Appraisal/Resale value of Home Theaters

[efarstad]

Hey gang...thought I'd share a tid bit since it's been thrown around so much. That is what does a theater room do for resale/pricing of a house. I just signed my refi paperwork yesterday (yes taking advantage of the great rates) and therefore had to have an appraisal done on our abode. Well it turns out the appraiser valued the theater at a little over $5,000 and that's for a 220 sq. ft. room. or about $23/sq. ft. And $23/sq. ft. is pretty average for a finished basement sq. ft. appraisal price here in Washington. So those who thought a theater doesn't add any value to a home you're right....they just price it at pretty much standard sq. ft. prices. BUT it also doesn't hurt your appraisal, but in fact is mentioned as a bonus feature which mind you, increases the "overall" evaluation ever so slightly.
So there you have it....don't expect a $10K increase in your house after building a theater room...it just doesn't work like that. Just take your average sq. ft. price for the "floor" that the theater is on and you'll have your appraised price. Had my theater been on an upper floor the price would have gone up quite a bit, since the average appraised sq. ft. price on our house was $110....so what I'm saying is it all depends on, like they say..."Location, location, location!"

Don't know if anyone cares...but thought I'd share that since I was curious and know there are others out there thinking about, building, or who already have dedicated theater rooms.

E





The Norwegian A/V Nut!
E-Cinema

[David Meek]

E, it's good to know that we aren't HURTING our resale value doing this. One thing that'd be different here in South Texas is that we don't have basements. The water table is so close to the surface they'd fill up with water, so they aren't really in fad. Dedicated rooms here are either converted garages, new-built construction or converted existing rooms which is what I'm doing. It'd be interesting to see how that works with an appraisal.




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[efarstad]

David: You'll have to let us know if you ever have an appraisal done what happens. But i'd tend to think it's the same everywhere, in that they'll probably just use the "standard" sq/ft price on that given floor and call it good....without perhaps a "extra feature" tag line for good measure and a slight increase!

E





The Norwegian A/V Nut!
E-Cinema

[David Meek]

E, as a function of appraised value divided by total heated and cooled area, our value per sq. foot comes out to about $70. With it being a finished basement, you got $23? Doesn't seem to work out, 'cuz I KNOW your cost per foot to build up there is a LOT higher than $70.

When we were looking into building on Orcas Island, the rate was about $150 for custom - we didn't look at that very long.





David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[George Bellefontaine]

I was discussing this very subject recently with a real estate friend of mine. A home theater is like a house with a swimming pool. Some buyers would be thrilled and will pay extra, but others don't want a pool and won't pay the extra. That why ( in this area , at least) it is difficult to sell homes with swimming pools. As for my HT, he said it could be a hindrance to a sale in my case because I removed two windows, painted the front wall matte black and the other walls grey, making the room dedicated. If some buyer didn't want the HT, they'd have to go to the expense of putting the windows back in, repainting, etc. On the other hand, if he had a prospect who was thrilled with the HT, I'd probably get a better price. So the key in my case would be going for a higher price on the hope that I'd find a HT enthusiast interested in my home. If they can't come up with a prospect, then I'd be back to getting what the normal market price would be.

Interesting subject, isn't it.




My Homepage!

[efarstad]

David: I came to my sq/ft. price for the theater based on what the appraiser told me...$5,000 or so...but I'll read my appraisal tonight and double check...but most builders do shoot for a sq/ft. build price of around $80 or less...then they sell for around 100-110! Build sq/ft. price will always be less than appraisal sq/ft. prices....that's why it pays to build your own house because you don't pay the mark-up (read profit) from the builder, real estate agent, etc.

The reason they wanted $150 for custom construction is because they had the "profit" built into that price, you build the same house yourself and you'll pay probably $90 depending on how fancy you get....just my wag at it...

George, you're so right....it all depends on who the buyer is and what they want. That's why I kept the window in my room and can easily add a closet to the room and vwella...a bedroom...albeit it would be red and blue! :LOL:

E





The Norwegian A/V Nut!
E-Cinema

[Chris D]

"vwella"???

:?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?:

Is that the new chick car from Volkswagen?




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[NewRevPro]

There is value to be gained.

What I have found from installing a lot of home theater systems is that most people do want the system already installed. It's hard to say if they would want to pay more for it, but it will most likely help to sell it. Few people want to have the wall opened to run wires and then try to match the paint up after the work was done. You will find that you will get more bids for the property that is wired for a system than if you didn't have the wiring. If the system is wired right most people would enjoy having it, and whether or not they use it is up to them. People seem to love a system that has the speakers inside the wall. You would obviously sell the house with the speakers and it therefore becomes more attractive to buyers. I've found that men more then women would push to buy the house that’s ready to go especially if the equipment was thrown in.

[Snap]

Additional Thoughts

New Rev is right.

To add to the above post.

There are some key words and phrases that will help you raise the value. Just about every home now days have 5.1 surround sound pre-wired. So saying you have a HT is just like George was saying about a pool, or even worse. Hey it has a roof. People pretty much expect the homes now to be pre-wired for surround sound.

Were you make your money is like NR said leaving the equipment. In-Wall or In-Ceiling Speakers add the most value due to the fact that the chances of HO removing them when they move out are greatly reduced. The other thing about in-wall speakers is that they are very popular with the woman of the house! :yesnod: Anything that is smooth looking, and stays in the house will add value to the home.

The bigger value additions, "Distributed Audio" The more High Speed the system the more value it will add to your home. If you have LCD touch panels in every room, with speakers in the ceiling in every room, that is going to add a good amount of value to your home. Selling point for SURE!

Home networking with structured wiring is another big deal. If you have a Structured Wire Box in your house with all the networking stuff that you would need to make a LAN, plus the connections in each room, that is a huge plus.

Most of the new homes here in NC are being done with 5.1 pre-wire, and networking pre-wire. The customer then has the chance to either have all the networking stuff installed, do it themselves, or do nothing at all.

Some are now doing 5.1 in wall systems standard. This includes all the speakers. With upgrade options to the HO for better speakers.

[Chris D]

Well, I suppose I'll be a test case for this thread soon. I'll probably be selling my house in 6 months. When I had it built, I installed: (myself)

- complete private home theater with 7.2 in-wall wiring and available hidden speakers
- extra dedicated electrical circuits installed in theater for lighting, projector, seating riser, equipment stacks, etc.
- all-home distributed audio with in-ceiling speakers in 5 rooms (including back porch)
- bedroom wired for 5.0 surround in-wall wiring and in-wall/ceiling speakers. (subwoofer is not wired)
- in-wall wiring audio/video distribution from bedroom to master bathroom for LCD TV
- all-home Cat 5e computer network installed in-wall

We'll wait and see what kind of selling process I have.

[Bent]

I agree, a theater is a lobour of love, it may make your house more desireable than the next one the realtor shows the potential clients, (if they had to pick...) but It doesn't add to resale value here either.

[aud19]

Speaking of which, what's happening with the house Ben, you still thinking of building?

[Bent]

It's kinda ugly...
I have a new job, start date is Dec 15th, but it's only 150 km away from here, we'll consider moving in the spring/summer - and possibly building.
Unless something changes again.

[aud19]

That's quite the winter commute

[Paul H]

That's quite the winter commute

Maybe it won't snow much this year :rf


Seriously Ben that it quite a commute.

Paul

[David Meek]

Hmmm, 93 miles. Is that one way? If so, yeah that is some commute.

But if that is round-trip, then (coming from Houston) that is comparable to a Woodlands-to-energy-corridor drive, and I know dozens of people that do that daily. No kidding! :yesnod: