Howdy,

Just want to start a thread to get input on this as it's kind of a unique situation but figured maybe somebody had some experience or just thoughtful advice…

We lost our house in North San Antonio back in January. Long story short we thought we were going to rebuild, but that proved to be way too expensive so we are close to closing on a house we found nearby.

Obviously, we have a realtor, but he doesn't have any experience with a situation like this. We would like to sell the lot, but it's really hard to value. It is about a third of an acre in a nice community in North Central San Antonio (Deerfield). Most of the houses are about forty years old and are generally very well-kept. I know the lot will be highly desirable, but the problem is the cost to build. We had the slab removed because we planned to create an entirely new footprint before we found out the cost would basically put us about 30-40% higher than any other house in the neighborhood and we didn't want to be in that situation.

I'm wondering if our best bet is to reach out to home builders to see if this is something they would like to purchase and build a spec home on but I really don't know.

The neighborhood has a pretty rigid HOA so I don't know how that might factor into this if we need to sit on it for a while.

Sorry, I know this is kind of a vague question, but just hoping to gather feedback.

If you can find tear-downs in the neighborhood that have sold, that plus the demo cost is your lot value. I realize that may be easier said than done.

Hire an appraiser who works in that area

I remember your post from back in January. Sorry for the loss and that you all are having to permanently move to another property. I know you all loved the spot.

Have there been any new builds in the neighborhood? If so, that is how you can back into the build-ready lot value. If not, it is OK, the math is essentially the same but you need to figure out what a final sales price would be for a comparable size home sale in the neighborhood. You can start with the final sales price being 5x the lot cost and see where that gets you. Ultimately, it's best to list it on the market (MLS) and see what traction and feedback you get.

TxAG#2011 said:

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Hire an appraiser who works in that area

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This X 100. Every residential appraisal carved out lot value in the report. This could be done by phone and email but they may want to inspect. Get two if you want to really nail the price range.

When y'all say an appraiser who works in "that area" do you just mean geography/zip code or does area mean specialty? I'm guessing just geography.

Geography but that might be difficult for a non lender. We use a third party, required by law, and the vendor selects the appraiser. If you're using a lender for the new home you can ask what vendor they use. I use Momentum Appraisal Service who are out of San Antonio. If you need a contact email me, contact info in my profile, and I can ask if they can refer a private request

Looks like you have a star so PM works too

Appraiser lot valuations are not much different than any other appraisal. They are highly dependent on comparable sales. If there are no recent lot sales in the neighborhood, then they will have to look for "similar" neighborhoods that do have them. Last resort would be to look for nearby new home lots and make adjustments.

I'm really not sure paying an appraiser is going to help too much without comparable sales. And a Realtor can give you that for a fraction of the cost, maybe free.

Breanne at Red Pear might be able to help as I believe she's the SA agent.

I would probably try to figure out what the most likely new build footprint / quality of home would be. I'd get cost estimates from builders, and then compare to the value of the nicer remodeled homes in the area. If there's a decent gap where lot value can make up the difference, you likely have your answer. Maybe add a little premium for rareness of getting a lot like that in an established, desired neighborhood.

But the last question would be, is there a buyer out there for that?

I would not use a realtor for lot appraisal. And I doubt they are cheaper unless doing it for free which is probably worth what it costs. Pay a professional who does it every day

Thank you. Yeah it was a little hard to accept but we weren't looking forward to being in a rental for over a year and we really like the house we found (it's in Oakwood so very close).

Definitely sucks having to lose our interest rate from 2020.

SteveBott said:

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I would not use a realtor for lot appraisal. And I doubt they are cheaper unless doing it for free which is probably worth what it costs. Pay a professional who does it every day

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That's not what I said. I said use a Realtor to pull lot comps (if any are available).

There's no cost analysis. No income analysis. Just sales comparable. And if the lot sales are minimal, an appraiser won't help you learn anything that a Realtor and a couple phone calls on your own can't. But they will print up a long opinion based on "Uniform Standards" their regulated body forces them to abide by.

I have nothing against appraisers. But valuing a rare open lot in an established neighborhood is not something worth their cost. Hell, you're better off just sticking a price on it and seeing how the market reacts.

To each his own. Realtors normally pull comps on complete value of the home, but yes they could look for lots on MLS. But that is not their expertise and it is for appraisers. My mortgage appraisals run 600-700 and I would guess less for a report ordered by an individual for themselves.

I'm wondering if one of the neighbors would buy it to have a double lot house.

I have to research it but I doubt the HOA would allow it. They're pretty rigid and fairly litigious,from what I understand, but if possible I'd love to offer it to one of my neighbors (I'm on a corner and the back neighbor is a rental)