest inch or tenth of a foot. Now, that seems kind of stupid since no one can build one that square. But, what I do is measure to the nearest inch and round it to a tenth of a foot. Sometimes (usually) I have to round a bit further to square the house. My comment addendum contains the statement:

COMMENT ON MEASUREMENTS AND DETERMINATION OF GROSS LIVING AREA:

Exterior walls were measured to the nearest 0.1 foot, with minor rounding, as needed, to square the property. "Gross Living Area" was determined in accordance with American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z765) standard for measurement and calculation of residential property.

Before I took the ANSI course a few years ago, I used to round to the nearest three inches. No one ever complained. Does that mean that underwriters don't care how big the house is?

 

[Charlotte Dixon]

I don't use graph paper in the field, just sketch out the perimeter on my legal pad, then measure. Back at the office I use Apex, a great timesaver which gives a professional look. I draw in the rooms and add icons for fireplaces and doorways. It's very quick! I even use the apex for figuring out a lot size with odd dimensions.

After doing this for umpteen years, I've learned something new during this refi craze: Don't sweat the small stuff! My sketches are as accurate as I can get them, look professional and I'm about as picky as one can get.

 

[Stone]

Before I took the ANSI course a few years ago, I used to round to the nearest three inches. No one ever complained. Does that mean that underwriters don't care how big the house is?

Hmmm...Interesting analogy. I am pretty sure that reporting an accurate GLA on an appraisal is a requirement of most loan programs, but I believe drawing lines around the words when there is no functional problem is not.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

I challenge anyone to measure a two story home with cantilevers, bay windows, and insets, etc. to accurately measure the home to the nearest inch. You are suggesting a level of expertise that is well beyond what is normally required for appraisal work.

My concern with doing interior walls, doors, and windows is...."is it really in that exact position?". If someone wanted to challenge your work...you have just opened Pandora's box.

Lastly, in busy times like this ... who has the time to spend an hour measuring to the inch and another one creating a blue print of the house as a sketch. It is supposed to be a sketch...not a Rembrandt!

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

GLA: another one of those "believed to be correct but not guaranteed"

 

[xm39hnu]

Originally posted by Mike Garrett, RAA@Aug 7 2003, 09:51 AM
My concern with doing interior walls, doors, and windows is...."is it really in that exact position?". If someone wanted to challenge your work...you have just opened Pandora's box.
<snip>
It is supposed to be a sketch...not a Rembrandt!

In our limiting conditions we state that sketches are included as an aid to understanding, and are not intended for use in matters of survey. Do you think this would provide enough confusion to make a lawyer think twice? (Granted, some of them would sue the sun over a sunburn.) I agree that it's a sketch, not a blueprint. Maybe the disclaimer will work, maybe not.