What constitutes square footage on Daniel Island? (Charleston, Bluffton: real estate, condos)

[RadiatorSprings]

Are they counting covered porches?

Screened porches?

Are they counting inside the garage?

Thanks.

[USCJoe]

Square footage on Daniel Island as well as all other areas of Charleston is calculated from taking measurements of the exterior of a home for the most part. Separate finished rooms over the garage are measured from the inside of the room as are condos. If the walls are sloping in the room over the garage, than the square footage is taken from a vertical line drawn from a point 5 feet up from the floor on in. All "bonus room" must be finished like the rest of the home. Screened porches and garages are not counted.

Originally Posted by RadiatorSprings

Are they counting covered porches?

Screened porches?

Are they counting inside the garage?

Thanks.

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by RadiatorSprings

Are they counting covered porches?

Screened porches?

Are they counting inside the garage?

Thanks.

They are supposed to just be counting heated square feet.

I recently caught a developer trying to pass off homes advertised as having 1900 sq feet of space that only had 1495 square feet and others were supposed to have 1400 that only had 975 in the Hilton Head/Bluffton area.


I asked to read the condo docs and of course there was a section in there stating more or less "for tax assessment purposes" the properties were the inflated amounts above. (It didn't say they wre inflated but I'm telling you they were because I measured). They even had a floor plan for each home with room measurements and by adding those all together you were lucky to come up with 3/4 the amount of space advertised.

I think people who buy these homes are distracted by how nice the models look that they don't even question that the representation of the property may be exaggerated and you may not be getting exactly what they are telling you you are getting. In fact they evidently don't even bother to look at the condo docs before they make an offer. I'm glad I did because I found some very objectionable rules.


I think describing the units as being bigger than they are must be one of the gimmicks used by builders to get a city to approve a development because they are promised by the builders that buyers of homes will be paying a premium in taxes.

What do you think?

[RadiatorSprings]

So then, they could be counting covered porches (not screened in) if they are part of the overall measurement of the footprint, yes?

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by USCJoe

Square footage on Daniel Island as well as all other areas of Charleston is calculated from taking measurements of the exterior of a home for the most part. Separate finished rooms over the garage are measured from the inside of the room as are condos. If the walls are sloping in the room over the garage, than the square footage is taken from a vertical line drawn from a point 5 feet up from the floor on in. All "bonus room" must be finished like the rest of the home. Screened porches and garages are not counted.

If they measure using the outside walls, would this be enough to add an extra 25 or 30 percent square footage on top of the size of the actual heated interior?

[USCJoe]

You measure the outside walls but the space inside the walls must be heated, cooled and finished off like the rest of the home.

Originally Posted by emilybh

If they measure using the outside walls, would this be enough to add an extra 25 or 30 percent square footage on top of the size of the actual heated interior?

[RadiatorSprings]

Originally Posted by USCJoe

You measure the outside walls but the space inside the walls must be heated, cooled and finished off like the rest of the home.

And if it is not heated, cooled and finished off like the rest of the home, you would then deduct for these covered porches (front, back, side, wherever?) to get the right calculation?

Do some people not deduct all these covered porches, and perhaps that is when the disclaimer of measure for yourself comes about?

[USCJoe]

That is correct. The disclaimer that you will see in real estate listings, I believe is an attempt to eliminate potential legal liability to the listing agent and/or owner, although real estate attorneys have said that you can not insulate yourself from potential liability by putting such a disclaimer in a listing. As a Realtor representing a client, I do not rely solely on the listed square footage in the mls. Often times, an experienced Realtor will get a gut feeling that the listed square footage is off substantially. If there is any question about the accuracy of the figure they should measure the home themselves prior to submitting an offer. If the square footage in the mls is taken from a professional appraisal it can generally be relied upon although I have encountered fairly substantial mistakes by experienced appraisers, so even those figures may be wrong. From my experience, the least reliable square footage figures are those found in the tax records. As a listing agent, it is preferable and recommended that they measure the home themselves and keep their notes and calculations in their file. The listing agent should be looking out for the best interests of their client/home owner and this is just one of the services that the listing agent can provide, although it should not take the place of a measurement done by a professional. Some homes are relatively easy to measure with a high degree of confidence that the measurement is correct. If the home is uniquely shaped the seller might consider paying for a professional measurement by a licensed appraiser.

Originally Posted by RadiatorSprings

And if it is not heated, cooled and finished off like the rest of the home, you would then deduct for these covered porches (front, back, side, wherever?) to get the right calculation?

Do some people not deduct all these covered porches, and perhaps that is when the disclaimer of measure for yourself comes about?