When Is A Home Considered To Be "occupied"?

[Gulf Coast]

I've had a few lenders ask me to change the status of a home from unoccupied to occupied even though the owners didn't live there (or anyone else for that matter). Their reason was because the home had furniture, etc. The home could have been a vacation retreat in which the owners were only there for a couple of weeks out of the year or even when the owners moved away to another state but still owned the home. Because the photos showed things inside of the house, they didn't want it labeled as unoccupied.

 

[J Grant]

good question...I never gave it that much thought to be honest. Imo, if an owner even lives a couple of weeks a year in a house, it is occupied. If they have already moved out but left furniture behind, it is not occupied

 

[Ken B]

If there is food in the fridge that is not rotting, the home is occupied.

Second homes, vacation homes, whatever you want to call them, represent more risk to both lender and insurer. There is a reason the loan production people want the property to be noted as "occupied" when it is not.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

IMO, "vacant" means just that - unoccupied by people or possessions.

That said, determining who the occupant is a significant problem for an appraiser. Second homes (at least in this area) are very often used as vacant/weekend/short tem rentals. One clue is the mailing address of the property owner - available from the tax/assessment information. All yu can do is report what is seen, and if there is any question cite the source of/reason for your conclusion. There are additional concerns beyond loan terms: cost of insurance being a significant one.

 

[EddieB]

How do you handle these assignment types. 1) New construction 2) purchase assignments where the home is vacant at time of inspection ?

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Many such places may be "occupied" when someone is coming in weekly or monthly - My parents old cabin probably had occupants 30-40% of the time as the folks were fond of just going there for 3 - 4 days during the week and us kids usually visited on the weekends.

 

[J Grant]

if the home is vacant at inspection it is not occupied so what is the question? (same for new construction not yet moved in). They are asking us about occupancy on effective appraisal date, not who is might occupy it at a future date.

 

[CANative]

IMO, when the property is under the sole control of the owner. Furniture does not equal occupancy.

 

[eric van horn]

A lot of homes I get that question for are staged. It's all props, so I just put a statement in saying pretty much that. Staged homes are great for making a ridiculously small bedroom look bigger, or showing what a living room would look like with no TV, no kids or pets, a sofa that no one I know would ever be comfortable on, and a full time fashion designer in the house. It'd be fun to start a 'real life' staging company with priceless crayon art on the fridge and a table overflowing with mail you've been meaning to get to for 4 months.

 

[Tom D]

i don't think there is a minimum time limit spent inside for the word "occupied" to be true. to me vacant would be no furniture. i'm a city guy, we don't have vacation homes in the ghetto, unless your're a visiting crack vacationer.