Sellers Profit from our Low Cost Square Foot Measuring Service
In the real world, buyers want to know how many square feet are included in a house. Misrepresenting square footage can get a seller into big trouble.
Sellers can legally quote courthouse square footage. Unfortunately, the Assessor measures the square footage of a house by rounding up or down exterior dimensions to the nearest whole foot. Builders estimate square footage from floor plans.
Licensed appraisers physically measure a home to provide the most accurate square footage calculations. Appraisers use a standard of measurement called ANSI, American National Standard Institute. This standard is considered the most reliable and may be used as a legal representation of the “Market” square footage size of a home.
This explains why there are discrepancies between various square foot calculations and why uninformed sellers can cost themselves potential cash profit.
HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE:
A home sold for $150,000. Courthouse records indicate the house has 2,000 square feet. One can easily calculate the home sale price at $75 per square foot.
Assume another home down the street is the same exact builder model, but measured by a licensed appraiser and is calculated at 2,013 square feet.
The mere 13 square foot difference above is only a 2.5’ x 5.2’ area, the approximate size of a typical bedroom closet, which can easily be lost when the Assessor rounds dimensions to the nearest whole foot.
Based on $75 per square foot sale price of the first home, a quick calculation indicates the seller can market price the second house for $150,975, or $975 more than the seller of the first house. In other words, the seller of the first house left a potential $975 on the bargaining table.
As the simplistic hypothetical example shows, the nominal fee for a licensed appraiser measurement can be easily recaptured by potentially netting a seller more cash profit. Actual results can vary.
Samples of actual cases:
2,913 Courthouse, 3,400 Appraiser Measured, or 487 SF differential.
2,273 Courthouse, 2,436 Appraiser Measured, or 163 SF differential.
1,672 Courthouse, 1,856 Appraiser Measured, or 184 SF differential.
1,434 Courthouse, 1,695 Appraiser Measured, or 261 SF differential.
Call today to schedule your low cost home measurement service.
David Appraisal Service, Inc.
Phone: (918) 231-6175
Fax: (918) 747-8340
Email: David@DavidAppraisal.com
We are Greater Tulsa Real Estate Appraisers!