[quote=Tillers]Square footage – This is NEVER accurate to the actual size of the home. Many of the places I look at are 20-30% lower then what is listed.[/quote]
I learned a bit about assessors and square footage recently, which helps explain a bit of the looniness.
The way square footage has been assessed has changed over the years. In recent history, basically the assessor takes the tract home developer’s word for it. These measurements can actually be a bit conservative, to prevent lawsuits. There were some CA lawsuits such as “Shea Homes said they were selling me a 15×20 bedroom but it was 14×18!” and the plaintiff won a settlement. This is also why dimensions are nowhere on the floor plans you get from new home developments.
However, for older homes and where dimensions are not submitted, the old methodology was to take the outside wall dimensions and subtract a certain percentage to get the livable space, which varied from 10-30% over the years, depending on current trends regarding closets, garages, etc (which don’t count as livable space). See:
So, on custom homes or anything older than about 20 years, the “square footage per assessor” can often be wacky, or at least feel very different from more modern homes. Combined with sellers stretching measurements like you’ve seen, I always take a tape measure. 🙂
