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I noticed a new listing in my neighborhood with a rather higher than usual listing price. The sq. footage listed online on Real Property Tax site as one number and the listing is stated 100 sq. ft. more.
With the increased sq. footage notated on the listing, the house is selling for 100.00 per sq ft.
When going by what is listed online on Tax site, it would be selling for 111.00 per sq foot which is above average for this area.
I would imagine this is something that would be caught if offer made and appraiser measures for accuracy?
But when a buyer looks at the listing, they are thinking they are getting a better deal when they see the sq. footage at the higher number.
How does the listing Realtor get the sq. footage info? Do they just take the word of the seller? What do they go by?
I would think if this info in incorrect, wouldn't that make the Comparative Market Analysis incorrect?
I know when I bought my house they also had the sq. footage higher. When the appraiser came in he determined it to be more than 100 sq feet lower. I called the tax office and they decreased my property taxes.
You're mixing up inaccurate and incorrect with malfeasance.
A 100sf error on a 2000SF (+/-) property is an inconsequential discrepancy
easily explained by ID vs OD wall thicknesses, rounding up dimensions (among many others).
A 1000SF discrepancy however (eg counting a lower level) is a far more serious misrepresentation
which could easily be interpreted as a deliberate malfeasance.
Typically a house is measured based upon the exterior perimeter. This is how appraisers do it. If it's a two story home, deductions are taken for two story rooms, etc. The toughest part is including rooms over garages. The actual interior square footage will be slightly smaller due to the dimensions of walls, etc.
When I was a listing agent, I determined the square footage in one of several ways. Most often I measured the exterior myself and did the math. If the seller had an old appraisal available I might use that. I rarely used the figures in our county Tax site. I would compare my figures to that figure, but I did stick with my own figure. Sometimes a home owner would have a floor plan available with the square footage. Again, I would use it as a comparison only. I had no idea how the person doing the floor plan determined the total square feet.
We don't know how your local Taxing body determines square feet. Perhaps it's only finished interiors. Perhaps it's heated/cooled areas only. Homes with basements, even finished basements, often have some unfinished areas. This might explain the difference also. The tax site may not reflect some newly finished space.
I always wondered whether a mulltistoried house is measured as number of floors times the square footage of the ground floor, or as actual interior floor space.
Also, is the thickness of the walls etc. included? Is a walkout basement with "normal" exposure on one side included?
I always wondered whether a mulltistoried house is measured as number of floors times the square footage of the ground floor, or as actual interior floor space.
Also, is the thickness of the walls etc. included? Is a walkout basement with "normal" exposure on one side included?
I always wondered whether a mulltistoried house is measured as number of floors
times the square footage of the ground floor, or as actual interior floor space.
Only in NC.
Everywhere else it's the SF of and above the front door (entry level) grade.
Quote:
Is a (finished) walkout basement with "normal" exposure on one side included?
Again... only in NC.
Everywhere else the lower levels are described separately without co-mingling the SF numbers
I noticed a new listing in my neighborhood with a rather higher than usual listing price. The sq. footage listed online on Real Property Tax site as one number and the listing is stated 100 sq. ft. more.
With the increased sq. footage notated on the listing, the house is selling for 100.00 per sq ft.
When going by what is listed online on Tax site, it would be selling for 111.00 per sq foot which is above average for this area.
I would imagine this is something that would be caught if offer made and appraiser measures for accuracy?
But when a buyer looks at the listing, they are thinking they are getting a better deal when they see the sq. footage at the higher number.
For all you know, the Real Property Tax site has the square footage wrong. Lots of inaccuracies in many of those local offices throughout the country.
Only in NC.
Everywhere else it's the SF of and above the front door (entry level) grade.
Again... only in NC.
Everywhere else the lower levels are described separately without co-mingling the SF numbers
Maybe KY also. I've been following the market there, and it looks like they count all finished SF, unless it is not the "front door" that makes it entry level, but rather any entry into the house at all, including garage.
As an example, I'm looking at a listing right now. I'm going to round the numbers but this is pretty much what they have listed.
Listing SF: 2000
Tax SF: 1200
This is an older house with a rear entry 2 car garage on the lower level. But the front door is on the upper level, with the lot sloping downward from the street.
Based on the tax SF and looking at the house pictures, it appears it is on a 1200 SF foundation.
Supposing about 400 SF is taken up by garage, I think it breaks down as:
1200 finished SF on ground (i.e., main) level
1200 lower level minus 400 (garage) = 800 SF finished basement level
So finished square feet are 1200 (upstairs) + 800 downstairs = 2000 total.
No idea how they actually measured it though.
Also, I think that I've seen true below grade basements counted also, but without the garage issue it would be harder for me to show you the math. Basically, if I recall (looking it up now), they will have Tax SF = 1100, listing SF = 2200 or something like that. Be right back with a verification...
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