Listing building square footage increased, is it trustworthy? (documentation, appraisal, negotiating)

[futuregleam]

Real-estate pros & experts of this forum, I got another question for you guys. I've been negotiating on a house that I'm looking to buy. A couple days ago, another house nearby came on the market, slightly higher building square footage, same floorplan, but slightly cheaper. My offer and the seller's counter offer are pretty close by this point. Yesterday the listing agent let my agent know that their house is actually bigger than what it was originally listed at. I saw they increased the building square footage from 2500s to 2700s (which is almost at the same building sqft as the house that just came on the market). They said it's because when the owner protested property tax, the tax appraiser did an estimation from the outside and reduced her square footage. I asked for proof that their house is actually the size they listed, still waiting to see the files. My question is, is it possible that the tax appraiser can reduce the building sqft from seeing it from the outside? Why didn't the seller & listing agent just list how big it actually was and went with the smaller number on tax record? Should I get an appraiser or should I just not worry about the building sqft? While 2500 sqft vs 2700 sqft is not a big difference and probably doesn't make or break the deal for me, I just want to know if I'm being fooled.
Note: The house I'm looking to buy is in Houston, TX.

[Lillie767]

House listings almost always go with the square footage on file tax and town records.

[spencgr]

An appraiser takes the SF from the tax file, they don't measure rooms.

[rational1]

1. I wouldn't even bother thinking about a discrepancy of this magnitude.

2. Why don't you measure it yourself if it's so important?

3. Which house do you LIKE? Or do you buy houses like hamburger?

[futuregleam]

Originally Posted by Lillie767

House listings almost always go with the square footage on file tax and town records.

Thanks! That's good to know.

Originally Posted by spencgr

An appraiser takes the SF from the tax file, they don't measure rooms.

Hmm ok. But where does the number from the tax file come from? The current owner is the original owner and she said she has documentation from builder on the sqft (still waiting for my realtor to send me the images so I can see for myself)

[futuregleam]

Originally Posted by rational1

1. I wouldn't even bother thinking about a discrepancy of this magnitude.

2. Why don't you measure it yourself if it's so important?

3. Which house do you LIKE? Or do you buy houses like hamburger?

It's not important to me. I was ready to accept their counter offer before they raised their sqft. I just don't want to be treated like a fool.

[thebigW]

Originally Posted by spencgr

An appraiser takes the SF from the tax file, they don't measure rooms.

Appraisers need to measure the outside of a house, it's not just taken from public records.

[CarnivalGal]

Square footage is not an exact science. Our builder has our square footage as one number, the county tax appraiser has it listed at another, and an appraisal for a refi came up with yet another number. So discrepancies are normal.

[adjusterjack]

Buy one of these and go measure it yourself.


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Keson-4-...R110/305129650


I've had mine for decades. It's not a one time thing. It's great for home projects as well.

[futuregleam]

Thanks! I appreciate all your responses and I'm feeling more comfortable now. The seller sent her files and I was able to find historical property data from county website which matched what she provided. I plan to accept the seller's counter offer.