Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Appraising Coho Amenities

[R Philip Dowds (rphilipdowds]

Hmm.  It seems to me that there are high-end (often gated) condo communities 
out there that have far more elaborate amenities (like a golf course with club 
house and pool) than do most cohos.  Downtown luxury condo highrises will often 
include private pools, exercise rooms, functions rooms, and so on.  It 
surprises me that appraisers cannot cope with this.  It sounds more like the 
term "cohousing" queers the deal.  "What say? A communist what ...?"

RPD

On Feb 6, 2012, at 10:40 AM, Sharon Villines wrote:

> 
> 
> On 6 Feb 2012, at 10:26 AM, R Philip Dowds wrote:
> 
>> I thought the idea is that, when you own a condo unit, you also own a 
>> proportionate share of the Association's pool, racketball court, horse barn, 
>> helicopter pad, etc.  I would have imagined that appraisers do indeed take 
>> into account such shared amenities of real property.  I would not expect 
>> that they would try to value intangibles like cohousing communal lifestyle 
>> and self-governance.
> 
> They only do it to the extent that other condos have amenities. They have no 
> basis for appraising the much greater proportion of amenities. As I said, one 
> consultant told us that comparable common elements would only exist if the 
> condo had 400 units. We have 43, so if our condo price is the same as theirs, 
> the extra common space is not being appraised. And the appraisers tell us it 
> isn't 
> 
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines, Washington DC
> "Behavior is determined by the prevailing form of decision making." Gerard 
> Endenburg
> 
> 
> 
> 
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