Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing Appraisals

[Elizabeth Stevenson (tamgoddess]

The appraisal needs to cover the cost of the sale so the buyer can get a
mortgage, though. So it's not just a matter of whether it will sell or not.

We had some difficulty in that area, since our homes were selling for *more*
than market rate for a number of years while the neighborhood was less
desirable than it is now. With influx from the Bay Area (is there anyplace
on the west coast that hasn't been screwed up by transplanted San
Franciscans*?), this has become a place of gentrification, and the problem
has gone away. We could sell a house here five times over for above-market
prices. The appraisals have gone up to match the selling prices.

One thing we did was to try to get sympathetic appraisers for the first few
homes that were hard to sell. We gave them information about other cohousing
communities that were comparable, instead of neighborhood properties. We
played up the amenities, and the low HOA dues and high reserve fund.
Cohousers really have the rest of the condo market beat on that score.

Of course, as soon as one sold, we were more or less home free. So the
burden is really on the first seller to prove that there is a market for
your homes. You can also see if the seller can show that there is a buyer
for the home at a higher price, and see if the appraiser will up the price.

-- 
Liz Stevenson
Southside Park Cohousing
Sacramento, California
tamgoddess [at] attbi.com


> 
> At Sharingwood, Snohomish, WA, have had the opposite problem, appraisals at
> so far above the market that foolish sellers, expecting high profits, price
> their  homes far beyond the market, and they don't sell.
> 
> Rob Sandelin

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