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Photos of 5 common FHA loan issues

February 2, 2012 By Ryan Lundquist Leave a Comment

I wanted to share some photos of five common FHA condition issues I come across during appraisal inspections. If you see something like this at a property you’re selling or buying, it’ll likely require correction before FHA will guarantee the loan.

Green Pool Water: Yes, this is deemed a health issue. The water shouldn’t be green, right? Besides, if you cannot see the bottom of the pool, you never know if there is damage at the bottom anyway.

photo of green pool water

Empty Pool: An empty pool might be a skateboarder’s paradise, but it’s an obstacle to obtain financing due to being considered a safety issue. A pool like this one (covered, but empty) typically has to be filled up before the close of escrow. The lender will most likely ask the appraiser to go back out to the property to verify the pool has been filled (not verify whether it is actually working like it should since most appraisers aren’t pool experts).

Photo of covered empty pool

Paint Cans Hiding in the Crawl Space: There is no rule from FHA saying paint cans cannot be in a crawl space, but when I see something like this, it’s a red flag because chemicals should not have the opportunity to seep into the soil. Since calling out potential health or safety issues is sometimes a subjective decision for the appraiser to make, it’s important to contact HUD on occasion as well as reach out to fellow local appraisers to say, “would you call this out too?” In this case, all that needs to happen is for the containers to be removed from the crawl space. That’s easy enough, right? By the way, regarding the attic and crawl space, a bit of debris is fine, but anything excessive could likely be an issue requiring repair.

Photo of paint cans in the crawl space

Security Bars without Safety Release: If there is no safety release mechanism on a set of security bars, that’s an obvious safety issue that’ll need to be corrected before FHA can guarantee the loan. Usually the bars are removed and then the appraiser will go snap a photo to show the lender the bars were removed.

Photo of security bars without safety release mechanism

Dangling Wires: Electrical wires hanging from the ceiling or walls is a big deal since even small wires can cause a huge jolt and be life-threatening too. If you see wires like this in a house heading toward FHA financing, expect to have to solve the problem by installing a new fixture (or doing electrical work if need be).

Photo of dangling wire on ceiling

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve written quite a few FHA appraisal articles in case you wish to learn more about what to expect during the appraisal process.

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

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Filed Under: FHA Appraisal Articles Tagged With: certified real estate appraiser, dangling electrical wires, FHA Appraisal Standards, FHA minimum property stnadards, green pool water, health and safety issue, Home Appraiser in Sacramento, how to pass an FHA loan, no safety release on security bars, paint cans in crawl space, Sacramento Appraisal Service, security bars, vacant pool, what the appraiser looks for during inspection

High voltage towers and property value

January 23, 2012 By Ryan Lundquist 6 Comments

Would it bother you to live next to a high voltage tower? I snapped these photos recently while in a neighborhood in the Sacramento area. You can see these towers are very close to the houses (within 100 feet easily in some cases). While someone selling the property might be tempted to say the house “backs to open space”, the view is clearly obstructed and dominated by the presence of the tower, so any “open space” premium is likely watered-down a bit, right? In appraisal terminology, we’re dealing with external obsolescence, which is a reduction in value caused by an undesirable factor outside the property.

How have you seen buyers respond to a location near a power tower? What do you think is the main turn-off in the minds of buyers? Visual pollution or a potential for health risks due to electromagnetic fields?

Photo of high voltage tower by Sacramento Appraiser

Photo of high voltage tower by Sacramento Appraiser

Photo of high voltage tower by Sacramento Appraiser

Photo of high voltage tower by Sacramento Appraiser

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

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Filed Under: Appraisal Stuff, Photos from the Field Tagged With: appraisal external obsolescence, electromagnetic fields, external obsolescence, high voltage tower, Home Appraiser in Sacramento, HV towers, impact of high voltage tower on real estate, Negative impact in real estate, photos of power towers and houses, Sacramento Appraisal Service, visual pollution

Improved Site – Cost to Demo = Market Value

January 19, 2012 By Ryan Lundquist 2 Comments

Sometimes there really isn’t any value in a house. I’m working on an appraisal right now where the cost to demolish the house looks to be the only “value” the structure is bringing to the lot. When a house has very poor workmanship, a shoddy foundation, does not conform to current code in any sense and is all around sub-par in quality and construction, it’s not too likely to be a positive contributor for value.

Improved Site – Cost to Demo = Market Value

In a valuation like this I would not just consider the raw land, but also the contribution of value for any other improvements too – namely water and sewer on the site (hence the term “improved site”). But the cost to demolish the property also must be considered in a case like this because a buyer in his right mind wouldn’t pay money for an inhabitable house that is well beyond a reasonable cost-to-cure.

school-teacher-chalkboard-message-generator

The moral of the story? Just because a house exists does not mean it has value. In so many cases a house can be salvaged, but in some cases a house just needs to meet a bulldozer instead.

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

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Filed Under: Appraisal Stuff Tagged With: as is house, challenging appraisals, establish market value, Home Appraiser, house needs a demo, how to value property with house demo, improved site, Sacramento Appraisal Service, value of land

Duplex and Fourplex Activity in Sacramento County

January 9, 2012 By Ryan Lundquist Leave a Comment

Here’s a glimpse of what’s been going on in the duplex and fourplex real estate market in Sacramento County. Have a look at the graphs below and let me know what you see. There is quite span in price level of course because there is a big difference between areas such as Del Paso Heights, Land Park, Pocket/Greenhaven, South Sacramento, Midtown, etc… If you’ve been paying attention to the 2-4 unit market, what trends have you been seeing lately? If you are an investor, what price range and/or area do you target most often?

By the way, I have a few videos coming up in the next month or so with a local real estate investment specialist. The videos will highlight 2-4 unit trends in more detail. Be on the lookout.

All Duplex Sales in Sacramento County by Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser

Graph of Sacramento County Fourplex Sales by Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

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Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: 2-4 unit market in Sacramento, graph of duplex sales in Sacramento County, graph of foruplex sales in Sacramento County, Quadruplex, real estate appraiser in Sacramento County, Sacramento Appraisal Service, Sacramento County duplex sales, Sacramento County fourplex sales, Sacramento real estate inspections, Sacramento real estate investor

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First off, thank you for being here. Now let's get into the fine print. The material and information contained on this website is the copyrighted property of Ryan Lundquist and Lundquist Appraisal Company. Content on this website may not be reproduced or republished without prior written permission from Ryan Lundquist.

Please see my Sharing Policy on the navigation bar if you are interested in sharing portions of any content on this blog.

The information on this website is meant entirely for educational purposes and is not intended in any way to support an opinion of value for your appraisal needs or any sort of value conclusion for a loan, litigation, tax appeal or any other potential real estate or non-real estate purpose. The material found on this website is meant for casual reading only and is not intended for use in a court of law or any other legal use. Ryan will not appear in court in any capacity based on any information posted here. For more detailed market analysis to be used for an appraisal report or any appraisal-related purpose or valuation consulting, please contact Ryan at 916-595-3735 for more information.

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