Why no square footage??? (Atlanta: sale, how much, attorneys)

[atlantagreg30127]

Another thing that sort of ticks people off is that many new builders on their sites will show floorplans of homes, but not show the size of the rooms. In other words you see a master bedroom that looks ok, but no sizes are indicated, and it's really a smaller 12x13 room. This falls into the square footage thing I guess, as if they put the room sizes in all the rooms someone could add them up and figure it out and press them if they're off a bit, but still, with some builders making closet-sized bedrooms, it would be nice to see room sizes as well.

[Billdemartini]

From the GREC site:

Square Footage & Hardwood Floors

Square Footage is not tracked in FMLS by the way. You can see it using Realist when looking up the tax records for Resales (not on new construction) in MLS but I have found that the information isn't always correct.

[jbas]

We just got back from a house-hunting trip to Atlanta. From what I understand, homeowners/realtors etc. may take it upon themselves to include the area in a niche, garage space, or any other 'unliveable' space you can think of in the square footage of a house. Only an appraiser can give you the true square footage.

[Prichard]

Square footage is the only way to compare apples to apples. Not that you don't need other factors, like location, age, and quality of construction, but you can't even get started unless you know the square footage.

This ain't rocket science, folks. The way the appraisers do it is by taking outside measurements of the house, this gets a little more difficult with two and three story houses, but it's still doable. You can do it by taking inside measurements as well, but 1) you could miss closet space and other hidden space, and 2) you can't compare exterior measurements to interior measurements, as the walls themselves take up space - not apples to apples.

[cotton]

Certainly it is not a Georgia law not to mention sq footage. There may be laws against in certain counties but it isn't a GA law. There are plenty of places where the sq footage is given.

[LarryLarry]

I haven't seen a single website that shows MLS listings for Georgia that include square footage...

[mamamarie]

Originally Posted by LarryLarry

I haven't seen a single website that shows MLS listings for Georgia that include square footage...

if you go to gaforsalebyowner.com and search their listings (not MLS) there are some listings with sq ft.

[Forsyth-Online]

Originally Posted by jxu66

Zillow lists the square feet. All you need is to do is typing the property's address.

They are not always accurate.

I was told it was against state law to list the square footage which is really stupid because it protects the builder which up until recently did not have to have a license to build in Georgia and they are so backlogged they are delaying the requirement until July of next year. Over 16,000 applications are waiting to be approved.

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=98602 (broken link)

How you can you make an accurate comparison to finish out in a house without price per square foot???? Granted, you have to take the lot into consideration, grading, and basement. In Texas, that is how you figure out the price of your house and the price/square foot would be higher if it was a custom home or had many upgrades. When we were looking for a house the prices were all over the place and it was very frustrating. I have moved 5 times in the last ten years so I was pretty comfortable with the purchase but jeez... I see people list their homes for way to much $$$$

[galightman]

As a Realtor you would not and should not quote square footage as a matter of fact. You could give an estimate, advise and assist your client to measure the area in question so that they come to a conclusion. There is way to much liablility around the errors of unqualified people quoting square footage to risk misquoting actual sq. ft. to actual sq. ft. and then be responsible for the missing sq. ft.

[LarryLarry]

Thanks for all the input. It kind of cracks me up that here in the lawsuit happy state of Calif. square footage is always mentioned but it's not in Georgia.