# How to measure a house's square footage.



## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

Around here they measure the outside to determine square footage. They aren't supposed to count garage unless it was converted to living space? Also not supposed to count the basement unless it's a walkout.


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

I'd go with the tax assessor's number.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Around here also, I believe its outside of foundation.


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## 660catman (Aug 25, 2019)

Around here it’s outside measurements. 


Retired guy from Southern Manitoba, Canada.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Here we would measure the whole building outside and then the outside of the garage. 

Then we might advertise 2500 including a 400 SF garage.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

While accurately representing the size of the house - I assume you will be describing individual room dimensions as well - I can't say I've ever seen a house that is priced by its square dimensions. There are a number of factors in considering the listing price of a house in a given market area.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

lenaitch said:


> While accurately representing the size of the house - I assume you will be describing individual room dimensions as well - I can't say I've ever seen a house that is priced by its square dimensions. There are a number of factors in considering the listing price of a house in a given market area.


Here in the Bluegrass (Kentucky) all houses are represented by square footage. No individual room measurements are given.

As an aside, the realtors all use camera lens to make the rooms look bigger than they are. Of course if someone in interested in the house they will see actual rooms. That seems like it should not be allowed. I guess since everyone knows they do that it's not a big deal.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Mike Milam said:


> Here in the Bluegrass (Kentucky) all houses are represented by square footage. No individual room measurements are given.
> 
> As an aside, the realtors all use camera lens to make the rooms look bigger than they are. Of course if someone in interested in the house they will see actual rooms. That seems like it should not be allowed. I guess since everyone knows they do that it's not a big deal.



I'm not sure if the OP is using an agent/listing service or is going it alone. Here, listings show overall area plus each room's dimensions, lot dimensions and a bunch of other categories (build year, waste and water system, heat source, etc.). Listing photos, perhaps even a walk-through video and drone footage are almost standard as well. Most realtors job this part out. I never thought wider angle lenses. I can't say I've ever one that was obviously distorted ('fisheye') but if it was subtle I probably wouldn't notice. I suppose they would say they're just trying to get the whole room in the shot.


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## Fman (Nov 9, 2018)

Apropos of nothing (sorta) a guy I knew said he had a three story house. I was familiar with the part of town he lived in and there was nothing that big on his street. Just one and two story houses. Well, turns out he had a two story- but was counting the basement as a story. The worst part was, he was an Arthur Anderson accountant...


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Go with what the TAX MAN says it is, they want every dime that they can legally take from you ( the homeowner), to rent your own property, and what they say goes.


ED


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## CaptTom (Dec 31, 2017)

Fman said:


> ...Well, turns out he had a two story- but was counting the basement as a story. The worst part was, he was an Arthur Anderson accountant...


Our company wanted to build a new three-story office building. The story I got was that town zoning rules, and insurance costs, made that prohibitive. So they built it such that they could push dirt up against two sides of the first floor, and call it a 2-story building with a basement.

I've seen wide-angle lenses used in interior photos. Sometimes you just can't stand far enough back to take in enough of the room to get a good idea what it looks like in real life. A total "fish-eye" look is distracting, but most cell phones have a wider angle option which looks OK and conveys more information than a narrow shot would.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Locally the sq footage goes by the exterior dimensions , minus the garage. Basements are only included if they are finished. If the 2nd floor is smaller than the 1st, only the floor footage would be included.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

There's some argument about the correct way to do it. Years ago the generally accepted norm was gross exterior measurements.


For your purposes I would simply quote the PVA number in writing with full attribution. Xxx square feet per PVA office. It is the number that most appraisers will use in determining value. Should you disagree with the PVA you can always say 'the PVA office calls it xxx but my personal measurements say is more / less'.



If I quoted any number for the garage I would say 'Garage interior measures out to xxxx square feet'. That number is never included in the homes square footage.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

https://www.diychatroom.com/members/colbyt-218964/

Pva?

ED


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Colbyt said:


> There's some argument about the correct way to do it.


In the town I used to live in, the local Real Estate Board eliminated advertising square feet for that very reason. If you have a ranch on a slab, its pretty obvious, but when you have maybe a side-split or partially finished basement, it might not be obvious.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

PVA = Proper Valuation Administrator. AKA the tax assessor or the B%$#@(*& who figures out how much they are going to charge you to own your home.


Yeah! I just opened my tax bills for the year.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

PVA = Proper Valuation Administrator. AKA the tax assessor or the B%$#@(*& who figures out how much they are going to charge you to own your home.


Yeah! I just opened my tax bills for the year.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Colbyt said:


> PVA = Proper Valuation Administrator. AKA the tax assessor or the B%$#@(*& who figures out how much they are going to charge you to own your home.
> 
> 
> Yeah! I just opened my tax bills for the year.



Yeah me too, and I have until the 11/15 to get it paid, or suffer eviction from my shack. :vs_laugh:


ED


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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

The Federal Government tells us that inflation is running about 1.7%

Anybody's property tax bill go up by *less than* 1.7%???????

Mine went up 7.4%
.
.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

Mine went up 8.5%. But, it has been the same for the prior 9 years. They revalue every so often around here.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

In Ontario, there is an independent not-for-profit corporation that manages property assessment. Every property gets a re-assessment notice every four years and any increase in value is phased-in over the next four years (a decrease is applied in full immediately). It is up to each municipality to determine the 'mil' (tax) rate to calculate against assessment values. Assessed value usually lags market value but the latter can be volatile. We get our tax notices in the spring with three scheduled payment deadlines.


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## ktownskier (Aug 22, 2018)

Use what is common in your area. Which is usually the assessor's office. Or whomever calculates the value of your property for taxes. 

Follow the guidelines of other listings in your area. See how they are listing their properties. Do they show listings of room sizes or just the count of rooms? Do they show the garage size or just that there is a garage and that it is attached or detached?

One way to find the property information is to go to your counties website. Usually www.co.grand.co.us or just google search your county. And then look for Property, Taxes, Mapping, GIS. One of these will allow you to search for information about your property.

It depends on how your county displays the information as well as where it displays it. 

Here is how my county displays the information:

Actual Area2761.6000 Footprint Area1620.8000 Heated Area1140.8000 Garage Area480.0000 Living Area1140.8000 
Finished Basement0.0000 Unfinished Basement1140.8000 

So, you could say a lot of things about my house. All of which is true. 

I have a 1600 sqft home which includes a large 480 sqft attached garage. 
or 
My house is 1100 sq ft with a 500 sq ft attached garage. With a full 1100 sqft basenent. 
or
I have a 2800 sqft home which includes 1141 sqft above ground, 1141 sqft below ground in a full unheated basement. Plus a large 480 sq ft attached garage.


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## Rev Truth V (May 17, 2017)

I'm a 30-year real estate appraiser. 

The accepted measurement would be the outside dimensions of the above grade area not including the garage. 

I wouldn't advertise my own measurements if I were you. I know of at least once instance where the buyer sued because they relied upon the seller's representation and it was off.
Probably best to state the assessor's figure with attribution, as previously suggested.


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## IPSC (Jun 8, 2018)

I find this frustrating too......where I used to live (NY state), the square footage is where you live as heated living space. When I moved to SC,.....they typically show all (unheated too) square footage. You needed to look deep into the property description text to see the smaller, actual inside-room, heated-area, square footage.
When you measured your inside rooms, don't forget you need to add the unusble space inside your interior wall space studs. My suggestion....show two numbers...."heated" ( the total room space you live in, including wall stud area)....and "under-roof-unheated".....the total sqaure footage that may include your attached garage.... and then define these 2 areas.


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## 3onthetree (Dec 7, 2018)

dg152 said:


> county assessor's 2,089
> told when we purchased that the house was 2300
> I've measured come up with just under 2100
> include the attached 2-car garage then 2,585
> ...


You seem to have discrepancies. As all comments said, it is exterior foundation and what the assessor has is the golden number. They use the building plans and footprint from the survey. Oftentimes discrepancies occur when a HO "extends into/captures" a covered porch or something and makes it part of a conditioned space. So different numbers than what the taxman shows might flag a buyer because it means it has not been permitted. 

But I'm sure your own measured numbers are off, you can't measure inside walls and estimate wall thicknesses to add up a total SF accurately. 

It sounds like you should contract with a realtor. If you've seen an MLS sheet, they indicate estimated room sizes along with the overall tax assessor's numbers. There is no such thing as price/SF for an entire house, if you hear someone spout a number in that format it is only their ignorance or marketing spin.


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## Jonijumpup (Aug 24, 2018)

Okay, so i live in Michigan. How do they measure sq. ft of a tri-level? Two story section with a garage, and a one story with a basement, so there is really four levels.


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## 3onthetree (Dec 7, 2018)

Jonijumpup said:


> Okay, so i live in Michigan. How do they measure sq. ft of a tri-level? Two story section with a garage, and a one story with a basement, so there is really four levels.


Hey, happy to have you weigh in from being on the sidelines for a year! 
They use the exterior dimensions of the upper floors from the original plans. Not worried about siding thickness and stuff.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

Jonijumpup said:


> Okay, so i live in Michigan. How do they measure sq. ft of a tri-level? Two story section with a garage, and a one story with a basement, so there is really four levels.


We sold this house in 2009. It was measured in two halves. The taller part was measured (outside) and doubled since it was a walkout and then the shorter part was measured and added to the taller part. Came out at 2,600 SQ FT. which happened to be what the PVA had on their records. Around here this is considered a quad level because the garage was underneath and on a lower level. Garage was not counted.


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## Dave Sal (Dec 20, 2012)

According to the county, my house (a tri-level) is 1375 sq ft, but for some reason they don't count anything below grade. My family room, the utility room, and a half bath are all below grade so realistically I have about 1750 sq ft.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

A friend of mine started building houses to sell and thought he could just bump the square footage a little. The first offer came in with a sight map from the city that should the exact amount of feet he would have been allowed to build on that size of lot. Oops.


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## Tom153 (Nov 10, 2016)

Typically the square footage of a home is determined by measuring the foundation outside the home. That's also what the tax assessor does, since they don't need access to inside the house, plus it's way easier to measure the outside of the foundation. An attached garage is not included, unless it is converted to liveable space (so it's no longer a garage). A below grade "unfinished" basement is not included as living space, but would be included as additional to the square footage. The idea is to list the square footage of "livable space"; then include additional items, like "unfinished basement 500 square feet, two car attached garage, 100 square foot detached shed..etc. Livable space is typically finished, like sheetrock, trim, molding, flooring, heated. lighting, receptacles...etc.


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## LawnGuyLandSparky (Nov 18, 2007)

Many ways to skin this cat.


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