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As I search the house listings, how am I to know if the quoted square feet is living a/c or total(includes garage, piato, balcony, entrance, deck, etc.) Sometimes its obvious by looking at the picture of the house or the seller mentions it. Otherwise, this may make it hard to assess the true value without personally visiting the house and I cant visit every house I see advertized. I am searching for houses in different states and cities to get a comparsion and this living vs. total square feet adds confusion. I want to compare apples to apples so I compare living vs. living square feet, but of course total square feet matters. Two houses can have the same living square feet, one have a higher total square feet.
As I search the house listings, how am I to know if the quoted square feet is living a/c or total(includes garage, piato, balcony, entrance, deck, etc.) Sometimes its obvious by looking at the picture of the house or the seller mentions it. Otherwise, this may make it hard to assess the true value without personally visiting the house and I cant visit every house I see advertized. I am searching for houses in different states and cities to get a comparsion and this living vs. total square feet adds confusion. I want to compare apples to apples so I compare living vs. living square feet, but of course total square feet matters. Two houses can have the same living square feet, one have a higher total square feet.
Most of the time they do not include decks, garage or out buildings in the sq.ft, unless the garage is heated and cooled. the only time I have ever seen that was when the made the garage another room, they shouldnt include it unless it is considered a room. Sq. Ft is usually living space.
Thanks for your reply! I already gave you positive reputation not long ago.
Thats what I thought. In my search, most cities have sellers listing only the living square feet while mentioning additional extensions like basements or garages. However in my city, some people have the habit of including everything into square feet so I see smallish 3 bedroom houses being shown as having 3000+ square feet and 4 bedroom houses as 4500, even 5000 square feet! I can tell obviously its total, but how would I know what the living footage was?
Do basements count as living square feet? What about attics? Any detached structure shouldnt count, right? I know garages dont unless converted into a room that becomes part of the living environment then it counts as living square feet. Another question, do attics count as an additional story? Half a story? I noticed almost everyone doesnt count basement as a story. But I think attics may count.
Thanks for your reply! I already gave you positive reputation not long ago.
Thats what I thought. In my search, most cities have sellers listing only the living square feet while mentioning additional extensions like basements or garages. However in my city, some people have the habit of including everything into square feet so I see smallish 3 bedroom houses being shown as having 3000+ square feet and 4 bedroom houses as 4500, even 5000 square feet! I can tell obviously its total, but how would I know what the living footage was?
Do basements count as living square feet? What about attics? Any detached structure shouldnt count, right? I know garages dont unless converted into a room that becomes part of the living environment then it counts as living square feet. Another question, do attics count as an additional story? Half a story? I noticed almost everyone doesnt count basement as a story. But I think attics may count.
yes basements count when they are finished and heated/cooled and attics too for the same reason, and no out building shouldnt be included, unless you put an in-law out there LOL!!! thanks for the reps!!
Watch out for unfinished basements being counted in total sq. footage. They do it here in Missouri often and it's something I find dishonest and misleading.
I can tell you that in Washington state, the large counties have the assessor data on their web sites. In my county you can find out everything about a house, including a photo. you may want to search your counties web site and see if they offer this service.
Where I live they don't count unfinished basements into the square footage. I have a basement and if I could count that then my house would be really big. The only way they count it is if the basement has access from the inside and is completely finished.
However they did could my inclosed sunroom into the square feet which I felt should be counted. It's completely enclosed with windows so why shouldn't it count? I mean a room is a room whatever it is.
I guess when you get down to how things are counted it's all about what they do in each local area. They say real realestate is all local.
I just sold a house in FL. The Realtor there told me that in order to include square footage it must be "climate controlled", provided that the rest of the home is also "climate controlled". My utility room was not included, even though it was an interior room because it did not have heat or a/c.
Often you will see this in the listing as "XX sf under air".
What is meant by unfinished basement? Arent all basements able to access from within the house? I think of basments as -1 floor. Like you can take the stairs to the second floor, you can go downstairs into the basement. They may be empty but can be used as a storage space for all your boxes, canned foods, wine and collections
Don't forget to check the state regulations on the basement garage issue, finished or not,heated or not. Here in TN, if it is considered "below grade" even if you put 25k into finishing a basement, put in a bath and all, if it is "below grade" (3 walls more underground than not) it adds NO value to the house on an appraisal, might make it more appealing though. I have seen several here waste a lot of money thinking they are adding to the value of there home and it really doesn't. I believe that differers from state to state.
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