basement
508) Well in basement
07/04/09
Dear H2,
I am doing an FHA appraisal on a sale of a home where the water well is in the basement. The well is located in an alcove-like area of the basement and is not directly under the house. Would this be acceptable?
Thomas Crooks ttcrooks@comcast.net
Dear Thomas,
I am not an FHA expert. I suggest you call your FHA regional office for their opinion. FHA regional offices are usually easy to deal with. If you do the appraisal, I suggest it include a recommendation that the well be inspected. Use wording similar to what you would use for a termite inspection.
H2
I am doing an FHA appraisal on a sale of a home where the water well is in the basement. The well is located in an alcove-like area of the basement and is not directly under the house. Would this be acceptable?
Thomas Crooks ttcrooks@comcast.net
Dear Thomas,
I am not an FHA expert. I suggest you call your FHA regional office for their opinion. FHA regional offices are usually easy to deal with. If you do the appraisal, I suggest it include a recommendation that the well be inspected. Use wording similar to what you would use for a termite inspection.
H2
458) Basement Rental Unit
02/24/09
Dear H2,
What are the guidelines regarding a rental unit in the basement of a single family dwelling when there is no access from the interior?
John Smith purdun4@comcast.net
Dear John,
The first problem is that this may be an illegal use. You should check with the building inspector or some other appropriate official in your community. Remember that you must report whatever you find out. Also, unless it is 100% out of the ground, such a unit cannot be included in the GLA. However, even if it is an illegal use, it may still add value. You'll have to try to support whatever opinion you come to about the value with some market data. (In our market area, illegal attic rental units are very common, and add market value.)
H2
What are the guidelines regarding a rental unit in the basement of a single family dwelling when there is no access from the interior?
John Smith purdun4@comcast.net
Dear John,
The first problem is that this may be an illegal use. You should check with the building inspector or some other appropriate official in your community. Remember that you must report whatever you find out. Also, unless it is 100% out of the ground, such a unit cannot be included in the GLA. However, even if it is an illegal use, it may still add value. You'll have to try to support whatever opinion you come to about the value with some market data. (In our market area, illegal attic rental units are very common, and add market value.)
H2
227) Basement Value
01/31/08
Dear Henry:
I am currently appraising a single family home in South Florida. It has a partial basement which is rare in this market. This basement area does not have A/C and is 500 sq ft., of a 6000 sq. ft. home. The owners use the space for storage.
How would I value the basement area as there are no comparables for this feature?
Lee Jennings silkv@aol.com
Dear Lee,
Since the area is below ground, it would not be included in the GLA of the house. You should describe it in the comments section of your appraisal report as additional storage space.
Unless there is evidence that basements add value to the property, I would not add any value for this basement. The reason most houses in south Florida do not have basements is that they do not add value equal to or greater than their cost.
H2
I am currently appraising a single family home in South Florida. It has a partial basement which is rare in this market. This basement area does not have A/C and is 500 sq ft., of a 6000 sq. ft. home. The owners use the space for storage.
How would I value the basement area as there are no comparables for this feature?
Lee Jennings silkv@aol.com
Dear Lee,
Since the area is below ground, it would not be included in the GLA of the house. You should describe it in the comments section of your appraisal report as additional storage space.
Unless there is evidence that basements add value to the property, I would not add any value for this basement. The reason most houses in south Florida do not have basements is that they do not add value equal to or greater than their cost.
H2
144) Basement Space in GBA
11/05/07
Dear H2,
I'm having conflicting views regarding calculating gross building area based on information from my supervisor vs. what I read in text books.
We recently appraised a two family house where Apt #1 utilizes the first floor and finished basement and Apt #2 utilizes the 2nd and 3rd floors. My supervisor claims that I cannot include the basement square footage into my GBA, yet everywhere I look I see that I can.
Who is correct?
Thanks for your time,
TF (name withheld by request)
Dear TF,
I agree with you. One of the differences between Gross Living Area (GLA) and Gross Building Area (GBA) is that GLA cannot include basement areas and GBA includes basement areas that are finished and heated like the rest of the building.
I would add a comment on the appraisal report explaining how this space is used (as the lower level of a 2-story apartment), to make sure that the information is not misleading.
H2
I'm having conflicting views regarding calculating gross building area based on information from my supervisor vs. what I read in text books.
We recently appraised a two family house where Apt #1 utilizes the first floor and finished basement and Apt #2 utilizes the 2nd and 3rd floors. My supervisor claims that I cannot include the basement square footage into my GBA, yet everywhere I look I see that I can.
Who is correct?
Thanks for your time,
TF (name withheld by request)
Dear TF,
I agree with you. One of the differences between Gross Living Area (GLA) and Gross Building Area (GBA) is that GLA cannot include basement areas and GBA includes basement areas that are finished and heated like the rest of the building.
I would add a comment on the appraisal report explaining how this space is used (as the lower level of a 2-story apartment), to make sure that the information is not misleading.
H2