Appraisal Question (Update)

OK...here's the situation. The house we want to buy has a full finished basement with a kitchen. The kitchen only has the cabinets and the sink. Our lawyer is concerned the bank will not give us a mortgage without a CO (for an apartment). We aren't planning on renting out the space, although I know that doesn't matter. Our mortgage person (affiliated with the bank) does not necessarily think this will be a problem. She is going to be getting back to us after speaking with an appraiser. Thoughts? Has anyone experienced this before? I could be wrong, but I thought that it wouldn't be considered an "apartment" unless it had a stove. Sorry so long and TIA.

Again, thanks for all of the replies. My husband spoke to the bank. Although the house hasn't been appraised yet, our mortgage person spoke to the department that will be handling this at the bank. She said that it should not be a problem at all.

Message edited 3/25/2006 9:22:46 PM.

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It is my understanding that it is the sink that makes it an apartment, not the stove. My parents have a mother/daughter & we were told that the plumbing in the kitchen is what makes it an illegal apartment. At one point we had an inspector come in before we got everything approved and we had to remove the kitchen sink & put a different countertop on so that it looked like we didn't have a sink--the stove was there & it was considered ok.

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It's definitely the sink. I lived in an illegal apartment that was reported and had to move out for a couple of months so the owners could have inspectors come after they removed the sink. You can actually have a stove without a problem, but the sink can only be a "slop" sink (the big plastic tub) for something like laundry overflow.
HTH...

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There must be different rules here in NJ...we bought a house where they were made to take out the stove in the basement because they couldn't get a CO. They were allowed to keep the sink, the cabinets, the fridge, etc. Since we were not renting it out, it didn't matter to me because I wasn't planning on using the basement for cooking anyway.

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Personally I dont htink you will have a problem, tell the owners to temporarily remove the sink..

IS this house on LI???

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I have heard that you just have to remove one essential piece, the sink or the stove, and it's okay.

We have a sink in our laundry room and that doesn't make an apartment.

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I thought it was the stove that made it an apartment. Some people could have extra sinks for their laundry etc.

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Are you Jewish?
You are allowed to have a full functioning second kitchen if it is to be considered a "kosher" kitchen .

I also thought it was the oven/stove that made it an "apartment".

Message edited 3/23/2006 10:30:46 AM.

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I looked at a house in farmingville once that had an upstairs that had a full kitchen (sink, cabinets, fridge)... everything but the stove.

The realtor said you won't have any issues with COs since there is no stove there.


I believed him.

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I think your best bet would be to have your lawyer call the town or to do some investigation yourself. If it is the stove it is ok, if it isn't then you might have a problem. Usually a bank will require that all CO issues be resolved before they will issue you a mortgage.

JMO but I wouldn't trust anything a realtor told me & I know there are a few on here, so I am sorry for overgeneralizing but from what I experienced I wouldn't believe a word--again JMO.

Definitely check with your lawyer!

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I am a real estate agent and I pride myself on honesty, and everyone is entitled to their opinion (so I am not starting anything), but as a real estate agent I would always recommend that the buyer has their lawyer contact the town and find out the rules. It is their lawyers job to protect them.

Real Estate agents almost always work for the Seller/Landlord unless a Buyer hires them and pays them as a Buyer broker. You should have signed a disclosure saying this when you first met with the agent who showed you the house.

Good Luck.

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It's not the town thats a problem it's the lender FYI-as long as you are planning to stay there for a while. Then worse comes to worst you rip out that stuff if you dcide to sell. If the lender decides to rate your deal as a 2 family-your rate will go up-I personally don't thin they would but can't hurt to have the atty call

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Thank you so much for all of your responses. I appreciate it. The lawyer had said that the worse case scenario may be to remove the sink. We are waiting to hear from an appraiser. I do trust the lawyer. She was highly recommended by a lady I work with. She is her husband's real estate lawyer (for his business).

I just hate being in limbo like this. But, again, thanks for all of the responses. I'll let you know how it goes.

Jenn

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as an appraiser, I'll tell you we generally turn a blind eye to basement kitchens. We'd report the basement as being "fully finished" but not mention a kitchen down there. It does nothing but cause problems...

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We were able to get our lender to overlook a CO on a deck without a problem.

Re: Appraisal Question (Update)

I bought my house about 15mths ago with 2 full kitchens. The downstairs (spair) kitchen had a stove a fridge, and a sink also a center island and cabinets. The apprasier wrote nothign in her report expect finished lower level (it is a hi ranch) and when she questioned if it was a mother daughter the old owner was like no look everything is removable and showed her that nothing was bolted down. The stove was able to move along with the cabinets and island were all movable. We had no problems at all.