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Just completed home inspection and finally received seller disclosure (2 days past 7 day requirement) and certificate of occupancy. The actual square footage is 400 less than what owner insisted it was (said the blueprint shows 2577 sqft) and what the agent advertised and stated to us. The certificate of occupancy shows 2176 sqft with an attached garage of 400 sqft. I thought you could only count "living space" when specifying square footage and they specifically used the higher sqft amount to support that this property is lower per sqft than all the others in the neighborhood. I think this is a material misstep that should be enough for me to renegotiate the terms. What do you think?
In North carolina-The deal is cancellable if they did not supply you with the disclosure within the time allotted.
Also for a room to be considered as living space or heated square footage within the home then the room must finished, accessable from another part of the house and have a conventional heat source.
If you wouldn't mind-Please let us know what state you are in so a Broker from your area can answer the question correctly!
Take Care,
Bill
I'm in California. The sqft information came from the Occupancy Certificate that the seller provided and needed to have as part of his building permit so he knew the correct square footage. I also found out the seller's agent is a general partner with the owner of the property so she has a greater stake in making this sell. I just received the information on the seller's agent when I received the disclosure paperwork late yesterday. The purchase agreement was signed back on the 9th and seller has 7 days to provide reports and other disclosures from the date of acceptance. My agent has been pretty mum on the subject still indicating it's a great deal but it amounts to me paying significantly more per sqft (This is SoCal afterall!) and I think there should be some negotiation on the price or I have the right to opt out of the deal. I put 3% down in earnest money so a lot is at stake.
I'm in California. The sqft information came from the Occupancy Certificate that the seller provided and needed to have as part of his building permit so he knew the correct square footage. I also found out the seller's agent is a general partner with the owner of the property so she has a greater stake in making this sell. I just received the information on the seller's agent when I received the disclosure paperwork late yesterday. The purchase agreement was signed back on the 9th and seller has 7 days to provide reports and other disclosures from the date of acceptance. My agent has been pretty mum on the subject still indicating it's a great deal but it amounts to me paying significantly more per sqft (This is SoCal afterall!) and I think there should be some negotiation on the price or I have the right to opt out of the deal. I put 3% down in earnest money so a lot is at stake.
The seller's agent HAS to disclose any ownership in the property and/or relationship BEFORE a contract is entered into. That's a big no-no right there.
You really need to read your contract carefully and see what your rights are. If you want to cancel the contract and make sure you get your earnest money back, you may want to talk to a real estate attorney.
From your post, anyway, it would sound like you've got some reason for price considerations . . . plus that other agent could face disciplinary action for not disclosing the partnership before the contract was signed.
I agree that it is a material fact. However, I don't put too much stock in price per sf for figuring out the comps and fair pricing, etc. I will use it to check myself after I have come up with prices... You need to check your purchase price against comps etc.
see, the smaller homes are going to have a larger per sf price than the larger homes in a neighborhood. and that doesn't take into consideration things like upgrades, lot views, etc.
If you are getting a good deal, then you need to consider if you try to renegotiate you may kill the deal.
Just completed home inspection and finally received seller disclosure (2 days past 7 day requirement) and certificate of occupancy. The actual square footage is 400 less than what owner insisted it was (said the blueprint shows 2577 sqft) and what the agent advertised and stated to us. The certificate of occupancy shows 2176 sqft with an attached garage of 400 sqft. I thought you could only count "living space" when specifying square footage and they specifically used the higher sqft amount to support that this property is lower per sqft than all the others in the neighborhood. I think this is a material misstep that should be enough for me to renegotiate the terms. What do you think?
Absolutely renegotiate the terms. We had a builder out here in Ca who shorted his homes from his brochure to the actual homes. The buyers were filing lawsuits:
Just completed home inspection and finally received seller disclosure (2 days past 7 day requirement) and certificate of occupancy. The actual square footage is 400 less than what owner insisted it was (said the blueprint shows 2577 sqft) and what the agent advertised and stated to us. The certificate of occupancy shows 2176 sqft with an attached garage of 400 sqft. I thought you could only count "living space" when specifying square footage and they specifically used the higher sqft amount to support that this property is lower per sqft than all the others in the neighborhood. I think this is a material misstep that should be enough for me to renegotiate the terms. What do you think?
here is the thing. Some city's require you take the square footage from the inside of the frame walls on all levels. Some require you to take the square footage from the outside of the frame walls. Basements are split into finished and unfinished, if the city you are in requires the square footage to be calculated from the inside of the frame walls you would have a larger square footage. You might also have some thickened or dead space in the frame walls that account for some of that, the frame walls in the interior of the house are not removed during the calculation. So in other words, your square footage is going to vary when you do it by laying a tape along the walls and adding them up. I bet if you just measure the house from the inside of the exterior walls. subtract the 1/2" gyp board with the same perimeter, and added 5.5" for the thickness of the wall. Leave all interior walls out of the calculation. Remove all open to below areas in the upper level, and the square footage of the stair case you would end up close to what the blue prints have. If you remove the interior walls from the calc, and the thickness of the exterior. you will actually loose quite a bit of square footage from the house.
Is the garage heated and cooled? If so, it can be counted in SC.
If not, you should try to renegotiate. That's a pretty big difference.
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