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appraiser functional obsolescence

Things that don’t add much value to your home

September 27, 2017 By Ryan Lundquist 25 Comments

We’re always talking about what adds the most value to homes, but what about things that DON’T add much value? In other words, what can you do to your home that will help you get you very little return? I asked colleagues in the 100% Appraisers Group on Facebook to pitch in some thoughts about items that don’t tend to add value, and here’s what they said. Anything to add to the list? I’d love to hear your take in the comments.

First, some general principles:

1) Just because it was expensive doesn’t mean it’s valuable.

2) Buyers don’t often pay the cost of what the owner spent (except on HGTV).

3) Some features are more valuable depending on the price range and location. There isn’t one list of upgrades that can apply everywhere equally.

4) Appraisers don’t actually give value. Instead they recognize it in the market.

5) Buyers tend to focus on the total package of a house, which means they aren’t looking to pay for each specific upgrade.

PLEASE READ: Just because something is on the list below doesn’t mean it adds nothing. The issue is the contributory value is often much less than the cost of the item. So from a cost perspective we can generally say owners are probably not getting the most bang for the buck with many of these features. The problem though with any value list is that in some situations and markets any of these items could be a big deal for value (like parking spaces in a big city or a pool in the luxury market). So just read this generally as it is intended, check out the comments, and pitch in your thoughts. Please also see principles 1-5 above. This paragraph was added later on 09/27/17 to help clarify.

Improvements that don’t get much value from appraisers:

  1. Water softener.
  2. Walk-in bath tubs (like this one).
  3. Whole house vacuum system.
  4. Built-in pool (buyers rarely pay the same as the cost).
  5. Over-the-top expensive landscaping.
  6. Expensive repairs for something that is working fine in other homes.
  7. Highly-upgraded granite vs standard granite.
  8. Really thick granite compared to standard granite.
  9. Fruit trees.
  10. Expensive blinds or window coverings.
  11. Chicken coops.
  12. Extra outlets.
  13. Radiant barrier.
  14. Reverse osmosis system.
  15. Whole house humidifier. 
  16. Ceramic vs porcelain tile.
  17. Solar panels (nobody pays the full cost of a system in one instance).
  18. Leased solar panels (they’re considered personal property).
  19. Upgrades that were in style in 2002 (might not be in style now).
  20. A previously remodeled kitchen a couple of decades ago.
  21. Specialized heat and air systems.
  22. Foundation repairs (buyers expect a solid foundation already).
  23. Having too many garages for the market.
  24. Above ground hot tubs (considered personal property).
  25. Above ground pools (considered personal property).
  26. Anything that is too personalized.
  27. 4-Car vs 3-Car garage.
  28. Tandem garage.
  29. Cabinets in the garage.
  30. Epoxy flooring in the garage.
  31. Phone jacks in every room.
  32. Guesthouse (adds value, but probably costs way more).
  33. Christmas lighting package from the builder.
  34. Lot elevation premium from the builder.
  35. 6 ceiling fans vs 5 ceiling fans (so minor).
  36. 4-inch vs 5-inch baseboards (so minor).
  37. Over-the-top outdoor kitchens.
  38. Blue bathroom paint (ask Zillow about that one).
  39. Oversized parking pad.
  40. Really expensive outbuildings or custom shops.
  41. Brand new fencing (buyers won’t likely pay the full cost).
  42. Retaining wall.
  43. Designer paint.
  44. What else?

Key questions for home owners when upgrading a home:

1) Do other homes have this feature?

2) Are other homes commanding higher prices because of the feature? If so, how much higher?

3) What are investors doing in their flips to get the most bang for their buck?

Thank you again to the group of appraisers who pitched in some thoughts. Appraisers, if I used something you said, please comment below, introduce yourself, share some thoughts, and let us know what you said.

I hope this was helpful or interesting.

Questions: What else would you add to the list? Does anything on the list surprise you?

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Filed Under: Appraisal Stuff, Resources Tagged With: 100% Appraisers Group on Facebook, appraiser functional obsolescence, appraiser survey, contributory value, Functional Obsolescence, less value for upgrades, list of improvements, Overimprovement, superadequacy, things not to do to a house, upgrades

Stairway to functional obsolescence

August 28, 2012 By Ryan Lundquist 11 Comments

This is a nice looking house, right? It has upgrades galore and is over 4000 square feet. There are five bedrooms, four full bathrooms and a decent-sized lot. This house may be slightly overpriced, but on top of that, prospective buyers have not been making offers. Take a close look and see if you can guess why no offers have been made. What do you see?

Example of functional obsolescence

Why is this house sitting on the market? While this property has many appealing features, the stairs have been an issue for buyers according to the Listing Agent. Why? Because there are stairs to get to the front porch from the driveway, stairs inside from the first floor to the second floor and stairs from the garage to the first floor of the home. We expect stairs inside, but it can be very taxing for buyers to have to walk up stairs to get into the house from the driveway and through the garage. There is literally no other way to access the house besides going up stairs. This would of course be a great way to burn calories, but it would be a pain for grocery shopping, baby transport and many other everyday details of life.

What is functional obsolescence? It is ”a reduction in the usefulness or desirability of an object because of an outdated (or odd) design feature, usually one that cannot be easily changed” (from Investopedia). We see functional obsolescence when there is a feature of a house that is not useful to buyers for one reason or another. It may have been acceptable at some point in the past, but is now outdated, or it may simply be odd and less appealing. Other examples of functional obsolescence include having to walk through a bedroom to get to another bedroom, having no dishwasher in the kitchen, no laundry hook-ups, or having no bathrooms on the first floor of a house.

This is a very nice home that’ll sell eventually, but since all buyers have passed on this property so far, it’ll likely sell at a discount because of the stairs. While appraising a home in this neighborhood, I chose not to use this listing in my appraisal report because of the stairs. I explained in my report why this property was not a good indicator of value for the market.

Would stairs like this matter to you?

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

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Filed Under: Appraisal Stuff, Resources Tagged With: 2-story house, appraisal report functional obsolescence, appraiser functional obsolescence, example of functional obsolescence, Functional Obsolescence, Home Appriaser, House Appraiser, impact of stairs on real estate, porch stairs, sacramento appraisers, stairs

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