Wood Stove in Basement considered part of heated sq ft.

[FireaddictSC]

If i have a wood stove connected to a permanent brick and mortar chimney that is an original part of the house, would this be considered part of the heated sq ft of my house? Trying to refinance the house with the new low interest rates. I would think so the basement is finished also.

 

[Wet1]

Typically basements are not considered part of the sq ft whether they are finished and heated or not (at least as far as realtors are concern).

BTW, I would hope you have a liner in that chimney...

 

[pinewoodburner]

If the stove is burning the space is heated. You may want to check since alot of times they look at "finished" sq feet vs heated.

 

[FireaddictSC]

Yes the the chimney is line with a 8in double wall SS liner. The house was built about 4 years ago with the design of the house based around basement wood heat to supplement electric furnace.

 

[Shari]

I worked for a real estate appraiser for awhile..... The answer is "It depends." In some localities the answer is yes. In our locality the answer is no.

The answer in our area is defined by "Is there an outside exit directly from the lower level? How much of the finished lower level has ground level windows? (not window wells)". If your basement is finished off and there is at least one exit door leading directly to ground level and you have ground level windows throughout the finished area you are allowed a percent addition to your appraised sq. ft.. We were never allowed to add 100% sq. ft. value for a finished basement, no matter how nicely finished off it was.

So the answer is "Depends what is normally allowed in your area."

Shari

 

[FireaddictSC]

I have two doors that lead out to the back patio that goes out to the back yard, including two windows. what ever the case I'm sure going to push for it.

 

[Shari]

Just an addendum to my other post: Heated area below grade does not constitute 'living space' and 'finished living space' is what, in our area, an appraiser is looking for. Example: Our oil furnace is the full basement of our 1750 sq ft home. The duct work is down there and there are a couple of grills cut into the basement duct work to somewhat heat the basement. Essentially we are heating 3,500 sq. ft. Our basement is not 'finished'. In our area, no appraiser would ever get past mortgage loan underwriting guidelines stating we have a 3500 sq. ft. home. (1750 sq. ft. x 2).

Let's assume the finished area in your basement is 1,000 sq. ft. and the typical $$ value in your area is $100/finished sq. ft., which if all of it was above grade, would equal an additional $100,000 value. If you were in our area an appraiser might figure your finished area by using 1/2 of the basement sq. ft. (500 sq. ft. x $100 per sq. ft.) or (1,000 sq. ft. x $50 per sq. ft.). Either way, the result would be $50,000 additional appraised value.

Shari

 

[BrotherBart]

I know what you want to tell the real estate appraiser, but what would you like the property tax appraiser to think the square footage is? :lol:

 

[Shari]

I know what you want to tell the real estate appraiser, but what would you like the property tax appraiser to think the square footage is? :lol:

Therein layeth the problem. Again in our area, mortgages are recorded at the Register of Deeds within 3-6 months after the sale of a property. ??Does a property tax appraiser look at 'new' mortgages when there is a home equity loan taken out? I dunno...... I do know they look at sale prices and reassess accordingly... Shoot, in our area, the city assessor is at your door moments after you get your last moving box unpacked...... In Wisconsin I know you can deny the assessor entrance but then you lose any legal stance to appeal your tax assessment.

Shari