Compare Mortgage Quotes

Guest

I have a daylight basement 65% above the grade level and 35% below. One of the rooms in basement is used as bedroom (350 square ft) and is 65% above grade level and 355 below. The room meets the usual bedroom requirements and has a window to the outside with an appropriate size, walk in closet and electrical outlets. Basement has a full bathroom 100% above the grade level. When I go for an appraisal, should it cover the bedroom and bathroom or is this considered a part of the finished basement.

adonis · Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 11:42 pm Post subject:

Welcome Abbey,

Was the basement area constructed as one area and were there interior walls to separate the are into separate rooms? How many rooms are there in the basement area? and what is the primary use of the other rooms? Is this the split level or tri-level home? I need some more information so that I can advice you better.

Samantha · Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 12:09 am Post subject: RE: appraisal issues

Hi Abbey,

My thinking says it will be considered as part of the finished bedroom. What I follow is, if one has to walk up a number of steps when leaving out the lower level then it should be considered as basement.

I have a friend who's an appraiser and I took his suggestions in this regard. What he is suggesting is that, as per typical underwriting guidelines, the level must be at grade level upon exiting in order to be considered in the gross living area. This will depend upon the way the house is designed. Now, if the design is a bi-level and meets all requirements, then there is a possibility that the level is in the gross living area.

Hope this helps...

God bless you.

Samantha

mikeshapiro · Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 1:54 pm Post subject:

This is really a tricky question.

What state are you from? I know for us here in Arizona a good rule of thumb as to what will be considered a basement and what will not is if the room has window wells. If your on a sloping landscape it can be even more tricky. You said the bathroom is 100% above grade. Could you explain that? Not sure how the bath could be 100% above grade and part of the basement....

On the appraisal report itself you will get credit for the basement, finished or not and its located directly under the livable SqFt count. It will state the # of bed/bath below grade and the appraiser should try to find similar comparables to match so you get full credit. If none are available they will look at other sales dated in time that had basements and compare them against other dated sales with no basements to help determine the value of the basement.

Either way you will get credit for the bed/bath, just where you get credit on the appraisal for the two will be up to the appraiser.

Hope this helps Very Happy

Guest

We are looking for home in Florida and have found a beautiful home but the appraisal price is 70K less than asking price. Does that affect me any way if I buy this house?

Guest

mikeshapiro · Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 3:01 pm Post subject:

If the appraiser's opinion of value is 70k less than the asking price and you feel the appraisal is accurate then why would you buy this house?

To answer the question... No, it will not effect you buying the house except that the lender will likely only lender a percentage of what the appraised value is. If you are putting 10% down on the house you will need to put down 10% of the appraised value PLUS the extra 70k.

Guest

Thanks guys, I would just look for a new home then

Property State:
Property Type:
Credit Rating:

Company	Loan Type	APR	Est. Pmt.
				Go
				Go
				Go
				Go
				Go
				Go

All times are GMT - 7 Hours

Page 1 of 1

Compare Mortgage Quotes

What will the appraisal include?