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Not a huge deal as we lost out on our offer, but if I add up all the boxes that make up the exterior from the county published dimensions - I get 2894 sqft whereas the listing shows 3167 or a difference of 273 sqft (the equivalent of a 16.5 x 16.5 ft room). That's the overall outside dimensions without deducting for walls or anything else and double counting the stairwell area (I'm told that's the ANSI standard).
I assume covered exterior porches never count toward HLA (and certainly not garages)?
I realize no one is going to take the time to add up all the "boxes" but the country drawing is shown below.
When we sold our house in Pineville, our realtors had it professionally measured. It ended up significantly higher sq/ft than what the builder had listed on the plans. Like 200+ ft bigger.
You can have 5 different people measure it: county assessor or whoever does that in your area, an appraiser, an agent, a friend and yourself. You will probably get 5 different figures.
Just a guess--is there a finished basement or bonus room? This may have been finished after the last assessment. The assessor may not know about the finished area if the owners didn't get a permit (frequent when are people trying to save on taxes). The taxing body may be behind in adding in or forgot to add it.
Another thought on a finished basement area: each MLS will vary on what they list as finished sq ft and how they list it. In some places a finished basement is listed in the total sq ft. Other places it's not. In my area it's listed in the total, but the MLS breaks it down by level.
Each individual MLS may or may not use the county figures. They are not obligated to do so.
Just a guess--is there a finished basement or bonus room? This may have been finished after the last assessment. The assessor may not know about the finished area if the owners didn't get a permit (frequent when are people trying to save on taxes). The taxing body may be behind in adding in or forgot to add it.
Another thought on a finished basement area: each MLS will vary on what they list as finished sq ft and how they list it. In some places a finished basement is listed in the total sq ft. Other places it's not. In my area it's listed in the total, but the MLS breaks it down by level.
There is no basement. And while there’s a bonus room, it’s square with a straight stair so it’s a straightforward area calc. The discrepancy appears to be on the main floor, but maybe there are methods I don’t know about.
I wasn’t planning to confront the listing agent about it, that wouldn’t help even if the listing sqft is wrong.
It is against NCREC regulations to use county dimensions for SF.
Reason: They are extremely unreliable. I note that the drawing includes only dimensions rounded to feet, with no inches. Good evidence of a casual approach to SF.
The agent is responsible for accurate SF on all listings. It is a basic requirement of a licensee to be able to accurately measure homes, and the skill is taught in licensing classes.
Agents may choose to have a third party measure, a more experienced agent or a licensed appraiser, but that listing agent is still responsible for accurate representation.
When you stumble into an NC listing and the county revenue department SF is the same as the listing SF, you know right there you either have a lazy or incompetent or crooked agent.
It never happens when the agent measures.
Not a huge deal as we lost out on our offer, but if I add up all the boxes that make up the exterior from the county published dimensions - I get 2894 sqft whereas the listing shows 3167 or a difference of 273 sqft (the equivalent of a 16.5 x 16.5 ft room). That's the overall outside dimensions without deducting for walls or anything else and double counting the stairwell area (I'm told that's the ANSI standard).
I assume covered exterior porches never count toward HLA (and certainly not garages)?
I realize no one is going to take the time to add up all the "boxes" but the country drawing is shown below.
Just for future reference.
I see some mistakes in the county's calculations. I used to do this for a living. Some of the measurements don't add up.
Perhaps only the outside measurement is accurate. It seems that adding rooms, closets, cupboards, wall thickness, pipe chases etc would be impossible to do perfectly. Is the outside measurement acceptable?
The Clark County assessor is the bible here. That system uses the external dimension to arrive at the total area and then deducts none livable areas such as garages or stair openings. So basically you get the total area of the home less areas that are not living space.
It is kind of an interesting measure. It clearly includes the area inside walls and otherr area used for such things as chimneys or venting. The thought would be that wall thickness is worth as much as living space.
A straw bail house would make out very well.
Note that you can make any claim you want in the MLS. There really is no right. I would be careful though. Those who buck the system often get burned. and note this system gives a number that is virtually always higher than any actual measurement of the living area...so why would you not use it?
The Clark County assessor is the bible here. That system uses the external dimension to arrive at the total area and then deducts none livable areas such as garages or stair openings. So basically you get the total area of the home less areas that are not living space.
It is kind of an interesting measure. It clearly includes the area inside walls and otherr area used for such things as chimneys or venting. The thought would be that wall thickness is worth as much as living space.
A straw bail house would make out very well.
Note that you can make any claim you want in the MLS. There really is no right. I would be careful though. Those who buck the system often get burned. and note this system gives a number that is virtually always higher than any actual measurement of the living area...so why would you not use it?
The OP is in NC, ergo the input I offered is more accurate to local conditions.
The OP is in NC, ergo the input I offered is more accurate to local conditions.
Of course. But that is no defense of the fact that the local system may suck. And we Realtors love to defend awful systems that favor us.
I would personally be of the belief that using half trained realtors to determine area is absurd. I know a few realtors I would not trust to find their front door from their drive way. Maybe you clever people in NC have figured out how to get only reasonably capable people as RE Agents. IF you have managed that I wish you would share it with the rest of us.
I would however note that NC appears to be one of the places that requires a Buyer's Broker Agreement to deal with a buyer. That to me is the classical use of the state tp force your services on people. Love to have it here...but cannot advocate for such a self serving decree.
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