Category — Photos from the Field

Is doubling the size of a house a good idea? Probably not because it will most likely be larger than anything in the neighborhood, which leads to superadequacy (being overbuilt for the neighborhood). I ran across this property the other day in Yolo County, and this house is definitely going to be oversized for the local market. Doesn’t it look like an entire 2-story house is being added to the back of the original house? What do you think this will do to property value?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

I came across a “bubble car” in Yolo County this week. I’ve never seen such a thing and I’m still not too sure what the real purpose of this bubble is either. Do you have any ideas? No matter what the reason, I do wonder how neighbors feel about the bubble. Many times when a home owner steps outside the lines of neighborhood conformity, it can bother residents and sometimes even impact property value depending on what is done. An effect on value would likely involve a permanent change rather than something like the bubble. But still, this scenario brings up an important conversation about conformity.

Would it bother you if your neighbors had a “bubble” in their driveway? Where do you draw the line for what is acceptable and not in a neighborhood?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

Have you seen soiled carpet from pets before? Let me share my personal winner from an inspection a long while ago. Carpet like this certainly lowers property value, but it’s also indicative that the pets surely rule the roost. The stains from urine and feces were dramatic throughout the house. The smell surprisingly was not all that bad, but I did feel nauseous afterward and took a shower when I got home. An investor purchased this ten-year old 3000 square foot home, cleaned things up, patched landscaping and installed some minor upgrades to re-list it nearly 20% above its previous selling price as a short sale in need of some love.

What do you think when  you see images like this?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.

I ran across this house last week while enjoying some time off in Huntington Beach. Can you see any evidence of settling? Might the crooked door, window and roofline be an indicator that something is not right here? How have you seen foundation issues impact real estate deals?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.

We love our fences in California, but the wrong type of fence can really leave a bad impression. When a fence is too tall, resembles prison bars, obstructs the view of the house, is plain ugly or screams “leave me alone”, it’s probably not enchancing the image of the neighborhood. There are many reasons why fences exist, but regardless of the reasons, when a community grows to have numerous fences like this, it promotes a blighted feel.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m NOT saying you are causing blight in your community if you have a certain type of fence. I’m only saying the way houses look communicate something to the rest of the neighborhood, make a reflection upon the entire community and ultimately impact property value. As much as we like to think we live on parcel islands, the truth is what we do (or don’t do) to the front of our parcels impacts how others view the neighborhood. If you don’t believe neighborhood presentation can influence the way others feel about the community, read a case study of Diggs Town Public Housing.

Removing or changing the type of fence may not erase the blight label from a neighborhood, but it is often one cog in the system. Blight is a complex multi-faceted reality that occurs over time, so beginning to breathe life back into a community involves removing characteristics that send a negative message and adding features that are more welcoming. I know design is a very subjective thing, but people’s feelings are too. If we want to see property values increase, people need to feel good about the neighborhood.

How do you think fences can help shape the image of a community? What factors would you say contribute to a blighted feel for a neighborhood? Which fences below seem welcoming and evoke friendliness? Which designs may give off a negative vibe? 

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This is post # 2 in the “Blight Week” series on the Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

Can a cracked or raised driveway be an issue for an FHA loan? If the damage is deemed a safety issue for whatever reason, then it is something that will require correction. However, if the damage is minimal and hardly noticeable, it shouldn’t be a big deal. Let’s look at a real life example.  

The tree roots in this front yard in Sacramento have made a very obvious impact to the driveway. It’s not hard to miss damage like this, right? The photo above does give the illusion that the raised driveway is truck-sized, but my shoe below helps show more clearly that one slab has been pushed 3-4 inches higher than the other slab. It’s always important to bring in an object to the photo to help give perspective (maybe a ruler, quarter, dollar, etc… or shoe).

A trip hazard is a subjective call to make by the appraiser and not necessarily an automatic repair, but in this case above my sense is that this is a legitimate safety issue. There is confusion over trip hazards due to HUD Mortgagee Letter 2005- ML-48 (pdf) which indicates that trip hazards are no longer an automatic repair. Sometimes this is interpreted to mean that trip hazards are no longer an issue to be called out, but that’s not really the intent of FHA because guidelines require a property to be free of all known hazards and adverse conditions that might affect the health and safety of occupants.

Do you think a driveway as such might be a safety hazard? Have you encountered difficulties funding a loan due to a driveway like this?

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

An empty pool might seem like no big deal, but it doesn’t do much to propel a loan forward because of the challenges it presents. What are the risks?

1. Someone can fall in and break a [fill in the blank].
2. Standing water is an invitation for mosquitos, which then increases the risk for mosquito-transmitted diseases such as West Nile Virus. 
3. The swimming pool could sustain damage from not being filled over time. 
4. Lastly, how can you really know if a pool is working properly if it’s empty?  

I recommend talking with a trusted loan professional to understand specific lending guidelines, but I will say in light of the risks above, most lenders will want to see pools filled and functioning properly because of the health and safety risks associated with an empty pool. I’ve had a couple of instances lately for both FHA and conventional loans where my client wanted me to head back out to verify repairs were made to a pool (after I noted green water and/or missing pool equipment). I am not a pool specialist of course, so I am very careful about what I can and cannot verify as a real estate appraiser.

I’d be curious to hear your experience with pools and real estate, and also if you have any other risks to add to the list above. 

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

Privacy is priceless, right? How would you feel about living in a second-story bedroom that is directly in line with a hallway to the house next door (about 10 ft away)? I suppose it would make borrowing sugar or butter from neighbors a bit easier if you installed some sort of dumbwaiter, but my suspicion is that the occupant of the bedroom would do very little with the blinds open (especially at night).

I snapped this photo recently while on an appraisal inspection. My inner-designer always cringes when seeing flaws like this that dampen privacy. It’s almost as if you would have to avert your eyes to avoid looking in the neighbor’s house, right? I’ve never personally had a window with this set-up, but I know friends who have seen far more than they bargained for due to windows as such. 

Would this be a deal-killer or no big deal for you when purchasing a house? Have you ever lived in a house where your privacy felt cramped for some reason?

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook.

It’s nice to take pause and see good things happening in the Sacramento real estate market. It’s not all bad news thankfully. Below are three houses on 37th Street in the Oak Park area that began construction several years back, but ended up going into foreclosure during the building process. These houses sat vacant for quite a while until they were purchased in January 2010 by an investor. All units have since been rehabbed throughout and are currently listed for sale. I snapped the half-built photo in October 2009 and the remodeled photo last week. 

This is a win for the neighborhood, don’t you think?  

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

I came across an interesting front yard recently while snapping comp photos during an appraisal inspection in West Sacramento. None of the eclectic lawn decor is actually fixed to the ground, so it’s considered personal property and could easily be removed. But situations like this bring up the principle of conformity in real estate, and cause us to ask questions. Could it impact market value when the front yard presentation doesn’t fit with the look of the rest of the neighborhood? Would an atypical lawn potentially dissuade you from purchasing the house next door? What might decorations like this do for relationships with neighbors – both good and bad?

Comments are welcome below. I’d especially like to hear from home owners as well as real estate agents. Share your story.

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook.

It’s been pouring rain over the past week in Sacramento (except yesterday thankfully). While on an appraisal inspection in the City of Galt on Friday, I snapped this image off Fumasi Drive at Vernon E Greer Middle School. The baseball diamond looks quite a bit like a lake, don’t you think?

There is traditionally a lull in real estate market activity during Winter months as inventory shoots up and prices cool down too. One of the advantages of shopping around during wet months though is that you get to see just how well the roof works. For example, I’ve had two very recent appraisal inspections where there has been obvious active water leaking. Had these inspections been in summer months though, there is a good chance the roof problem would have been missed because there may have been no obvious damage.

Do you have a leaky roof story? Or maybe leaking windows?

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our company website or via Facebook.

Don’t follow the crowd. Be a leader. Do not conform to what everyone else is doing. Well, unless we’re talking about real estate. That’s when conformity becomes important.

What is the principle of conformity? According to the Real Estate Glossary, it’s the idea that a house will more likely appreciate in value if its size, age, condition and style are similar to, or conform to, other houses in the neighborhood.

Case-in-point: This photo was taken by a blog reader of a neighborhood in Sacramento County that is less than ten years old. Houses are typical earth-tone colors with stucco siding and tile roofs, and yards are postage stamp lots. The owner of the house below installed a very elaborate set of stairs that is not found anywhere else in the neighborhood. There is truthfully nothing wrong with the design of the stairs at all, but the problem is they don’t fit with the community. When a feature like this stands out in a neighborhood, it can often feel like a sore thumb. One additional issue is that the stairs basically remove the front yard too, which could impact resale value.

Application of the Principle of Conformity: The stairs are not an extreme non-conformity example, but they do help us get conversation going about what types of improvements are best for a neighborhood. If you are considering improving your property, you may wish to consider updates that are consistent with the neighborhood already and enhance the overall image of the community. It’s good to be known for having the best house on the block, but maybe not so good to be known for having a really odd property feature. This means you probably shouldn’t lay down concrete over the entire front yard if its common to have sod for the neighborhood. You may wish to reconsider doubling the size of your house when everything else surrounding your property is tiny. You’ve really been wanting that bright hot pink color on the exterior, but the new paint probably won’t be a magnet for future buyers. You’ve always dreamed of living in the Bat Cave, but maybe stucco and tile ought to suffice for the time being. Basically, you don’t want to add features that harm your wallet or leave prospective buyers in the neighborhood thinking, “Hmm, I’d rather not live next door to that house.” When that happens, it certainly smells like a negative impact to market value.

What examples of non-conformity in real estate can you think of? Do you buy into the principle of conformity for real estate? How might non-conformity impact relationships with neighbors?

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our company website or via Facebook.