Standards for measuring square footage? (Austin, Cove: houses, tax, floor)

[nina_online]

It's possible our house might be larger than we thought, and if so, it would be good to know as we are going to put it on the market. I was thinking of hiring an appraiser to measure it, but I thought I'd measure it myself first to see what I get (e.g. if I get a smaller number I wouldn't bother hiring someone).

I've researched online how houses are measured but there sames to be a regional variation in practice. Does anyone know how houses are typically measured (e.g. by an appraiser) around here? Fortunately our house is a one-story with no stairs or basement.

Thanks so much,
Nina

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by nina_online

It's possible our house might be larger than we thought, and if so, it would be good to know as we are going to put it on the market. I was thinking of hiring an appraiser to measure it, but I thought I'd measure it myself first to see what I get (e.g. if I get a smaller number I wouldn't bother hiring someone).

I've researched online how houses are measured but there sames to be a regional variation in practice. Does anyone know how houses are typically measured (e.g. by an appraiser) around here? Fortunately our house is a one-story with no stairs or basement.

Thanks so much,
Nina

Surprisingly we have had this discussion on city data before. Search it for square footage. Most of them started with people complaining that they bought a house that had less sq ft than advertised. Then austin-steve went into why it is ok and the different ways to measure.

[nina_online]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Surprisingly we have had this discussion on city data before. Search it for square footage. Most of them started with people complaining that they bought a house that had less sq ft than advertised. Then austin-steve went into why it is ok and the different ways to measure.

Thanks for responding. Before posting I did a search ("measuring square footage" and "measure square footage") and only 1 of the 5 or 6 results was at all related but didn't have details. I've just gone through all 7 pages of results for "square footage" with no luck/ I don't suppose you remember anything ales about the thread to help me locate it?
Nina

[kiacook]

Here's one: https://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...footage+austin

Here's another: https://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...ht=square+foot

[jbiggs]

Originally Posted by nina_online

It's possible our house might be larger than we thought, and if so, it would be good to know as we are going to put it on the market. I was thinking of hiring an appraiser to measure it, but I thought I'd measure it myself first to see what I get (e.g. if I get a smaller number I wouldn't bother hiring someone).

I've researched online how houses are measured but there sames to be a regional variation in practice. Does anyone know how houses are typically measured (e.g. by an appraiser) around here? Fortunately our house is a one-story with no stairs or basement.

Thanks so much,
Nina

Square footage is measured using the outside footprint of the home and broken down as:

• Enclosed conditioned space I the space your heater and AC covers
• Enclosed unconditioned space - Typically garages and enclosed porches/patios
• Covered but open spaces - Front and rear porches, patios with just a cover over it, etc.

If you look at your local tax role data this is how they will break it down. To find your square footage, since you are one story:

1. Create a floor plan of the entire home using the outside wall lengths and include all covered areas. This gives you an outline of the home.
2. Using whatever method you are comfortable with calculate the entire area in the outlined diagram.
3. Measure the inner surfaces of each area category above starting with the covered porches/patios, then the unconditioned enclosed spaces (list each enclosed space separately). For each one subtract it from the total area from #2 above. The conditioned area will be what is left.

This should get you within a very reasonable expectation of actual square footage of each category of area.

[jbiggs]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Surprisingly we have had this discussion on city data before. Search it for square footage. Most of them started with people complaining that they bought a house that had less sq ft than advertised. Then austin-steve went into why it is ok and the different ways to measure.

Actually what austin-steve kept stating was a huge disclaimer about how agents are not responsible for what is placed in the listing data and how agents are not responsible for helping clients figure these things out, yada, yada. So what are agents good for?