As a Certified Appraiser in Florida, I have had several occasions to appraise homes with solar panels. Solar panels are becoming more and more common. First, before valuing a solar system it is key to determine the ownership of the panels. Most mortgage lenders, secondary market participants, and government mortgage insurers/guarantors have specific guidelines on giving value to Solar Panels. If the homeowner does not own the solar PV system, or it is leased, used as collateral for a personal property loan, or subject to a power purchase agreement (PPA) they are not considered real property and should not be "valued" as part of the real property. If the panels are owned and unincumbered, there are three approaches to determining the contributory value to the property. Income (GRM,Discounted Cash Flow), Cost, Sales Comparison.
The income and cost are relatively simple if you have all the data you need. The problem is getting the data. I use the homeowner, past utility bills, manufacturer, utility companies, county permits and a website called SEIA. A great website PVValue.com does all the calculations for you. You simply plug in the data/factors, and it calculates the cost and income for you. If we could base adjustments on these approaches, it would make valuing a home with a solar system very simple (as long as you have the factors).
Keep in mind, appraisers are regulated by state and federal guidelines, and in addition appraisals are reported using lender guidelines. The amount of electricity a PV system produces over its lifespan can be estimated by the appraiser by using the exact specifications of a specific PV system or obtained from the installer. It is not always possible to get the exact specifications of the subject or comparable PV systems as it is usually not disclosed by realtors in the MLS listings, and often not retained by a homeowner. If the details of a specific system cannot be obtained by the appraiser, the appraiser must outline the steps taken to attempt to collect the information and make extraordinary assumptions regarding the system or comparable homes. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regulate most of the mortgages and the guidelines are very clear that value cannot be given by these approaches alone and must be supported by the market. The market value approach requires that the appraiser demonstrate the impact on value based on paired sales analysis. This can be a challenge given the lack of data. There is an exception to this guideline, and that is FHA Insured loans. In fact, FHA has a policy that a Solar System Purchase can be added on to the loan outside of the home’s value. They also recognize there is a lack of data, and FHA guidelines support using the cost or income method.
If you are a homeowner or a real estate professional and want to include the contributory value of the subject’s system, please have a record of these items for the appraiser to assist them in the appraisal process.
PVValue.com in put factors: Address, Ownership type, System Watts, System Age, Warranty Period, Derate %, Degradation %, Discount %, Rebate % Array Type, Array Tilt, Array Azimuth, Inverter Size, Inverter Warranty Period, Age of Inverter, Replacement Cycle
Website Link https://www.seia.org/us-solar-market-insight
Florida golf courses disappear as developers seek new type of $green$
Land along a golf course has long been coveted by golfers and non golfers alike. Even people who don’t play golf like to look at golf courses. Lined with majestic pines and oaks, the edges of the land where eagles often nest has also been sought after for building high end residential real estate. Pastoral views of rolling fairways and well maintained greens used to play the quiet, relaxing game have driven the value of these lots up for decades. Now a new phenomena is threatening the property values along courses. In areas where vacant land is at a premium, developers are purchasing the courses and setting their sights, not on bunkers and water hazards, but new construction.
What will this mean for the values of homes that already exist along a course? Homes that were purchased and priced specifically due to their location along a gorgeous swath of empty land. It’s a tough question, and one that is weighing on the minds of thousands of landowners.
Next to waterfront views, golf course views are often considered the most desirable, and are heavily factored into the property valuations performed by residential real estate appraisers.
Between 1998 and 2006, more than 4,000 new courses opened. More than 400 U.S. courses went defunct in 2016 and 2017, according to the National Golf Foundation. Florida is home to about 1250 of the nation’s remaining 15,000 or so golf courses. It has the most of any state. Let’s take a look specifically at Pinellas County, FL, and explore what this could mean for values along the Bardmoor Golf Course in the City of Seminole. The owner of the 150-acre Bardmoor course agreed earlier this year to sell to Wheelock Communities and Gentry Land, the companies that developed Starkey Ranch, a planned community of new construction homes in Pasco County.
The Bardmoor course has hosted a wide variety of golfers over the years, from High School teams to PGA Tour Champions. Bardmoor was founded in 1971, and homes began popping up around the course shortly after. Unlike many courses that have closed, Bardmoor appears to be thriving. The course and club are owned by Bayou Golf LCC, which paid $12.5 million for them in 2006. The Bardmoor course is currently designated for recreational use. Redevelopment would entail a change in land use and zoning, a long process that would involve multiple county, state and federal agencies.
Representatives of the developers claim that buffers of trees and landscaping would ensure that after they develop new homes where the course once was, homeowners who now have sweeping golf course views wouldn’t be looking into someone’s else’s windows, and to mitigate the impact on property values, the new homes would be of comparable quality as existing ones.
Realtor Bobbie Kahler, who has several listings in Bardmoor spoke to a reporter following a recent community meeting, “We don’t want any publicity on this,” she said. “There are houses under contract, closings are coming up. People won’t want to buy in here if they know the golf course might go away. This is horrific,” according to the Daily Commercial, a local news outlet.
According to Forbes, “Once closed and left untended for as little as a year, it can cost several million dollars to repair and reopen a course — nature reclaims unmaintained land quickly, and home values can drop as much as 50% within weeks of a course closing.”
Concerns not only about the loss of the golf course view, but increased traffic, taxes, and construction noise, are shared by residents not only of single family homes along the course, but also villas and multi family units.
Currently 12 homes are listed for sale along Bardmoor golf course, ranging in price from $539,000 to $875,000. 5 homes are currently pending at prices ranging from $550,000 to $1,699,000. In the last 6 months 7 homes have sold for sale prices ranging from $415,000 to $810,000.
Other recent golf course closures in the area include, The Tides Golf Club. However, properties along that course were limited to a relatively small number, and the real estate in the area, which is near the water, is already at a premium.
The main question on the minds of all property owners along the Bardmoor golf course is how will this affect my property value? The answer is complicated and dependent on several factors that are as of yet unknown. Will the land use change be approved? How will the views be affected? What amenities will be added to the community as a result of redevelopment? Will property taxes increase to pay for new infrastructure? And just what are they going to build on the Bardmoor golf course?
There is not much information out there in terms of hard data to calculate exactly how much property values will decline due to a golf course closing. It's because each situation is unique. One thing is for sure, this is not an anomaly that will wane in the coming years. Closures will continue to increase and the crisis may even begin to affect values at golf courses which are currently operating without issue. Even the hint of uncertainty of the future of a golf course could greatly affect property values.
For a full valuation of your current or future property Contact:
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To Do:
Research existing vs historic property values around Bardmoor golf course
Research closer and property values around the The Tides Golf Club in Seminole
Buying subscription to Tampa Bay Times and Wall Street Journal would increase knowledge base
Sources:
https://www.dailycommercial.com/news/20190325/florida-golf-courses-disappear-as-developers-seek-new-kind-of-green
https://www.bardmoorgolf.com/
https://www.ngf.org/
https://starkeyranch.com/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesrealestatecouncil/2018/07/12/homeowners-will-pay-the-price-for-a-backyard-golf-course-one-way-or-another/#66a842f712a4
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/failing-golf-courses-killing-property-values-michael-a-mike-kahn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqScfxgYf7M