Walk Out

[LiveJoy]

Agreed. Not at a $200k price point IN MY MARKET.

Would a finished area, that cost $11,000. to finish add any value at all? $8000? $5000.? something???? or nothing

To make it a comfortable area I had electricians, (to code outlets, ceiling fans), plumber (added a sprinkler head), contractors, painters. Created a utility room with a louvered door for the water heater and furnace. Boxed in the water meter so it wasn't sticking out as an eyesore, Was all this worthless?

 

[LiveJoy]

Warren County......rural New Jersey.

 

[JTip]

Would a finished area, that cost $11,000. to finish add any value at all? $8000? $5000.? something???? or nothing

Maybe.

Would I personally pay another 16k on a 200k condo to enjoy a finished room in a walkout basement? No.

As to the contributory value in your specific market, I cannot comment. There a NJ guy here to help......

 

[bnmappraisal]

Was all this worthless?

Sadly the answer is always "it depends"

I try to tell clients (especially private individuals) that it's not how much it cost, but what you've done. My Spiel is always "some things cost $2k and give you back $5k, others cost $5k and give you back $2k." It really boils down to what your particular market will pay for a certain item/amenity (in your case, the basement)

 

[Deleted member 80407]

In other words, no value was given to mine for having a walk-out, finished basement.

Walkout basements usually have more appeal than sub-basements (windows below grade) with no walkout. The adjustment for the difference is derived through market evidence. If there are no recent sales, then the appraiser should have gone back further in time to extract a percentage adjustment. The percentage adjustment is derived by pairing 2 sales (1 with walkout & 1 without walkout). The difference in sales price between the sale with the walkout (usually selling for more) is divided into the sale without the walkout to derive a percentage adjustment. This percentage adjustment usually does not change from year to to year. Therefore if the paired sale occurred 5 years ago and the percentage adjustment say was 5%, this adjustment would be the same in today's market. The 5% differential is reflected by current market conditions which may be stable, declining or increasing.

 

[CindyR]

It is probably not appropriate for any one to be specifying how much per SF this finish should contribute. Or that it does not contribute any additional value as none of us have appraised it. It may or may not add value based on analysis of similar properties in that market area.

If the OP believes it should be handled differently he certainly has a valid perspective. And personally I know nothing about new jersey but if it was my house I would think it should be more valuable with all the finish and functional utility he has described.

AS for what he can do about it:
Look at the deal on the table and see if you can split the different or reach a compromise. The difference is really not very significant. and waiting for another buyer and perhaps another unenlightened appraiser might not help you
If you cancel the deal, look at getting your own appraisal so that you have a good idea of a valid sale price and can share that with the next appraiser who comes out.
talk to some agents about your property and similar properties and the one that sold unfinished and see if they have some strong opinions or concrete evidence that the basement finish adds a premium
were there other comps in the report with basements? With finished basements? was there a comment in the report that the finished basement did not have superior market value to the unfinished basement? There are little boxes on the URAR form separating finished from unfinished because these two basement types are classified differently... Were the finished and unfinished categories properly differentiated in the report? If not I would say that really is an 'error' that should be corrected. and may lead to further analysis from the appraiser.

 

[LiveJoy]

Maybe.

Would I personally pay another 16k on a 200k condo to enjoy a finished room in a walkout basement? No.

As to the contributory value in your specific market, I cannot comment. There a NJ guy here to help......

Okay, thanks for your honesty. I called the Vice President of this national appraisal company and he heard me out and didn't promise me anything but he is going to "see what he can do".

 

[LiveJoy]

. Were the finished and unfinished categories properly differentiated in the report? If not I would say that really is an 'error' that should be corrected. and may lead to further analysis from the appraiser.[/QUOTE]

No they were not. Walk-out was not acknowledged and the finished vs. unfinished were not distinguished. BTW, another condo just like mine with no basement at all sold for $205,000 one year ago. Something just isn't right.

 

[Carlos Danger]

I don't cover Warren County. Good luck.

 

[RSW]

I agree with Michigan CG. I have seen finished basements add much more than $16,000. It could be that the finished basement adds the same as the main living area. I would have the appraiser clarify why the basement was not considered.