Any appraisers on here? (properties, sales, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania)

[kimrocktherealtor]

Just curious if there were any appraisers on here who could answer some questions for me? I am a realtor so I know how to do comps - but I am looking to purchase a house that isnt in a traditional "neighborhood" so I am having a hard time finding comps for it. Just wondering if an appraiser would not mind looking at the area and seeing what he thinks the appraisal may come up at?

[Annemieke Roell]

I am an appraiser but certified in Oklahoma, not Pennsylvania. I am not sure how I can help except assist in determining a few things without coming to a value conclusion........

[Goodpasture]

Comparables are sales that exchange the same bundle of rights on properties that are similar, proximate, and recent. The two critical factors are the same rights, and similar. If you have to go to more historic sales (more than a year old) then do so. If you have to go to a different neighborhood, then do so.

Generally speaking a neighborhood is that area around a house a reasonable person would let their 10 year old kid ride their bike without supervision.

There are two kinds of neighborhoods to look for. Comparable.....one where the houses are the same age, the same economic strata, the same external influences (school district, tax base, etc), same locational considerations. And Competitive......a neighborhood where a knowledgeable buyer would buy without prejudice if the subject neighborhood did not have the "right" house.

Competitive and Comparable neighborhoods establish a "market area." Any differences between neighborhoods should be reconciled.

If you have to go "back in time" for a comparable, then do a comparison of that older comparable to conventional houses that sold in the same time frame. Develop a ratio between them and apply that ratio to houses that sold recently that are similar to the conventional house historic sale. Use that ratio to apply to the subject.

Sometimes you can have a similar house to the subject, but there are extraordinary items or features that make it unsuitable. Something like a house with a view or lake front as opposed to an interior lot house. In that case, try to extract the land value from the two of them and compare the value of the GLA minus the land and non-GLA improvements. Then reconstruct the value of the subject. Absent recent sales of land, you might be able to use allocation to achieve a land value.

Allocation is when you allocate a percentage of the total value to the land. It is based on mass appraising techniques used by assessors offices. While they may not have the numbers right, they usually have a good idea of the ratio of land to improved values. Do half a dozen tracts and you will be able to estimate the land-as-though-vacant value pretty closely.