square footage in county tax records does not match MLS listing (comparable sales, sales)

[lklizzy]

I am looking to buy a house and made an offer etc. The square footage quoted in the MLS does match the county tax records. The seller disclosure does not have any updates on record. Any explanations?

[FalconheadWest]

The MLS is required to say where the number came from. It has to be some kind of documented number. It should not just say "per owner". If it doesn't say it's per the tax records, other options are per the builder's plan, per an appraisal, or other, and then you need to find out what "other" means.

You don't buy a house dollar per sqft anyway, so it's going to be all about whether or not you like the house, and what the comparable sales are telling you.

[centralaustinite]

It is not uncommon to have a discrepancy. Could be from an addition that was never reported to the tax office. Believe it or not (search the threads for much more) there is not a standard way to report sq footage, builders do it one way, insurance companies, appraisals can do another, how are stairs counted? Closets? total inside dimensions? or heated space? it goes on and on.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by lklizzy

I am looking to buy a house and made an offer etc. The square footage quoted in the MLS does match the county tax records. The seller disclosure does not have any updates on record. Any explanations?

This has come up a few times on the board (crazy isnt it?). I recommend you do a search to pull up some of the old threads - they went on for many pages .

The real estate agents trying to convince us that it shouldnt matter if the sq ft listing is off by 20%. If we like the house we like the house.

The rest of us calling BS.

[gdu]

Who cares? I'm not a real estate agent. I know how many sq ft the builder told me my house has. I have no idea if it's right or not. I know it's big enough for me.

No big deal unless it is off by alot.

[Zembonez]

MLS and local appraisal districts are known to often be wrong. It's not a conspiracy... just depends on how accurate the information is that they have been provided.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by gdu

Who cares? I'm not a real estate agent. I know how many sq ft the builder told me my house has. I have no idea if it's right or not. I know it's big enough for me.

No big deal unless it is off by alot.

right is 10% a lot, is 20% a lot? That is what the other threads discussed.

real estate agents tried to convince us it didnt matter. Obviously if it is 10 sq ft on a 2000 sq ft house no one is going to make a fuss. But 200 sq ft is a big deal.

[CarnivalGal]

Not uncommon at all. The square footage on the tax records for our house doesn't match what the builder has. And when we had an appraisal done for a refi, they came up with yet a third figure. Also, TCAD has our neighbors house listed at more square feet than ours, when in reality, it is the exact same floorplan and size.

[CptnRn]

Here area couple of the previous discussion threads on this topic.

//www.city-data.com/forum/austi...oney-back.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/austi...ame-again.html

Here is an illustration I did showing how big a 20% error is.

[mesmer]

Oh, I know how this goes.

The previous owner of our house got an appraisal prior to sale that showed an extra 250 square feet.

But then they did the work of actually telling TCAD, which meant that our house was 250 square feet bigger than the other identical or near identical floor plans in the neighborhood.

TCAD *says* they don't just figure out a $/sq ft and multiply it by square feet but oddly enough that was the exact amount that our house was over the average. We had to wait until we refinanced to get a different bank appraisal that gave us a number closer to the original number, and then get it changed. They didn't want to either.

So maybe you're saying to yourself - hey, it's no big deal, TCAD won't find out. Well, if you ever protest your taxes, they will. And you probably will if you pay less for the house than what it's assessed at right now.

Be very, very careful, that's for sure.