Seller has listed the square footage as 500 sq ft more than the county records. What are my options? (appraise, commissions)
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I am wondering if I should ask the sellers to compensate for that in the price as although square footage should not be the only thing, but it is definitely something one can not ignore. I would be interested to know what your advice is on this. Thanks again.
Did the sellers remove a room from when you saw the house and when it was measured? If not, it's the exact same house you contracted and you compared that house, location, floorplan, and features to other houses you saw and you deemed this house to be the best, right?
Your offer was based on seeing comparable houses that didn't match up to what you liked about this house. You don't like it just because of a sqft number. You like the house. The sales price should equate to how you compare this house to the others. No one buys a house dollar per sqft as each house has different quality of updates, upgrades, and other features within.
Wait until the appraisers sq. ft. comes in to know exactly what you are dealing with. A 500 sq. ft. discrepancy should show up. Once you know which number is correct, the advertising or the county, you have to figure out why the discrepancy exists. If the 500 sq. ft. is there, then it could indicate unpermitted work, which is a problem. Or it could indicate there was a recording error at the county. If the 500 sq. ft. isn't there then, yes you should renegotiated with this new information.
I would have not offered more than my initial offer, which was 407K. So there would have been a difference of around 7-8 K.
I know it's your first home, but I really don't think you should sweat this.
If your post above is accurate, you're only valuing those extra 500 square feet at $16 per square foot - not enough to risk a potential deal falling through.
Do you really like or love the house? Can you comfortably afford it? Will it suit your needs for the foreseeable future? Is it a nice area?
If you answered yes to those questions, don't spend another moment worrying about the 500 square feet (well, to be prudent you should determine whether there is possible un-permitted work - beyond that, see what the appraiser measures, and be happy... )
The first acceptance of your offer is just that...the first. After due diligence there can be more dickering depending on what you find. As far as sq footage, my question is how are the comparable homes priced. Or is everyone's square footage messed up.
I know some people get off track measuring when the first floor is wider than the second floor. Or a listing agent just copies the previous agent's dimensions assuming they are correct.
And what if the appraiser's square footage comes back in between the two? Does the square footage really matter more than if the house as a whole is what you want? You probably thought nothing of the square footage when looking at the actual property (or you would have been carrying a measuring tape) and since you liked it based on the assumption the square footage was one amount, why does it now matter that it's a lesser amount? I know you said you would have offered less, but in your gut, do you really think that would have been the case?
It is possible that the owner added a room and county officials have not gotten around to updating their tax cards. You may be certain that if you complain they will boost the taxes on that property. Your move, amukherj.
Thank you to all for your replies. Really helps someone like me getting his first home. In the sellers disclosure the seller has mentioned that the square footage was reported as "measurement from contractor". If there is a considerable difference in the sq. ft reported by the appraiser and the sq. ft put by seller, it would feel like I will be paying based off a false advertisement for some space which does not really exist. I am wondering if I should ask the sellers to compensate for that in the price as although square footage should not be the only thing, but it is definitely something one can not ignore. I would be interested to know what your advice is on this. Thanks again.
As others have noted, "square footage" is measured in different ways for different purposes.
The "contractor" deals in square footage due to plans and materials for the structure.
The "assessor" deals in taxable square footage; ie, some spaces that the "contractor" built may not be included by the assessor due to their standards. Such discrepancies commonly occur with sunrooms, porches, utility areas, basements, breezeways, etc.
What you need to focus on is the overall functionality of the house that is under consideration. If it meets your requirements and the amenities and intangibles are attractive to you, then that's what establishes value. Square footage, however measured, is only a small part of that overall valuation as a buyer.
IMO, you should be happy that the assessor is taxing fewer square feet than the useable square footage of the house.
Looks like the general thought towards this is that I should not worry about the square footage too much, if the area is good enough then I should proceed with the home. I love the home and would like to do that but since this is my first home, I am just trying to do as much research as possible and get perspectives from all of you so that the buyers remorse could be minimized. Your posts have been really helpful. Thank you to all.
Did you see the house? Did it suit your needs? If so then everything should be fine.
Maybe the house is larger and the county has it wrong, you could always correct them and pay higher taxes if that makes you feel better!
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