Appraising a House with a nice backyard- Help

skd8 · 11-04-2009, 04:36 PM

I am from the east coast but moving to Madison, WI soon for a new job and looking to buy a house for the first time! We had taken a short trip to Madison few days ago to meet with our realtors and look at about 10-20 prospective houses. Of which we liked one, it has a good floor plan, good neighborhood and good sun light (on the downside it does need a lot of updating- it has old appliances and bad bathrooms) but one of the biggest asset of the house is the backyard, it’s very private and large with a small stream flowing through it.

Now after doing some marketing analysis we realized that the houses in the same neighborhood have been selling at an average of about 118-130 per sq/ft. This house however is priced at 150 per sq/ft and we thought its really over priced but our realtor has been telling us that the yard can easily add almost $100,000 to the value of the house. Is this true? I did look through several websites and did some research but I couldn’t validate this information, just wondering any one here with good real estate knowledge who could guide us with this. I will be happy to provide more details.
Help is appreciated

kaitlyn142 · 11-04-2009, 10:03 PM

I haven't got the slightest idea, but I thought I'd offer a friendly warning about that stream. My childhood house had a lovely stream going through the backyard. Our basement flooded twice due to that thing.

trustno1 · 11-04-2009, 10:55 PM

Also click on the tabs indexed above the search engine box for detailed information
http://www.cityofmadison.com/assessor/property/

http://www.wra.org/consumer_resources/about_wisconsin/housingstats.asp

rosalyvera · 11-05-2009, 02:17 AM

I want to buy a beautiful house. I also need help!

trustno1 · 11-06-2009, 02:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosalyvera

I want to buy a beautiful house. I also need help!

One of the best resources for real estate information is to go to the State website (they all have one), then navigate to the index list of all the counties in that state. Click on the link for the county your prospective property is located in. On the county website, you will find a link to "Assessor" or "residential parcel search" or "property search" (something similar"). This will open a search engine where you can enter a parcel number, address, or range of addresses, or neighborhood. It will give all info about the property...history, sales history, neighborhood sales histories, etc etc.
Even tells the owner...scary eh? Then is there is not a property picture, you can use Google Earth to take a virtual tour of the neighborhood, just like walking in front of the actual house.

Or, realtor.com realtor.org whatsitworth.com etc etc

Realtors work on commission, so of course they lie.

Dr Dean · 11-06-2009, 11:04 AM

skd8,
The only real factor here is do you think the yard is worth the extra money. This is entirely subjective. When you are ready to sell, you will need to find a buyer who also values the yard as you did, to get your money back out.

My suggestions would be to see if a similar lot is for sale close by-and if so how much is the lot, and what would the cost be to build a house that you would want to live in. Construction costs are a lot less now than anytime in the last 8-10 years.

If you have a short-term time horizon in Wis., then it may be hard to find a buyer, and you may want to go with a home without the extra yard.

The good part is Madison home values have held up better than in most of the country.

Good luck on the move, and let us know what you decide to do.

sampetes · 11-08-2009, 11:08 PM

HI,

New home communities are more popular than ever! With good reason - new home builders are using popular, open floor-plans, including appliances, sod, and blinds, and helping make it easier than ever to get into a new home with little or no money. New home transactions typically seem a lot easier, as well. If a buyer chose to, they could get through a new home transaction without contacting anyone except the on-site sales agent. However, this could open you up to huge losses. Take these simple steps to protect yourself in a new home transaction, and to ensure that yours is a success.

Thank you..

11-04-2009, 04:36 PM	#1
skd8 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	Appraising a House with a nice backyard- Help I am from the east coast but moving to Madison, WI soon for a new job and looking to buy a house for the first time! We had taken a short trip to Madison few days ago to meet with our realtors and look at about 10-20 prospective houses. Of which we liked one, it has a good floor plan, good neighborhood and good sun light (on the downside it does need a lot of updating- it has old appliances and bad bathrooms) but one of the biggest asset of the house is the backyard, it’s very private and large with a small stream flowing through it. Now after doing some marketing analysis we realized that the houses in the same neighborhood have been selling at an average of about 118-130 per sq/ft. This house however is priced at 150 per sq/ft and we thought its really over priced but our realtor has been telling us that the yard can easily add almost $100,000 to the value of the house. Is this true? I did look through several websites and did some research but I couldn’t validate this information, just wondering any one here with good real estate knowledge who could guide us with this. I will be happy to provide more details. Help is appreciated

11-04-2009, 10:55 PM	#3
trustno1 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Rocky Mtns, Colorado, USA, Earth Posts: 263 Thanks: 0 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts Reputation: (25)	Also click on the tabs indexed above the search engine box for detailed information http://www.cityofmadison.com/assessor/property/ http://www.wra.org/consumer_resources/about_wisconsin/housingstats.asp __________________ "Think Less, Act More...Life is Short"

11-08-2009, 11:08 PM	#7
sampetes Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	HI, New home communities are more popular than ever! With good reason - new home builders are using popular, open floor-plans, including appliances, sod, and blinds, and helping make it easier than ever to get into a new home with little or no money. New home transactions typically seem a lot easier, as well. If a buyer chose to, they could get through a new home transaction without contacting anyone except the on-site sales agent. However, this could open you up to huge losses. Take these simple steps to protect yourself in a new home transaction, and to ensure that yours is a success. Thank you.. __________________ real estate brokerage firms

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11-04-2009, 10:03 PM	#2
kaitlyn142 Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	I haven't got the slightest idea, but I thought I'd offer a friendly warning about that stream. My childhood house had a lovely stream going through the backyard. Our basement flooded twice due to that thing.

11-05-2009, 02:17 AM	#4
rosalyvera Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	I want to buy a beautiful house. I also need help!

11-06-2009, 11:04 AM	#6
Dr Dean Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Georgia Posts: 14 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Reputation: (11)	skd8, The only real factor here is do you think the yard is worth the extra money. This is entirely subjective. When you are ready to sell, you will need to find a buyer who also values the yard as you did, to get your money back out. My suggestions would be to see if a similar lot is for sale close by-and if so how much is the lot, and what would the cost be to build a house that you would want to live in. Construction costs are a lot less now than anytime in the last 8-10 years. If you have a short-term time horizon in Wis., then it may be hard to find a buyer, and you may want to go with a home without the extra yard. The good part is Madison home values have held up better than in most of the country. Good luck on the move, and let us know what you decide to do.