Square Footage in NYC (apartments, broker, buyer)

[mad07]

Hey all,
Just curious when an apartment in NYC is quoted in square footage, does that only include 'livable' space and not the kitchen or bathroom?

Thanks!

[Viralmd]

Nope, it's the WHOLE apartment...kitchen and bathrooms included.

[mad07]

Okay. So any listings on broker sites such as Prudential Douglas Elliman or Corcoran means the whole apartment? just wanted to be sure.

I've been reading this board for awhile now and the info has been super helpful! thanks!

[Henna]

I think not only is it all the space inside the apt., it's also the interior walls. So instead of measuring each room independently and adding the totals up, you would actually imagine the footprint of the entire apartment (all the outside walls) and -- say it's a rectangle, then multiply one entire side of the whole footprint by the other side. That's your total.

And I don't know about Corcoran and Prudential Elliman - maybe they tend to be more accurate than other realtors, but every realtor I ever met has exaggerated about square footage, usually to the tune of an extra 100 sq feet on a 700 sq ft apt. (they would call that 800 sq ft.) Then they probably have some "fine print" addendum that says that the sq footage they provide is an estimate only.

[UpstaterInBklyn]

Brokers are notorious for inflating square footage.

When you look at apartments, bring a tape measure and jot down the actual dimensions of the rooms.

[Viralmd]

When I most recently sold an apartment I asked my broker why she wasn't including the area measurements...and she said that if the buyer re-measured and came up with something different from the brochure, that could make problems...So apparently these measurements are from either the original building plans or the offering plans.

[UpstaterInBklyn]

I remember once going to an open house. I brought my tape measure and started measuring the rooms while my wife wrote down the numbers. Several others in attendance wanted the actual dimensions too, so it turned into this group activity with two of us holding the measuring tape and announcing the numbers while a bunch of others wrote them down.

I don't think the broker liked that too much...

[Carbro]

Originally Posted by Viralmd

Nope, it's the WHOLE apartment...kitchen and bathrooms included.

And closets, too. In most NYC apts, that doesn't amount to a whole lot, but it's part of the advertised sq footage.

[sirtiger]

in my experience, its almost always exaggerated.

I measured it myself many times. After looking at a few dozen units, you will gain a good feel of sq. footage. Also, some people count terrace/balconies & yard in the back.

[vincentnyc]

yup...went to see alot of properties...broker always lie about sq. footage...whateva they tell u...subtract 100-200 sq. ft.