Square Footage Discrepancies...Normal?

[Sandy Nelson]

There are often discrepancies between the tax assessor's data and reality. Buyers should always measure to their own satisfaction and should closely review the appraisal.

[KarenRice]

We calculate square footage by measuring the outside dimensions of the house. Doubling for an upstairs, subtracting accordingly in homes that have huge cathedral ceilings/lofts rather than a full story upstairs. Our MLS allows room to include TOTAL Square Feet (finished/unfinished/ and above/below grade), Above Grade SF, Below Grade SF, and Finished SF.

It is very common for the s.f. to be "off." One home I listed and sold had expired twice before, and I'm sure part of it was because there was almost 600 s.f. not included in the total s.f. and it made it seem like there was only 600 sf. of living space above grade, when it was really almost 1300 s.f. above grade.

I would strongly urge anyone who is concerned about the square footage to actually measure it themselves. Unfortunately, tax records AND the MLS can be very wrong!

[formercalifornian]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

I see this all the time in my area.

I am aware of 2 properties within the same mature ( about 45 year old) custom sub division. The tax records show the square footage for only the primary living level on one and both levels on the other. Property taxes are almost double on the one showing 2 living levels. If both were for sale at the same time, can you guess which one I would buy?

I can forgive a newbie buyer for not understanding the implications of the difference in tax burden, but as a real estate professional, you should know better than to advocate property tax evasion.

[CoastieTX]

Thanks for the replies and here's what I think is going on.

There is what I would call a utility room in the basement which houses a pump and pipe to bring water/sewage from the basement floor up to street/sewer level. The room is accessed by a regular-sized door, but the pump/pipe structure is right in the middle of the room. The people in the house tiled the floor, painted the walls, and housed the piping with big plastic tubes and basically turned the entire room into another play/storage area.

It most certainly is not an area that would be suitable for a bedroom. There's no windows, the piping is in the middle of the room, and pump itself is recessed.

Taken that into consideration, here's where I could use your thoughts again. I feel my realtor and I based our negotiations on a 1960 square foot home. It's looking like in reality, it's only 1734. Since the sellers' advertised 1960 square feet, doesn't this automatically make our purchase and sale agreement null and void?

[formercalifornian]

I was under the impression that the basement was the location of the children's bedrooms, etc., but based on your last post, that doesn't appear to be the case. Correct?

What does your agent think? Can you find any comps for houses with a similar set up?

[CoastieTX]

The basement does have the two children's rooms, along with a bathroom and a living/bonus room, which has the door going into the utility room.

My agent has been trying to contact the people in the home to have them clarify their claim to 1960 square feet. According to both tax and title documents, along with the sellers' own measurements of each room, the square footage should in fact be over 200 square feet less.

I've looked at this from every possible angle, including measurements done by the sellers. The house keeps coming up short of the advertised 1960 square feet, even if they did include the utility room...

[formercalifornian]

Could the listing agent have included the garage?

[CoastieTX]

It's certainly a possibility. Like I said, I've crunched the numbers every possible way, including counting the garage. I'm at a loss to how the sellers arrived at their figure.

[Annemieke Roell]

Have a Certified Appraiser measure it according to ANSI standards. Will cost you about $100 but you'll have an official GLA measurement.