square footage

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Appraisal Completion Certifications – be careful

Desktop appraisals okay for some Fannie Loans March 2022

By Ann O'Rourke on January 21, 2022 / ANSI, appraisal business, appraisal forms, appraisal how to, bias, desktop appraisals, Fannie, liability, square footage / Leave a comment

Tags: ANSI, appraisal business, appraisal how to, bias, desktop appraisals, Fannie, square footage

Desktop appraisals okay for some Fannie Loans March 2022

Fannie announcement – About Desktop Appraisals

Beginning in March 2022, desktop appraisals will be an option for some loan transactions. This fact sheet provides high-level information on Fannie Mae’s requirements for desktop appraisals and answers some frequently asked questions. We’ll be adding information to the fact sheet, such as additional FAQs as needed.

Excerpts:

Use Form 1004 Desktop
Must include floor plan with interior walls.
The appraiser must have sufficient information to develop a credible report.

To read the fact sheet, click here

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Desktop Appraisal to Become the New Norm

by Isaac Peck, Editor, WorkingRe

Note: This article was written before the Fannie announcement above.

Excerpts: A number of questions remain regarding how the GSEs will establish the eligibility criteria for what types of loans, transactions, and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios will qualify for these desktop valuations. For example, Thompson’s comments that such a move will provide relief on rural appraisals runs contrary to most conventional appraisal experience in the industry where appraisal waivers, hybrid appraisals, and other “alternative” valuation products have primarily been used in cookie-cutter, tract home neighborhoods where model-match comps are more readily available.

In fact, over the years many senior executives at the GSEs and at major lending institutions have acknowledged the need for traditional appraisals on rural properties—which are much more likely to have unique features and require more complex analysis.

There is also the question of whether the introduction of desktop appraisals will potentially lead to a broader range of alternative appraisal products into the mix. Given that some senior executives at Fannie Mae were predicting that hybrid appraisals would become mainstream by 2022, it is actually a little surprising that desktop appraisal assignments are the first alternative product to get a permanent place on the GSE’s valuation roster. Appraisers will just have to wait to see what the future holds!

To read more, click here

My comment: Interesting and worth reading about the background of Fannie’s change

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Measuring Bi-level homes square footage

Fannie requiring ANSI for appraisals starting 4/1/22

By Ann O'Rourke on December 24, 2021 / Fannie, FUN, humor, square footage / Leave a comment

Tags: Fannie, humor, square footage, zillow

ANSI Update

I have been getting questions from appraisers but did not have time to research this Very Hot Topic. Below is a link to purchase the new 2021 Standards.

There are lots of comments online. The first link below by Appraisersblogs allows comments which you can read and make your own comments. The second link is a short blog post by McKissock.

Purchasing the Standards document for $25 is a good idea—link at the end of this section. I purchased a copy, so I knew what it said. Hopefully, most appraisers who do GSE appraisals will get a copy. Disclaimers coming soon regarding ANSI, assessor’s offices, etc. Disclosure of what you use is an excellent idea.

For many years, I did relocation appraisals, where 2-3 appraisers appraised the same house before the sale. Sq.ft. by the appraisers was very seldom the same. We did future values, typically 90-120 days in the future. My most favorite appraisals. Every appraisal was a test of how close I came to the sales price.

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ANSI Measuring Standard Required on April 1, 2022 – Comments allowed

By Appraisersblogs

Excerpts: includes Fannie’s 1-page “Standardized Property Measuring Guidelines” with good information.

Does following ANSI even reflect the market? Perhaps, adopting the ANSI standard will make the description of the subject property more precise. However, how is this going to help if Realtors, assessors, builders, and architects are not measuring by the same standard? Will this create a false sense of accuracy? Will there be a lot more discrepancies once the ANSI measuring standard is used by appraisers for the subject property while different measuring standards measure the comparable sales. And how do we apply the ANSI measuring standard on exterior-only appraisals, desktops, hybrids, and 2055s?

This blog post is a good place to read comments and leave your own. Over 35 comments. Click here to read.

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Fannie Mae to Adopt ANSI Measurement Standard in 2022

Short blog post with good info

By: Dan Bradley (McKissock)

Excerpt: ANSI Z765 is a copyrighted document. A downloadable PDF is available for purchase from Home Innovation Research Labs for $25.00. The website can be accessed here: https://www.homeinnovation.com/z765.

To read more, click here

Why Don’t Real Estate Agents Measure Houses? Appraiser Humor

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What is Included in Appraisal GLA (sq.ft.)?

By Ann O'Rourke on October 8, 2021 / adjustments, appraisal business, real estate market, square footage / Leave a comment

Tags: adjustments, appraisal business, real estate market, square footage

Stairway to Confusion – What is Included in GLA?

by C. Brett Bowen

Excerpt: There has been considerable discussion over the years about gross living area (GLA) measurement standards. The ANSI Z765 standard gets the lion’s share of the attention, and is the most widely referenced standard in the industry by far. It can also be the most difficult to interpret, particularly when it comes to stairs. Here’s why.

It is primarily important to recognize two very important facts:

1) a standard is nothing more than the definition of a unit of comparison

2) it is the appraiser’s responsibility to be consistent with that definition.

First, what do I mean when I say that a standard is nothing more than the definition of the unit of comparison? The unit of comparison for something is critical to the understanding of that thing.

Second, as an appraiser, consistency with the definition is actually more important than which definition is chosen.

To read more, click here

My comment: Worth reading. I have seldom used ANSI. The standards were developed for new home construction. I have appraised many homes on hillsides, with often only the garage at street level (or just a driveway). Many historic homes, on level streets, have different types of “basements” converted to living area: above grade, partly below grade, etc. If I worked in suburbia, ANSI would work better. I use what the local market tells me.

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What to Do When Your Appraisal Is Under Review

What AMCs Say to Appraisers and How to Respond

By Ann O'Rourke on July 9, 2021 / adjustments, AMCs, appraisal how to, E&O, Fannie, FHA, george dell, square footage / Leave a comment

Tags: AMC, appraisal how to, appraisal management company, Fannie, FHA, George Dell, square footage

What AMCs say to appraisers and How to Respond

By Steven W. Vehmeier

Excerpts: A student contacted me with the following dilemma concerning an Appraisal Management Company (AMC) request: “I told the Management Company that I cannot mark the Zoning Compliance as ‘Legal’ if the report is marked “as-is,” because this would not be true for the current “as-is” condition of the subject on the effective date of the appraisal. The AMC insists that as long as I disclose in the addendum that the zoning is currently ‘illegal,’ then I can mark on the first page as ‘Legal.’”

Taking the matter to the source can be accomplished by: 1) personal research of the appropriate documents, which is sometimes faster, or 2) emailing the controlling entity for their official answer. Notice I didn’t say to phone them. I want the answer in writing to pass on to the client/AMC.

To read more, click here

My comment: Some Most Excellent and practical tips!! My bottom-line advice: Fire the AMC! We all know there is always another AMC that is desperate for appraisers today. Now is a good time to shop for one that is easy to work for. You could check in appraisal online groups to see what they say. If they are not competitors, hopefully, you can get some good ideas. Be sure to post your location.

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NOTE: Please scroll down to read the other topics in this long blog post on unusual homes, FHA, Fannie, E&O, liability, time adjustments, price per sq.ft. mortgage origination stats, etc.

How accurate is the reported square footage from the tax records in your primary service area?(Opens in a new browser tab)

What is Included in Appraisal Square Footage?

By Ann O'Rourke on October 23, 2020 / appraisal business, Appraisal fees, square footage / Leave a comment

Tags: appraisal business, appraisal fees, square footage, strange house

Question: Can it count in the square footage?

Roof detail house

By Ryan Lundquist

Excerpts: Can you include it in the square footage? I get questions like this almost every week. Is it okay to count an accessory dwelling in the living area? What about a pool house? How about a man cave or she shed? Let’s talk about this.

The straight dope: It’s tempting to lump something else in the backyard into the square footage, but that’s not appropriate per ANSI measuring standards. Suppose you have to walk outside of the house into something else that is not directly accessible to the house. In that case, we’re really dealing with something that isn’t considered to be a part of the main house…

To read more, click here

My comments: Written for homeowners, but has some good remarks on square footage, such as “lumped square footage” in MLS. What is Included in Appraisal Square Footage can be tricky and controversial. It can also vary by geographic area.

Marketing and Management Tips for Appraisers

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Which Appraisal Clients are used the most?(Opens in a new browser tab)

Working with difficult appraisal clients

By Ann O'Rourke on July 24, 2020 / ADUs, appraisal business, Coronavirus, george dell, Mortgage applications, square footage, unusual homes, zillow / Leave a comment

Tags: ADUs, appraisal business, Coronavirus, George Dell, mortgage loan volume, square footage, statistics, unusal homes, zillow

Advice for Working with Difficult Appraisal Clients

Excerpt: Even if the bulk of your appraisals are fairly cut and dried, and require minimal interaction with a human client, any appraiser will occasionally have to work with a difficult client. The assignment might require you to work with a specialty property that is hard to appraise, or with a client who is personally disagreeable, or exceptionally exacting, or who has an agenda that you don’t understand or can’t go along with. Here are some tips for working with difficult clients. Three of the topics:

– Working with AMCs and banks: Time management

– Working with non-lenders: Expectations management

– Deal with complaints immediately

To read the tips, click here

My comment: Some great, practical tips!! Maybe I will try some of them instead of Firing clients, my most popular option ;>

My motto: Appraising would be great except for the darn clients!!

What to Do When Your Appraisal Is Under Review(Opens in a new browser tab)

Which Appraisal Clients are used the most?(Opens in a new browser tab)

Favorite parts of the appraisal process

By Ann O'Rourke on July 17, 2020 / adjustments, appraisal business, Coronavirus, humor, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, square footage, Strange homes / Leave a comment

Tags: adjustments, appraisal business, Coronavirus, humor, mortgage lending, square footage, strange house, unusal homes

What’s your favorite part of the appraisal process?

Excerpt:

Number 1. Data collection and property description (38%)

“The best part is the property review. I enjoy seeing what people have done to their properties and talking to them about their homes.”

“I enjoy viewing/observing the subject home.”

“Detective work”

“Each dwelling is different, and not every appraiser takes the time to clarify the differences in the dwellings. The quality, the construction, the egresses, and especially the correct way to calculate GLA or measure a dwelling.”

Number 2. Data analysis (27%)…

To read more about favorites, click here

My comment: I love working in the field, so my choice is Number 1. But, my very best choice is getting paid ;>

What is the farthest you have traveled to complete an appraisal and still be considered geographically competent?(Opens in a new browser tab)

Appraisal Process Challenges(Opens in a new browser tab)

What is Included in Appraisal Square Footage?(Opens in a new browser tab)

Tax records and Square Footage in Appraisals

By Ann O'Rourke on January 31, 2020 / adjustments, Appraisal Foundation, appraisal how to, Mortgage applications, square footage, Strange homes, unusual home, weird homes / Leave a comment

Tags: adjustments, mortgage loan volume, real estate market, square footage, strange house, unusal homes

13516718 – white wood texture with natural patterns

Tax Records is not the definitive source for square footage!

By Ryan Lundquist

Excerpt:

Why is the appraiser saying it’s only 1,400 sq ft? Tax Records shows the home is 600 sq ft larger. This issue comes up ALL the time, so let’s talk about it. Tax records and Square Footage in Appraisals is a hot topic.

The truth: The Assessor’s records are generally reliable, but I’m just saying sometimes they’re not. Why is this? At times it’s as simple as the original builder not turning in accurate information when a house was built. Or maybe an owner took out permits but official records were never updated. Of course we’ve all seen instances where the tax roll shows two units on one lot, but there’s really just one house nowadays. Let’s not forget sometimes owners do an addition without permits, so the Assessor might actually be correct even though the house is technically larger or has even sold on MLS as a larger home. For reference, here are ten reasons why an appraiser’s sketch might be different.

For lots of comments and more info, click here

My comment: This one of the main reasons that AVMs will never be very successful for all homes. Over and over again, statistical analysis shows GLA is the most important physical feature overall.

Also, how bedrooms are determined varies a lot, depending on the local market and can vary over time. The assessor number of bedrooms may not match the appraiser’s. For example, tandem rooms. Finished basements can vary also.

I started appraising at a CA assessor’s office in 1976. In CA, State Board of Equalization regulated county assessors offices, so the procedures and terminology are very similar all over the state. However, GLA from the assessor may have different requirements than other sources, such as ANSI.

Proposition 13 passed in 1979, which only allowed an annual 2% increase in assessment per year, unless there was a sale or improvements (determined by permits). Over time, the information has become more and more out of date.

Data is not available for smaller counties if the assessor says it is confidential. Until the 90s, my county did not release any data, so I had to “guesstimate” on square footage for sales and listings. We finally got it when an MAI was elected assessor.

In the early 90s, I researched assessors records around the country. In some small rural counties the records were kept at the assessor’s home. They were not digitized and available for purchase by data companies.

Appraisers need to know which areas are not accurate. Sometimes GLA is “political”. Within a city, accuracy can vary. In my city the least accurate records are in the “Gold Coast” with many of the city’s larger, historic homes. In other nearby cities, some properties have low GLAs to keep the property taxes lower.

Appraisal Humor

Appraisal business tips

How accurate is the reported square footage from the tax records in your primary service area?(Opens in a new browser tab)

10 reasons why public records and the appraiser’s square footage can differ(Opens in a new browser tab)

To read about lots more appraisal topics, continue reading below!