Townhome pods are pieces of land that will be sub-divided into individual parcels once townhomes improvements are built. If a plat indicates individual ready-to-build lots and upon a filed inspection you find that there are utilities for each future parcel already in place, then the highest and best use of the pods are single family townhome lots and as such are valued as units buildable for said townhomes.
Each unit buildable lot value is calculated by using the allocation method of land valuation, which is recognized nationally in the appraisal industry. In using this method you estimate the amount of value that the land contributes to the total value of the parcels by analyzing improved sales and applying land to building ratios from similar market areas. When there are insufficient vacant land sales available the land allocation method is commonly used because it gives reasonably accurate land values. The most repeating relationship of land to improvement is 20% land, 80% improvement, therefore, this is the ratio you should use in allocating value.
Mass appraisal consists of valuing thousands of properties. In order to be consistent we use several tools to determine market value. These tools assist the appraiser in analyzing sales of comparable properties, any potential income that the property might be able to produce, the cost to replace the improvements on the property (if any) and any other factors that might affect the market value. Using an approved schedule of values you can build computer generated data models. The criteria for the data models consideration are time, location and physical features.
• We first consider the time the sale took place. In evaluating a sale we would look for sales prior to a specific date and time adjust that sale so that the value represents a market value as of that date.
• Location- We use sales data