My Parents have lived for over 20 years in Florida at the Spruce Creek residential airpark. They tell me that the Hangar, as it is not a living space, is not considered in the valuation for a home mortgage. My guess is the tax man has no problem recognizing it as a revenueable event / thing. I would have guessed in a situation like that, with runway access, it would have a positive effect on the valuation of the property.
Is this a Florida thing or is this another obstacle to living next to your airplane?
Here’s a response from Lenny Ohlsson, Broker and Realtor at Spruce Creek Fly-in who has been working at the airpark almost since its inception:
Spruce Creek has no problem with obtaining mortgages and the hangar does provide value to the property. In fact, property on a taxiway is about double the price of non taxiway property. All the local banks and mortgage companies know the value of the hangar and are more than willing to lend money for hangar homes.
Pat and I have been here for 22 years and this is the first I heard of this.
Lenny Ohlsson
Spruce Creek Fly-In Realty
sales@fly-in.com
2 replies on “Writer seeks clarification on Florida valuations”
Lenny Ohlsson is absolutely correct. Whoever told your parents that the hangar and runway access doesn’t add value to the property has no idea what he is talking about.
I’d suggest you find another appraiser/lender/mortgage broker/whatever who knows a little more about air park properties. Spruce Creek is the Gold Standard for fly-in properties, without the air strip, it would be just another residential subdivision and the values would be significantly lower.
I live at a smaller air park just south of Spruce Creek – without the airstrip, my home would only be a house somewhere out in the woods.
I’ve been a mortgage broker and in banking and finance for over 15 years, so I can say that being on a air strip DEFINITELY increases the value of the property.
Best Regards,
Mike Arman
N150EM
I’m a Realtor of 35 years in Palm Beach County, FL having lived in an airpark since 1987 and sold airpark homes all over the State.
The quickest way to solve this is go to the Volusia County Property Appraiser’s website, http://webserver.vcgov.org/vc_search.html and look up your parent’s house (and hangar). You should see the hangar noted as the second building structure. There may not be a value, but this is the data the appraiser uses to calculate value. A follow up phone call to (386) 775-5257 might get you to someone who can give you the appraised value of the hangar.
Rest assured, your parents are paying taxes on the hangar and can borrow money based on the hangar’s value. As Lenny says above, a buyer will pay a significant premium to buy a house with a hangar on a taxiway that leads to a runway.
Bill Tison
RE/MAX Advantage Plus
Willis Gliderport
Boynton Beach, FL
Bill@Tison1.com