Cohousing-L Mailing List: Appraisals

[John Major (themajors]

Hi, folks -

I've been through Stuart's great archives on the coho site on the
subject of appraisals, and thanks to those contributors, but I'm going
to appeal for more help to the list as well. It sounds like plenty of
groups have had challenges getting appraisers to value the unique
aspects of cohousing, because there are so few "comps" (comparable
units) to look at, among other things.

We feel that Salt Lake City as a strong housing market plays in our
favor, but that we may still be right out on the edge with our costs,
because the area we are building in hasn't yet seen the appreciation of
other areas. So I am looking for ammunition as we go into the appraisal
process for our construction loan. Of course, we will need it again when
we face the appraisals for the end loans, as well. :

- Do you have a success story with getting appraisers to value the
special aspects of cohousing? (common house, green belt, shared
facilities, etc.) Do you think your appraiser would talk to ours?

- Does your development now have a waiting list for available units?
Have you seen strong demand for your homes? Do they price at or above
comparables in the neighborhood?

- Have you got a war story to share on this topic? Something bad to
watch out for?


Thanks in advance -

John Major
Wasatch Cohousing, Salt Lake City, UT
...where we are doing the mating dance with banks, and are getting hives
from waiting to start!