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If the utility room is in an unfinished part of the house without heat, then no it isn't included. If it is in a finished part of the house, then it is included.
shelly
You are correct ma'am .... If it's a utility room like in the 60's house that is out on the carport it doesn't count (you have to go outside to get to it), if it's in a unfinished basement, it doesn't count, if it is a main hall style utility room (closet) it counts. If it is in the main part of the house and is heated and cooled and finished out it counts. If you wash you cloths down at the creek and hang them on a tree to dry, it doesn't count.
The calculation of the "square footage" of a home is a local thing. There are no universal rules..(though I know of no jurisdiction that does not leave the garage out).
Here it is done by an external measurement of the home less the garage. There are odd disconnects...two story square footage is not as big as one story square footage for instance. Treatments of basements and sun rooms is uneven. Here note that heated and cooled may not be the same area. And we don't use that as a criteria anyway.
So this is one of those questions that can only be answered by a local.
The calculation of the "square footage" of a home is a local thing. There are no universal rules..(though I know of no jurisdiction that does not leave the garage out).
Don't bet your boots on that, I know an agency that counts that garage ... I recently looked at a 3500 sq ft house just to get there and look around and say "There's no way this is 3500 ... so I step it off and and it was under 2500 sq ft and with the garage it was 3500 sq ft ... the Realtor told me they count the garage ... and the heated and cooled space was really 2444 sq ft. Slightly smaller than 3500 sq ft.
This does 2 things, gets more hits on the MLS and makes the price per sq ft look a lot better. Either way in my opinion it is fraud, by misrepresenting the houses size.
Just think about marketing that home with the creekside washing station.
This home takes you into a bygone era!! enjoy the smell of rain fresh laundered clothes, dryed with energy efficiency of the sun!!
Lol, Just Kidding!!!
Shelly
There should be a thread on some of the Realtors "creative" advertising phrases ...
I've seen "Snuggly bedrooms" for micro-bedrooms.
I've seen "This unique home" for bad floor plans.
I've seen "Vintage style" for this home hasn't had new paint since the 50's.
I've seen "Well loved home" for needs new, carpet, paint, kitchen, bath etc.
I've seen "Secluded location" for you can't get there from here.
and so on ... I must admit "snuggly bedrooms" busted me up.
Don't bet your boots on that, I know an agency that counts that garage ... I recently looked at a 3500 sq ft house just to get there and look around and say "There's no way this is 3500 ... so I step it off and and it was under 2500 sq ft and with the garage it was 3500 sq ft ... the Realtor told me they count the garage ... and the heated and cooled space was really 2444 sq ft. Slightly smaller than 3500 sq ft.
This does 2 things, gets more hits on the MLS and makes the price per sq ft look a lot better. Either way in my opinion it is fraud, by misrepresenting the houses size.
Fascinating. I am not surprised. That could cost you your ticket here...so it does not happen.
But I will revise my view to say I have now heard of someone including the garage in the sf.
I've noticed HUGE discrepancies between the actual square footage of the home (as recorded by the Property Appraiser's) and the listings on Realtor.com. There was this one house that was listed as having 3750 sq ft and it turns out the actual square footage was 1610.
I guess the realtor was counting the following: the screen room (40X20), the garage, the front entry and I still can't figure out the rest! That's a big problem in my mind! We live in Florida and don't have basements so there's no "wiggle" room with that!
Can you imagine trying to sell a 1400 sq ft home honestly? We are and this is the kind of competition we are up against. Well, I guess the buyers will figure it out when they get inside the home and ask "Where's the 3700 sq ft?"
Location: Halfway between Number 4 Privet Drive and Forks, WA
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One can't always go by what's recorded on county records for square footage...we finished out 2 bonus rooms which added over 600 sq ft to our home (yes it's heated/cooled) but I'm sure our county has not changed their info since we completed the work....
leaving, since you are selling your home, make sure your agent has adjusted your SF on the MLS, then in agent remarks he/she can say sf per seller, bonus rooms are finished. And they should mention the additional rooms in the public remarks. Also, since I know you are getting frustrated, I'm going to ask you if your home has been nuetralized. I know you have dropped your price and you have said it is under what your neighbors houses sold for, yet is larger and larger yard..
So, what else is wrong? do you have wallpaper? if yes, get rid of it. do you have off color carpet (think green), if yes get rid of it. Do you have large furniture? if yes, remove some. Are your appliances updated? if no, consider updating them. Then maybe you can get your home back priced right (consider uping to the current homes sold prices). Then have your REA come and take new pictures. ask them why they aren't on Realtor.com and can you get them to be.
In this market, get it is pristine first, and then price it right. And your pristine may not be a buyers pristine. How we live in our home, may not be how we show our home. Do you have a link you can PM me with pics of your home? I would love to take a look at it.
Shelly
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