I’m the buyer here. Under contract for a 5b/2ba house 2600sqft that appraised for $30k below offer. The basement is below ground no walkout and includes 2br/1ba and mostly finished. The appraiser assigned NO VALUE to the basement and only included upstairs which is 1300sqft 3br1ba. I know below ground basement doesn’t count towards “gross living area” but I thought it was supposed to get 50% value for finished space?
Tentative plan is meet at new appraised value and now I cover 100% of closing costs (previously covered by seller). House also needs a new roof and some other repairs totaling $20k.
Could this possibly benefit me in the future if next appraiser does add value to basement? Is this standard to assign no value to even finished below ground basement? I was planning on updating the existing bathroom down there and finishing the remaining space but now this throws a huge wrench and I’m afraid of financially getting screwed since this isn’t our forever home. Maybe a few years then rent/sell. I’m a first time buyer so appreciate any advice!
Appraisal $30k below offer
byu/Yellowpomegranate579 inRealEstate
Posted by Yellowpomegranate579
2 Comments
Basement would have to qualify as “legal” living area
This is pretty normal for basements. Depends on the appraiser. I had a three bedroom house that I finished work. Two of the bedrooms were in the basement, the appraiser didn’t include them as legal bedrooms. Came out to 140,000 instead of 200,000 where I was expecting. I’m pretty sure market value would be 200,000.