• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

What do property area (sq. ft.) include?

H

hongkongfever

Senior member
I know you can only count the living area when estimating the sq. ft. of a property. But what about places like the closet, hallway, or storage? Do they get counted too in the total sq. ft. of a property?
 
I always thought they counted everything that was finished (which would include things like closets, bathrooms, etc..., but not things like unfinished storage rooms)
 
hongkongfever said:
I'm in California but isn't there a general consensus on how things like this are calculated?
Click to expand...

I believe it's only finished, livable areas inside the house. Storage, closets, attics, and unfinished basements are not included. I'm not sure about stairwells.
 
apac said:
I believe it's only finished, livable areas inside the house. Storage, closets, attics, and unfinished basements are not included. I'm not sure about stairwells.
Click to expand...

When you say "finished" I assume you mean it's painted, has floorworks, etc?
 
We just got our house appraised recently, and the appraiser measured each floor from outside wall to outside wall, he didn't measure individual rooms. So I can only assume he was including all finished space, including stairwells, closets, etc.

Of course that was for the purpose of the appraisal; other methods may be used for other purposes.

And I'm not ruling out the possibility that the appraiser was being lazy.
 
mugs said:
We just got our house appraised recently, and the appraiser measured each floor from outside wall to outside wall, he didn't measure individual rooms. So I can only assume he was including all finished space, including stairwells, closets, etc.

Of course that was for the purpose of the appraisal; other methods may be used for other purposes.

And I'm not ruling out the possibility that the appraiser was being lazy.
Click to expand...


Sounds incorrect. If he measures it from the outside wall then that means the area of the dry walls get calculated too!
 
hongkongfever said:
Sounds incorrect. If he measures it from the outside wall then that means the area of the dry walls get calculated too!
Click to expand...

I said the outside wall, not the outside of the wall. He measured inside from one end of the house to the other.

Edit: I guess you could be referring to the space consumed by interior walls... yeah you have a point there, but as long as they use the same method to measure all houses it doesn't make much difference. Square footage of a house is mostly useful for comparison.
 
Last edited:
mugs said:
We just got our house appraised recently, and the appraiser measured each floor from outside wall to outside wall, he didn't measure individual rooms. So I can only assume he was including all finished space, including stairwells, closets, etc.

Of course that was for the purpose of the appraisal; other methods may be used for other purposes.

And I'm not ruling out the possibility that the appraiser was being lazy.
Click to expand...

same happened every time ive had a house appraised. outside walls and calced the inside area. he did include my enclosed carport as well since it was an actual room with carpet and all, but he said usually they didnt include them unless the floors were even with the rest of the foundation
 
those of you making simplistic, definitive statements really shouldn't be.

it depends on a number of things. There are various standards (gross, rentable, useable, etc) that are appropriate in different scenarios. Internally in each standard, there are provisions for various building types and conditions.

I think the BOMA guide is around 80 pages including the commentary (yes, I have one)

In practice, many real estate professionals don't fully understand the differences - they tend to with round numbers (within 5&#37😉 that more or less negate the differences in standards, except when necessary - in those cases you'll see the area listed with a specifier - 770sf rentable, for example. Lawyers that deal in real estate matters tend to be better about this.

The other thing to consider in all of this is efficiency. I currently rent an apartment purported to be 1300sf, but it generally feels closer to 1000 to me. Why? The layout is horrid, there are hundreds of SF wasted on dead, useless spaces.
 
I always thought they measured outside. If it's 2 story they just double. Basements usually don't count unless it's a walk out basement.

Think the reason for this is if you move walls/rooms around, the square footage still says the same.
 
hongkongfever said:
I know you can only count the living area when estimating the sq. ft. of a property. But what about places like the closet, hallway, or storage? Do they get counted too in the total sq. ft. of a property?
Click to expand...
Hallway connecting living spaces, yes other wise no.

Closet & storage area are not consider living space == No.
 
The generally accepted method of measuring square footage is to include all "conditioned space". That includes walls and closets. There are of course variations, but generally speaking if it's conditioned then it's living space.
 
Greenman said:
The generally accepted method of measuring square footage is to include all "conditioned space". That includes walls and closets. There are of course variations, but generally speaking if it's conditioned then it's living space.
Click to expand...

This is what I thought as well.

Some can try to game the system by having one vent in a garage, or a semi-finished basement or a walk-up attic. Those examples are exceptions, not the rule.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top