HomeMy WebLinkAbout20200345 Guanill Two Family Correspondance (2) 0112 of
August 19, 2020 Sp ;
Mr. Keith Kaplan, Chairman Ely
City of Saratoga Springs ZBA
474 Broadway
Saratoga Springs,New York 12866
Chairman Kaplan and Members of the ZBA,
I did not participate in the August 3rd ZBA meeting but as I understand it the appraisal I
developed for Rose Guanill at 144 West Circular Street was discussed at length. As I understand
it,the discussion focused on the property being used as a"mother in-law"apartment or the value
derived as multi-family residence.
Page 1 of the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report(URAR)indicates that the property is Zoned
UR2 and the General Description has the property identified as "One with accessory unit." This
is the closest the URAR comes to allowing"in law"apartment to be considered. An law unit is
generally considered an "in law"unit when you can pass from one unit to another. Similarly,
the City of Saratoga Springs Zoning Ordinance indicates the intent of the Urban Residential 2
(UR-2)"to provide medium density single family residential uses where public infrastructure is
available"and the only permitted uses are single-family residential homes and cemeteries.
Reviewing the property as a multi-family would be reviewing it as a non-compliant property
which would detrimentally affect the derived value.
Converting the property into a compliant single-family home would requires renovation and I
could not speculate the value of this. However,Ms. Guanill would either have to a have the
improvements made as the risk of retaining value or have the purchase price reduced by a similar
amount;there is no mechanism for accounting in the appraisal format.
If there are additional questions, or need subsequent information,please reach me at(518)424-
7473.
Regards,
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McIntyr04er
Split Rock Real Estate
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August 27,2020 U /
Mr. Charles Marshall SEp X 0 2020
140 West Circular St.
Saratoga Springs,New York 12866 y`"���
Re: 144 West Circular Street, Saratoga Springs,NY
Guanill,Rose
Dear Mr. Marshall,
I am the owner of Roohan Realty in Saratoga Springs and I have over forty(40)years' experience with
real estate sales in the City. While my firm was not involved in the transaction for the sale of 144 West
Circular Street in 2007, I am offering this letter as the position Roohan Realty would take if approached
by Ms. Guanill to place her property on the market in 2020.
After receiving the information from you which we normally request from our clients, I investigated the
background and public information for the property. I noted importantly that the property card still
indicates"220—2 Family Residence"; however,given what is now in the public record,Ms. Guanill and
her realtors would be obligated to disclose the error of that card under the NYS Real Estate License Law
at Article 14. Specifically,there is public information that the property is in violation of the UR-2 zoning
in the form of the City's letter,yet we would be limited to list it as single family residential while the tax
listing is directly contrary;all of which would lead to significant representation challenges for a realtor.
Furthermore,we would require disclosure of the lack of Certificate of Occupancy and disclosure of Ms.
Guanill's application before the Zoning Board.
In my opinion,any involvement by a City agency causes hesitation amongst most residential buyers who
often act upon emotion and risk aversion. So,while the appraised value determined by Split Rock might
be accurate for purposes of establishing the home value as single family, it does not take into
consideration the substantial inability to actually list and sell the home on the open market due to the
existing legal constraints which includes the lack of financing without a certificate of occupancy. In all
likelihood,the market of available buyers for this home with the legal restrictions currently in place is
incredibly small. Even if such a buyer could be found,the contract would almost certainly contain a
contingency which(1)reduced the price for the cost to convert the home to single family; or more likely
(2)the buyer would require Ms. Guanill to the bear the cost of renovation into a conforming condition
because the CO would be require for a financial closing.
In summary, I believe that listing the home as a single-family residence is fraught with legal concerns,
financial inequities and is an exercise in futility. The issue with the City must be resolved in order the
home to be of any saleable value.
If there are any questions,please reach me at(518)587-4500.
Respectfully,
J.Thomas Roohan, Broker-Owner
Roohan Realty