Square feet (square footage, appraiser, agent, sales)

[JEM125]

How is the square foot determined when for i.e. its said to be 2000sq feet of living space? I have tried mutipling the lenght and width of each room and adding together, however it never comes out to what is stated as the sq footage of the house .
Can you give me an example of how it is done.

[acegolfer]

It's the sqft of the heated space using exterior dimensions. If you have the survey, then you can exactly reproduce the numbers.

[PotterGeek]

Ours has always been measured on the inside, room by room. Make sure you include hallways, stairs, space for closets. Anything that is heated, cooled.

[Chuckity]

Both ways are correct - real estate agents like the exterior measurements because it'll will measure bigger due to including hallways, closets, etc.

Homeowners when paying their property taxes will like interior measurements better. Less sq. footage sometimes equals smaller tax bill.

[Michelle Morris]

I have been taught to measure the rooms, inside, then add about 30% for hallways, closets, etc. Of course, I just check the tax records and go by those.

[acegolfer]

Google is your friend.

How to Measure and Calculate Residential Square Footage - Home Buying and Selling

It says it's for North Carolina, but I believe the guideline also apply to many other states.

My agent says as long as we have an appraiser measure the house and get it documented, we can use the new number instead of the tax record. She paid $130 to an appraiser to remeasure the house. The new sqft was 160 larger than the tax record. Originally, the sqft in my tax record was calculated by 2 times the sqft of the first floor. I did the math. We have a bedroom above the garage, which was not included in the original sqft. But the new sqft didn't double count the family room with cathedral ceiling. Over all, I gained more than lost in sqft.

For sellers, try to replicate the sqft using your survey. If you think it's too small, hire an appraiser to remeasure and get it documented. Ask the agents about this idea before you hire one. Additional sqft will absolutely help your sales because it's the most significant statistical factor to determine the price, locally. I can prove it easily, if you provide me with the sales data.

[Oakback]

Remember that GLA ( gross living area ) includes only above grade living area.
Not basements, or clubrooms.

[Buckhead_Broker]

Actually, there are three recognized methods, interior wall to interior wall, midwall to midwall and exterior wall to exterior wall. You'll obviously get different results with each method. That's why we don't quote square footage in our market - too many opportunities for the number to be challenged.