Why can't we band together on Feb 4th?

[alebrewer]

In Texas, you can have 1-4 fireplaces in a higher quality house. It is ridiculous that some think they have no contributory value. What about a patio fireplace which is quite a trend right now? What does your fancy smancy Spark graphs have to say about fireplaces?

My point is that one should not dismiss fireplaces as having no value because some appraiser in never-never land says so.

I think you may have misread my post, Tim. What I said was that your analysis should determine whether the market recognizes a premium or not. To use a GHism - the opinion should come after the analysis, not in lieu of it. You can't make a statement that fireplaces ALWAYS have contributory value - nor can you make a statement that they never have contributory value. Your analysis - for each assignment - should determine that. It may be that, at the $200k price point, houses without fireplaces sell for the same as houses with fireplaces, but at the $1M price point, they're worth $20k a piece. Let the data speak without any predetermined outcomes on the appraiser's part.

 

[TC]

I'm pretty sure the adjustment for one fireplace is $5,000.

 

[alebrewer]

That's what the cheat sheet says.

 

[Bobby Bucks]

I'm pretty sure the adjustment for one fireplace is $5,000.

You guys who sign with initials after your names must use the HP-12C or AI to factor in inflation. Thanks for giving me support to update that portion of my evolving list.

 

[J Grant]

With an uncertain and often minor value contributor like a fireplace, one can reconcile at the higher end of value for it by x$ rather than make a line adjustment for it. In different price ranges and quality or local weather, a feature like a fireplace or reverse water osmosis system etc, might or might not have value, but it is often difficult to extract.

The reason is often that every house has an upgrade of some kind, such as a fence, a built-in barbeque, or extra landscaping. We can't make a credible line item adjustment for each of those items unless it adds enough significant value to matter. I often include such items in the overall upgrade contribution.