attic
177) Attic in GLA?
12/08/07
Dear Henry,
Is the third floor of a Victorian house not included in GLA?
I recently appraised such a home and I included 900 sq ft of beautifully finished master suite on the third floor in the GLA. The stairway is identical to that from the first to the second floor and is in a common open stairwell. The slate roof does go down to about 5 feet above the floor and the walls are set in from the gutters, so I counted only the interior square footage where the ceiling was at least 5' or higher. The second floor was measured at 1200 sq ft..
Two other appraisers working for a relocation company, using the Relocation Council Appriasal Form, refused to count the third floor area in the GLA, calling it an attic and valuing it at about $10,000 -- which seems quite inappropriate to me. That form says to exclude attics. What should I have done?
Jim Carlisle Jim@GraystoneCapital.com
Dear Jim,
The attic is usually the upper story of a house directly under the roof. However, when you are dealing with old Victorian houses, like you describe, it is not cut and dry. You could have one opinion and another appraiser might offer a different opinion.
As far as the Relocation Council's scope of work goes (the form is one way of conveying to the appraiser what their scope of work is) if they don't want the attic included in their definition of GLA that is O.K. However, the value estimate remains the same no matter how you measure the house or what you call the upper story.
This is a good example of a situation when it is necessary to go back to the client after an appraisal has started and tell them what you have discovered and ask them to advise you as to what to do.
H2
Is the third floor of a Victorian house not included in GLA?
I recently appraised such a home and I included 900 sq ft of beautifully finished master suite on the third floor in the GLA. The stairway is identical to that from the first to the second floor and is in a common open stairwell. The slate roof does go down to about 5 feet above the floor and the walls are set in from the gutters, so I counted only the interior square footage where the ceiling was at least 5' or higher. The second floor was measured at 1200 sq ft..
Two other appraisers working for a relocation company, using the Relocation Council Appriasal Form, refused to count the third floor area in the GLA, calling it an attic and valuing it at about $10,000 -- which seems quite inappropriate to me. That form says to exclude attics. What should I have done?
Jim Carlisle Jim@GraystoneCapital.com
Dear Jim,
The attic is usually the upper story of a house directly under the roof. However, when you are dealing with old Victorian houses, like you describe, it is not cut and dry. You could have one opinion and another appraiser might offer a different opinion.
As far as the Relocation Council's scope of work goes (the form is one way of conveying to the appraiser what their scope of work is) if they don't want the attic included in their definition of GLA that is O.K. However, the value estimate remains the same no matter how you measure the house or what you call the upper story.
This is a good example of a situation when it is necessary to go back to the client after an appraisal has started and tell them what you have discovered and ask them to advise you as to what to do.
H2
157) Attic Ceiling Height
11/18/07
Dear Henry,
The upstairs of my house has a ceiling that slants (following the roof line) starting about 3 feet from the floor and continuing to the peak. Will the appraiser measure the floor square footage or only the area with a certain ceiling height?
Kim dkwilkinson22@msn.com
Dear Kim,
There is no one rule. Many appraisers include only finished and heated areas in the attic with at least a five foot ceiling height.
H2
The upstairs of my house has a ceiling that slants (following the roof line) starting about 3 feet from the floor and continuing to the peak. Will the appraiser measure the floor square footage or only the area with a certain ceiling height?
Kim dkwilkinson22@msn.com
Dear Kim,
There is no one rule. Many appraisers include only finished and heated areas in the attic with at least a five foot ceiling height.
H2