From Baton Rouge Real Estate Appraisals:
I ran across a situation in the Greater Baton Rouge Housing Market where a homeowner, located in a subdivision where the average home is worth $150,000, installed a $60,000 Gunite Inground Pool recently. Now, their home is on the market and they are about to be taken through the “school of hard knocks” when the appraiser doesn’t give them any more than $5,000 to maybe $7,500 contributory value for their pool. I’ve been appraising now for 18 years and see these types of situation several times per year and just shake my head when I see this happen.
Why only $5,000 to $7,500 contributory value for a $60,000 “gunite” pool? It’s not that “blankety blank” appraiser’s fault. It’s actually the market, the buyers, that don’t reward such expensive overimprovements. And mortgage underwriters that scrutinize the appraisals when appraisers do.
See the rest of the story at www.batonrougerealestateappraisal.com
So true. That’s why I tell my buyers to buy a home with a pool and not to put one in.