{"id":708,"date":"2023-09-28T01:52:39","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T01:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/?p=708"},"modified":"2023-09-29T01:54:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T01:54:09","slug":"how-to-measure-square-footage-for-residential-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/how-to-measure-square-footage-for-residential-property\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Measure Square Footage for Residential Property"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Measuring a Home\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vYz4J-eZb9c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hear ye! Hear ye! There is no national standard for measuring a residential property. I repeat: NO NATIONAL STANDARD. Actually,&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;guidelines tend to vary from state to state. In some states,&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;is not a required data point. (SAY WHAT!?!?!) Honestly, much of the&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;data is all wrong. This is partially because no one knows HOW to measure a house and partially because outdated data is being used (I\u2019m looking at you, tax records).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(*One caveat: Fannie Mae has standardized property measuring guidelines for appraisers. Some voluntarily adopted the standard when it first launched in 1996, and some tax assessors use it too. But not all.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, let\u2019s start with the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s counted in the total&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;of a house?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only finished spaces are included in a home\u2019s&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage. These are areas that can be lived in throughout the year and typically have the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A ceiling (must have a floor-to-ceiling height of seven feet or more)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A wall covering (painted cinderblock is a gray area)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Flooring<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Heating and cooling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rooms that are typically included in a home\u2019s&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage, if they are finished, are bedrooms (and closets), bathrooms, hallways, kitchen, living areas, enclosed patios (with heating and cooling), finished attics, and finished basements. The garage doesn\u2019t count because it\u2019s an unfinished space unless it has been legally converted into a living space. This means that it\u2019s air-conditioned (heated), too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is NOT counted in&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All unfinished areas are not included in square footage calculations. These typically include the garage, attic, rooms with less than seven feet of&nbsp;ceiling clearance, unfinished basements, screened porches, exterior storage areas, pool house, guest house, and detached in-law quarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How is most&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;calculated?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, the answer to this question depends on who you ask. Builders, Realtors and appraisers all have different methods when it comes to measuring the square footage of a home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many&nbsp;<strong>builders<\/strong>&nbsp;will report the gross&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;of a home or the total footprint of the structure of the property\u2014 which measures along the exterior walls. NET&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;measures only the livable space, leaving out space taken up by walls and other parts not considered habitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Appraisers<\/strong>&nbsp;will measure only interior spaces that are heated and cooled, within the guidelines established by their firm. Most appraisers CANNOT count ANY level that is partially below grade, even walk-out basements. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (federally backed mortgage institutions) require ANSI (American National Standards Institute) measuring requirements, which regulate gross living area standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some cities and counties have property&nbsp;<strong>tax records<\/strong>&nbsp;available online, which include detailed information about ownership, taxes, lot lines, etc. This is the easiest method for most Realtors to gather their data. However, the tax assessor may have been wrong when the measurements were put in the record, or&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;may have been added to the property and not the assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How SHOULD&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;be calculated?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Math 101 tell us that length x width should be used to calculated square footage. (A one-story home that is 60\u00a0feet\u00a0wide x 40\u00a0feet\u00a0long = 2400 square feet). Some Realtors will use a laser distance measurer, which is easier than fighting a measuring tape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Should I Add Square Footage to My Home?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Renovating unfinished space isn\u2019t always necessary, though it\u2019s the quickest way to attempt to add value. If you\u2019re considering selling your home, talk with me to discuss which areas of your house may benefit from being finished. (Sometimes it\u2019s as easy as adding a mini-split to an enclosed porch!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hear ye! Hear ye! There is no national standard for measuring a residential property. I repeat: NO NATIONAL STANDARD. Actually,&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;guidelines tend to vary from state to state. In some states,&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;is not a required data point. (SAY WHAT!?!?!) Honestly, much of the&nbsp;square&nbsp;footage&nbsp;data is all wrong. This is partially because no one knows HOW to measure a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-homeowner","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/how-to-meaure-square-footage.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":710,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions\/710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}