Is there a standard that every builder adhere to in reporting
square footage? Would features like Patio, attached (indoor or
outdoor) be included in its calculation?

Thanks,
Raymond

"Raymond Yeung" wrote in message
om...
Is there a standard that every builder adhere to in reporting
square footage? Would features like Patio, attached (indoor or
outdoor) be included in its calculation?

Thanks,
Raymond

it depends upon the builder, but typically no. generally it's just the
living space that is measured.

(Raymond Yeung) wrote in message . com...
Is there a standard that every builder adhere to in reporting
square footage? Would features like Patio, attached (indoor or
outdoor) be included in its calculation?

The term "heated space" is often used when giving square footage - if
a builder doesn't use this term, you can ask specifically for the
square footage of the heated space.

I did 4 refinancings in 2002 and 2003. There is a apprasal which
measures the house dimensions for each apprasal, except for one
of the appraser who just required the house plan that listed each
room dimensions.

Anyway, each apprasal's footage number for our house is different:
Apprasal 1: 3800 ft2
2: 3600 ft2
3: 3500 ft2
4: 3350 ft2

Builder's estimate: 3400 ft2
County's record: 3020 ft2

My estimate (from house plan): 3200 ft2, if the 2 story foyer area is
just counted 1X, 3300 if counted as 1.5X.

I am just wondering how that number is calculated, and get recorded.

(Raymond Yeung) wrote in message . com...
Is there a standard that every builder adhere to in reporting
square footage? Would features like Patio, attached (indoor or
outdoor) be included in its calculation?

Thanks,
Raymond

Raymond

Typically the square footage of a home is a measure of the total
living space, no exterior decks or patios, these are extra. So that a
30x70 bungalow would have 2100 square feet of area, and you should
note that, the square footage usually does not include the living area
of a finished basement or cellar of a dwelling either.

Hope this helps
kl

(kris) wrote in
om:

(Raymond Yeung) wrote in message
. com...
Is there a standard that every builder adhere to in reporting
square footage? Would features like Patio, attached (indoor or
outdoor) be included in its calculation?

Thanks,
Raymond

Raymond

Typically the square footage of a home is a measure of the total
living space, no exterior decks or patios, these are extra. So that a
30x70 bungalow would have 2100 square feet of area, and you should
note that, the square footage usually does not include the living area
of a finished basement or cellar of a dwelling either.

In many areas, storage and utility spaces are not counted in the total
either. I've seen some areas that include the garage (!?) but not finished
basement space. Most of the time, the calculations are based on rouded off
or esitmated measurements, some of which can be wildly off. Basically, the
numbers are useless. If square footage is important to you as a buyer,
you're better off making your own measurements and calcualtions, so
comparing numbers at least makes sense.

"David W." wrote in message ...

In many areas, storage and utility spaces are not counted in the total
either. I've seen some areas that include the garage (!?) but not finished
basement space. Most of the time, the calculations are based on rouded off
or esitmated measurements, some of which can be wildly off. Basically, the
numbers are useless. If square footage is important to you as a buyer,
you're better off making your own measurements and calcualtions, so
comparing numbers at least makes sense.

If square footage is useless, what do people use to decide on which property
is better valued?

(Raymond Yeung) wrote in
om:

"David W." wrote in message
...

In many areas, storage and utility spaces are not counted in the
total either. I've seen some areas that include the garage (!?) but
not finished basement space. Most of the time, the calculations are
based on rouded off or esitmated measurements, some of which can be
wildly off. Basically, the numbers are useless. If square footage is
important to you as a buyer, you're better off making your own
measurements and calcualtions, so comparing numbers at least makes
sense.

If square footage is useless, what do people use to decide on which
property is better valued?


Use a different definition of "value." Cost per square foot might be a
consideration if you're choosing between two nearly-identical houses, but
doesn't mean much in most cases.

Cost/foot sq. is only one of many measures of home value, and to me, it's
probably one of the worst. What about location, schools, lot size and
landscaping, construction quality, state of repair, appliances, cabinets,
school district, etc? The only time anything approaching square footage
enters into my decision making process, is in answer to questions like, "Is
the house large enough? Enough bedrooms? Storage space?"

On 8 Oct 2004 23:23:51 -0700, someone wrote:


If square footage is useless, what do people use to decide on which property
is better valued?

Location, neighborhood, appliances, cabinets, finishes, layout, number
of bedrooms and bathrooms, yard, landscaoing, the list goes on. You
sound like you have pretty mechanistic approach to value - what, no
decision making ability of your own? - to decide which house to buy
merely, or even mostly, from square footage. Measure if you want to -
but can't you tell which houses are bigger or smaller, and which are
about the same size? If two are about the same size - you would
really choose on square footage no matter what the other factors told
you???

In my area, square footage has very little relationship to value. The
million dollar houses don't seem to be 5 times the size of the $200k
ones. Or put it another way, for the same $300k people will buy
houses of vastly different sizes. Size is only one factor.

-v.

On 7 Oct 2004 14:51:13 -0700, someone wrote:

Is there a standard that every builder adhere to in reporting
square footage?

NO.

However, there *is* an ANSI spec on how to measure residential square
footage! Basically, above grade enclosed/heated exterior perimeter.
Rules on what to do with stairs in 2-story houses. NO, you do not
measure inside each finished room and add them up. NO you do not
deduct for minor "unfinished" segments within that perimeter.

But a builder AFAIK is not required to use the ANSI method unless he
says he is. Its mostly appraisers who are supposed to put out uniform
standard appraisals for the secondary market, that want a rule they
can conform to for CYA.


-v.

On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 18:50:41 GMT, someone wrote:


Why do you do that? (count the foyer as 1.5X) Are you confusing it
with cube feet?

No, builders sometime use rules of thumb like that for (cost)
estimating purposes. It costs more to build a 2-story high space than
a 1-story high one, but not as much as 2 full floors (each with floor
and ceiling finish). OP is merely mixing his purposes, maybe because
he heard a builder talk like that once.

-v.

On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 10:22:08 -0400, someone wrote:


I am just wondering how that number is calculated, and get recorded.

There is an ANSI stanard for this. I am surprised appraisers are not
conforming (I used to be one) but then again many are not rocket
scientists. Its basically outside perimeter of each above grade
floor.

An appraiser who adds up interior rooms sizes is way the hell off base
of any procedure I have heard of (though its been years since I did
that work).

I don't know what you mean by "get recorded": Huh? Whoever did the
measurement for their purposes writes it down in their records. WTF
is "recorded" here?

If you think the Assessor has an erroneous figure, go ahead and ask
them to correct it - but most people would find it foolish to ask them
to increase it!

-v.

(v) wrote in message ...
On 8 Oct 2004 23:23:51 -0700, someone wrote:


If square footage is useless, what do people use to decide on which property
is better valued?

Location, neighborhood, appliances, cabinets, finishes, layout, number
of bedrooms and bathrooms, yard, landscaoing, the list goes on. You
sound like you have pretty mechanistic approach to value - what, no
decision making ability of your own? - to decide which house to buy
merely, or even mostly, from square footage.

And you sounded like someone who likes to jump to conclusion a lot, some
know-it-all, someone who doesn't have anythong better in life to do then
to pick a fight in a public forum.

When too many things a different, you obviously can't compare them with
just one criteria. But I presume people would do such a cost/sq-footage
comparison for houses in the same neighbourhood.

Shame! An open-ended question attracts such a close-minded response!!

I don't know what you mean by "get recorded": Huh? Whoever did the
measurement for their purposes writes it down in their records. WTF
is "recorded" here?


State/County record each property's footage, I suppose. At least in MD, you
can go to
http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/

and get any property's footage, lot size, accessed value and sale history by
select an county name and plug in an address or a street name.

Now interesting thing is that square footage number usually are not
accurate.
In my case, the county record office probably used the original blue prints
of
the house plan, omiting the customized part (an addition of an extra room)
and
and has that recorded in their database. I don't think an accessor ever
visited
my house.

So there may be an ANSI standard. But nobody follows that here.

(Raymond Yeung) wrote in message . com...
Is there a standard that every builder adhere to in reporting
square footage? Would features like Patio, attached (indoor or
outdoor) be included in its calculation?

Thanks,
Raymond

You can go to your county taxing authority website and pull up a
property description. I've been looking at houses in one city in Texas
and sf includes decks, porches, garage, etc., in the total, not just
the space under the roof. The ads reflect what is on the county
website.

On 10 Oct 2004 00:33:45 -0700, someone wrote:

...But I presume people would do such a cost/sq-footage
comparison for houses in the same neighbourhood.

There is no reason to "presume" that most people do this. My
observation is the opposite. Somebody wants a 3-BR, 2-1/2 bath house
in a certain school district and not too far from work - and they pick
the "nicest" house of the comparably priced ones, without resorting to
detailed calculations of SF to tell them which is the best for them.
Of similar houses, the other factors appear to GREATLY outweigh square
footage. Gettting a "deal" on square footage is no deal if the family
liked the other house better because it had a nicer kitchen, layout,
bathrooms, yard, etc.

With commercial property, especially leased property, it is typically
the opposite. It is sold or leased by the square foot.

-v.

On 11 Oct 2004 08:40:25 -0700, someone wrote:


You can go to your county taxing authority website and pull up a
property description.

That's overly general. In the last 2 states I've lived in, there are
generally NO "county" assessment recordes, because individual cities
and towns perform their own assessments. (Unlike some western and I
guess even some southern states, we have no "unincorporated" areas
that are part of counties, every square inch is part of some
incorporated city or town(ship)).

Also, I doubt any of the towns in my county have this on a website, I
don't think most of them even have websites.

I've been looking at houses in one city in Texas
and sf includes decks, porches, garage, etc., in the total, not just
the space under the roof. The ads reflect what is on the county
website.

If that's what they do in your area, then that is what they do in your
area, but its not universal at all. The national standards for
residential appraisals (done to conform to the secondary mortgage
market) do not include these things as part of the house's SF. That
is, a 2400 SF house with a 400 SF deck is just that, and not a 2800 SF
house.

-v.

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 11:58:56 -0400, someone wrote:

State/County record each property's footage, I suppose. At least in MD, you
can go to
http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/

and get any property's footage, lot size, accessed value and sale history....

That's "assessed" value. Be careful not to confuse cause and effect.
Such a website would tell you what that entity BELIEVES is the sq
footage of that property, it doesn't mean it IS the SF.

This sounds like just an electronic version of what in my day were
paper "Property Record Cards". The main use of which, was to show the
homeowner what the basis for his assesment was, so he could protest
errors like "I only have 2 bathrooms not 3", or "my house isn't that
big".

It is risky to use them for any other purpose because they are not in
any way certified or guaranteed, its just disclosing what is in the
public record. The assessor does not "set" what the square footage
is. The assessor merely uses what he believes the SF is as part of
making an assessment, until such time as more accurate inf is brought
to his attention. It is not "recorded" in the sense that a deed or
mortgage is "recorded" and becomes a legal fact, its only recorded in
a general sense that it is a figure written down or memorialized.

-v.