Shacks, Cockfighting Arenas, and Backyard Cemeteries
You may have a unique home with some unusual features but today I’m going to tell you about some of the more interesting properties I’ve appraised over the years.
First, from the “Things always aren’t what they seem” department: I was asked to do a “drive-by” exterior appraisal on a property on the outskirts of the county. That means we look at the outside of a residence and use public records for information such as square footage, room count, etc, in our analysis. We are then asked to assume average quality and condition for the interior of the house. When I drove by the exterior it looked like a typical, average quality frame house from the road. But something told me to stop and look a little closer. When I knocked on the door and walked in, I was inside a manufactured home. The owner had built a frame shell around his manufactured home to make it look stick-built. It helps the value on drive-by appraisals, he told me.
I’ve also had the reverse happen. I drove up to a rural property a few years back that looked like an old barn. While trying to figure out where I made a wrong turn the owner stepped out of the old rickety shack and asked me in. Upon entering, I saw that the interior was a showplace and a beautiful home. I asked him why the interior was so nice yet the outside looked like it should be condemned.
“Keeps my taxes down,” he proudly replied.
Then there was the suburban home that had a rifle firing range inside the house. I’m not sure what the zoning regulations are on that but it probably never came up in the weekly P & Z meeting downtown.
I’ve seen several vaults that were taken from real banks and installed in the homes. It doesn’t add much value but you can be sure your possessions are secure.
Having a championship par 3 golf course hole as part of your backyard is also a nice little feature that I’ve seen.
One of my more interesting assignments was the farm I appraised that had the cock-fighting arena. It was high-tech as far as game cocking goes, I suppose, complete with several oval, sunken fighting areas and basketball type bleachers on four sides. After tripping on the liquor bottles and feathers, I got out of there as quickly as I could. They don’t teach how to value cock fighting facilities in appraisal school, you know.
But my favorite was the elderly lady who called me because she could not figure out why no one wanted to buy her home in the city limits. It had been on the market for a very long time at a reasonable price yet there were no takers. Walking into the back yard I realized why.
“What are these tombstones,” I asked her, not really wanting to hear her reply.
“Oh, it’s cheaper to just bury everybody here and besides, I can visit whenever I want.”
Happy Halloween!