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Old 08-27-2011, 12:54 PM
 
19 posts, read 38,967 times
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The MLS listings we receive from our Realtor show the square footage for a home (heated, unheated and total) as a range, not actual. Why is that?

I questioned it for a particular home that gave a range of 2300-2800 heated square feet. When I looked up the home on Mecklenburg GIS, it stated 2269sf heated, but when we started looking at comps, the Realtor said the actual sq. ft. was closer to 2600sf and she forwarded to me the floor plan from the original appraisal done on the property backing up that number. But, when I took a tape measure to some of the rooms they were definitely off when compared to that floor plan. When I questioned this, she said she believes the appraisers measure from the outside of the home. Really?

In the end, it doesn't make a huge difference, but I'm just curious as to why square footage is listed this way. It would be nice to know the actual sq. ft. of the home and is it true that appraisers measure from the outside?
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Old 08-27-2011, 12:56 PM
 
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Yes. Appraisers measure the heated square footage (GLA) from the outside.
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Old 08-27-2011, 01:03 PM
 
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We ran into this ridiculousness when we were looking at houses, so I believe the change was made some time in 2008 - the change from listing one number as the square footage to listing a range. It was explained to me that this change was made to reduce the chances of a lawsuit from an unhappy buyer who buys a house listed as 2500 sq ft and then measures it out to only 2400 sq ft.
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Old 08-27-2011, 04:17 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XcapefromNJ View Post
We ran into this ridiculousness when we were looking at houses, so I believe the change was made some time in 2008 - the change from listing one number as the square footage to listing a range. It was explained to me that this change was made to reduce the chances of a lawsuit from an unhappy buyer who buys a house listed as 2500 sq ft and then measures it out to only 2400 sq ft.
I don't understand why it can't be an exact number. All it takes is a tape measure and a little 1st grade math.
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Old 08-27-2011, 08:51 PM
 
Location: State of Being
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vmaxnc View Post
I don't understand why it can't be an exact number. All it takes is a tape measure and a little 1st grade math.
Liability and lawsuits.
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Old 08-27-2011, 09:46 PM
 
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Originally Posted by anifani821 View Post
Liability and lawsuits.
That explains why the rules have changed but not why an absolute sq ft number can't be determined. Or at least within a few sq ft.
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Old 08-27-2011, 10:06 PM
 
Location: Union County, NC
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When we enter a listing as the listing agent, we are required to enter an exact number. The MLS calculates the range based on a formula. The square footage reported by the agent is generally a bit closer to the top end of the range.

I have all my homes measured, so if I were the listing agent I would have access to the exact number, at least for how I determined the square footage. Maybe the listing agent for that home will provide it to you and how they came to that number.
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Old 08-28-2011, 09:58 AM
 
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I would think there needs to be some consistency especially when looking at recently sold comps. Would it make sense, then, to use the square footage listed with the County GIS when comparing comps?
What bugs me a little bit about this is that when we were looking at sold comps to come up with an offer on the home, we were using the GIS sq. ft. of 2289sf. But, our Agent told us to use a higher number (closer to 2,600sf) based on the original appraisal that was done on the home which we now realize wasn't accurate. I mean 300sf is a good size room. So, the comps we looked at were larger and we were using those sold prices as a gauge to make an offer on this home which is definitely closer to 2300sf and not 2600sf.
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Old 08-28-2011, 10:29 AM
 
6,321 posts, read 10,248,030 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by south.charlotte&union View Post
When we enter a listing as the listing agent, we are required to enter an exact number. The MLS calculates the range based on a formula. The square footage reported by the agent is generally a bit closer to the top end of the range.

I have all my homes measured, so if I were the listing agent I would have access to the exact number, at least for how I determined the square footage. Maybe the listing agent for that home will provide it to you and how they came to that number.
Yeah I was told there's a formula to figure out a more accurate square footage number, but the range is used to prevent lawsuits.

I forget what the exact formula is, but I did find this:

http://tempo.triadmls.com/node/56

Quote:
The range is determined by the following formula: 10% down then rounded DOWN to the nearest hundred and 5% up and rounded UP to the nearest hundred.

Example:
Actual square feet determined by listing agent: 4100 Range in MLS system would be displayed as: 3600-4400
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Old 08-28-2011, 01:25 PM
 
Location: Union County, NC
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You could have the house measured before writing an offer -- for a house that size the cost to have someone measure would be less than $100.

Know also, that once the home is sold, the exact square footage reported by the agent is listed in the MLS. Most of the agents I know either measure themselves or hire someone to measure for them. There may be some inconsistency if people are not using good data.
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