I'm guessing the net adjustment threshold for the comparable is 20%+/-, not the square footage. Any comp with adjustments exceeding 20%+/- will throw up a red flag. Yes and no. The USPAP guidelines are intentionally vague and the Appraiser is required to employ all approaches (sales, income, and/or cost) necessary for the procurement of "credible results". Usually a cost approach is done as a "test for reasonableness" and the value conclusion is almost always less than the sales comparison approach for a non-income producing residential property due to the depreciation of the improvements. Also, assuming this is a single family residential property, the income approach is probably excluded for lack of comparable rental data and/or if it's a legally permissible use for the subject. i.e. zoning. And it would require additional work (more than the appraiser bid on) in calculating the taxes due to the elimination of the homestead exemption. The bid requests the appraiser receives from the lender or the AMC almost never have sufficient information to determine the scope of work. The appraiser probably won the bid, determined it would be much more work than he bid on after the fact, and walked away because it wasn't worth his time. I'm licensed as a Certified General Appraiser in probably 15 states and have completed assignments in probably 30 states. I don't actively appraise anymore (thank god) and I've completed maybe 2 residential appraisals in the 10 years or so that I was actively appraising. Appraisers are the paupers of the real estate world, are typically miserable, overworked, underpaid, and always blamed. AMA.
I’ve got a Sensi that’s the same way. I can schedule it by day and add as many different times as I want.
That may also be true, but they were very clear on the square footage not being able to go +/- 20% Yeah my agent's opinion was that the appraiser was 'lazy' and/or it turned out to be more than they bargained for. I do know that the appraisal initially was 'acceptable' and got caught by some kind of internal QC process, where it was debated, and ultimately canceled. But we got a new mortgage who is dealing with a new appraiser, who is apparently very experienced, and we're getting this ship righted.
I’m looking at a lot of crawl space and window work for a house I won’t be in for 2 more years. Is it worth it?
What type of crawl space work? If it’s a drainage issue, it’ll almost definitely show up on inspection and you’ll have to give money for a French drain. As long as the windows aren’t rotting or in horrible shape, I’d wait that out.
Just a bunch of rubble down there. I’m in a flood plain so I’m thinking about getting a vapor barrier
Rubble? Damn your house succumb to an earth quake? I’d probably not try to bandaid a problem if you’re selling in two years. Just sell it and make you concessions at that time.
Almost 1 year update: Interviewed a few builders and have selected one. Have a rough floor plan and layout and rough estimate of cost based on selected materials. Have to commit a sum of cash to have design team fully draft plans and then we will have final cost worked out and construction can begin. First question for the board is to give me some necessities for an outdoor kitchen. I'm not looking to get too crazy (fire pit/chimney will be something I do in phase 2). I have an egg and I may pick up a pellet grill one day so this is what I'm thinking: I want a poured pad off the backyard side of my attached garage and it want it covered. I think concrete countertops. Small sink, minifridge, cut out for egg, multiple electrical recepticals, ceiling fan(s) withpossibly some post mounted circulating fan(s) on corner posts. Will mount a cheap flat screen on the wall. Anything important I may be forgetting?
Build it larger than you think you need then add more room. No matter how much space you plan for it won’t be enough.
Been having issues with skunks this month. Dogs have been sprayed 3 times which has been fun. Turns out, a neighbor up the green belt a little bit feeds them and my house is on their path. They don't appear rabid but I'm over it. Striped skunks aren't protected in oklahoma so I am looking to pick up a decent pellet gun to eliminate the problem. I haven't been able to find anything about legality of using a pellet gun for some urban hunting. Anyone have any idea on the rules here?
What's the difficulty of installing a ceiling fan?? My house is new constitution and I believe there is a placeholder in the ceiling of every room for a fan. Circular cover where a fan would go in most rooms. So don't think I'd need to do any electrical outside hooking it up or can installation for it to hang
If the fixture box is already there and wiring is run then it’s a simple installation. 1-2 hours max. I just replaced one on our back patio. Taking the old down and replacing was maybe 2 hours. I’d make sure to check a wiring thoroughly before going through the trouble of installing the fan, though. I don’t trust anybody’s electrical work. Mine included.
if the cap is there, the wiring is done, just remove the cap and install the fan. if you can do basic wiring, you can do this.
If skunks are anything like cats you can send him to court over it for “skunks at large” Spoiler southlick
Have you hung or mounted any lights? it's pretty much the same thing. If the box is already there (which it seems like it is) then you should be able to do it in a few hours.
I am a pretty terrible home plumber and have a slow leak coming out of one of the handles in my bathroom sink. Water just drips out whenever you turn the knob, almost directly out of the knob itself. How hard is it going to be to repair this? what tools do I need? after googling I'm thinking I need to replace the O-ring.
Knobs and faucets are easy. Usually can unscrew/disconnect from underneath the cabinet. Just make sure water is turned off to the sink before you start taking things apart
Anyone have experience with water leak sensors? Looking for something that I can trust to stop water in an emergency. I don't think I need one with Smart capabilities, and audible alarm would be fine though.
I don't think what you are looking for exists. There isn't a sure fire way to differentiate between running water and a leak. the sensors work by realizing that your water is running consistently at an abnormal and alerting you. Without smart capabilities, your alarm would be going off anytime someone takes a long shower or you use your home to water a dry spot in the lawn for a few hours. Flo is what my neighbor has and swears by it.
So we just bought a row house in DC that's newly renovated, all new construction. Problem is they didn't zone the central air at all and there's about a 15 degree difference between the basement and the top floor. We're having a contractor come out to talk about zoning tomorrow, but anyone done this and have a clue about what to expect as an estimate? Seems like they can do it mostly with dampeners without a full rework of the central air, but I know nothing.
Its almost 100 years old but was completely stripped down and rebuilt. Don't think they kept much of anything outside.
My buddies over at This Old House are telling me that there may be some products on the market. Like you said, there seems to be some inherent faults with those so personal experiences from others might be helpful. I've seen Flo, and that's my leader in the clubhouse. https://www.thisoldhouse.com/plumbing/21258578/smart-automatic-water-shut-off-valves
I have nothing to add to this other than I have the same issue in my 3 story townhouse in Fairfax. I’ll be curious to hear what you learn. I got insulated shades for the upper windows and tightened up some insulation where possible. I cover the lower floor air registers as well. This helped some... as well as ceiling fans. My neighbor put in an attic fan and claims that helped some too if yours is anything like mine, you get the opposite during the winter. A small portable heater works well in the winter though
Are you looking for something like this? (Turn off Ad Blocker). I am trying to figure out if he is looking for a sensor or a valve.
Looking for a valve that will shut off flow when it detects a leak. I don’t need it to necessarily connect to WiFi if it will stop flow automatically.
Basically, they cheaped out on the HVAC when they flipped the place (surprise) and don't have separate ducts feeding the upstairs and the downstairs, so there's a quick fix ($1000) that may or may not work or a rework of the duct system ($3000-$5000). I'd also have to hire a drywall contractor to let them get to the system and then replace it, and most reputable places won't take a job that small. In other words, homeownership sucks.
They need to rip out drywall either way? What was the plan for the 1k option? I would suggest trying what I’ve done. It’s only a big issue for July and August around here. Maybe I’m just a cheap ass though
Yeah, the cheap option would only require them to tear out a fraction of the portion of the drywall in order to install a manual dampener that closes off the bottom vents in the summer, forcing more air upwards to the third floor. Could probably done taking only one piece of drywall out. More expensive option involves ripping out the whole bulkhead in the basement, probably 10x as much drywall.
Your talking about one unit here I'm assuming? One unit will never efficiently cool 2 floors let alone 3. If it was me I'd just let the one unit handle the main floor (assuming it's not way oversized). Not sure if you saw my post from a couple weeks ago but I just helped my SIL with a very similar problem. We went the mini split route, I'm a big fan of them in general but they are usually a lot easier to deal with a reno type project since you don't have to deal with any ductwork just line sets.
New construction is most likely the key there. Good insulation, windows, doors etc help with the load. Then installed properly you can get by with one unit for two floors. That's definitely the exception in my experience though.