# Home Buyer - Living Area mismatch



## amitdi (May 31, 2012)

Hi,
I recently bought a home, the offer is accepted, conditions have been removed. Possession is in June. The listing stated the area as 1418sqft, same was on the Manitoba assessment site. However, the appraiser has stated the area as 1352sqft.

I am not freaking out. I just want to know if 1418 was incorrect measurement or is there some discrepancy here. Is this something I should mention to my realtor. I just dont want to have unknown doubts.

Note: In both calculations, garage has not been counted, nor is the basement. Sunroom is 170sqft, so its not that too.


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

When I recently bought my house, the listing didn't actually have the area listed. When I asked the realtor about that, the statement was that because of the different ways that it can be calculated, it is no longer a meaningful comparison, i.e. some include a finished basement, some don't. It seems to be a case mainly for older homes.
That being said, a fun exercise may be to add up the living area based on the stated room dimensions and see what you come up with and how different it is compared to the stated areas established by the appraiser and listing. Evidently, you'll lose out a bit of area based on the hallways and such, but it may give you another number to look at to see what seems reasonable.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

In my last house there was about 60sq ft difference in our home and the neighbors ,the builder had 2-3 different floor plans and in our case we choose to square up the kitchen to make it a bit bigger while the neighbor opted for a covered porch in back step ,it may be something similar to that happening .


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## birdman (Feb 12, 2013)

Perhaps somebody is using the outside wall dimensions which accounts for close to 6 inches per lineal foot??


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

Could it be closet space? Stairwells? Something that small could easily be something one party did not measure. The assessment could have measured one side of the house to the other, while your appraiser measured room to room and added them up.

There is usually a disclaimer with the square footage in the listings along the lines of "approximate, buyer to verify calculations".


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## MRT (Apr 8, 2013)

many (most? all?) appraisers do not actually take measurements and tend to refer to secondary sources for that information (e.g. builder's plan, MLS, municipal assessment, prior appraisal report, etc.), so you might just ask the appraiser where they obtained the info.


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## amitdi (May 31, 2012)

MRT said:


> many (most? all?) appraisers do not actually take measurements and tend to refer to secondary sources for that information (e.g. builder's plan, MLS, municipal assessment, prior appraisal report, etc.), so you might just ask the appraiser where they obtained the info.


I know the appraiser measured the length and breadth and multiplied it for both levels (main and upper) and then added them. He has it in the report. His calculations dont leave out closets, stairs, etc. I dont think I have any question for the appraiser. I asked the realtor and even he wondered what the difference could be, but just played it down as not to worry (understandably he would want to do that).

The previous MLS listing in 2010 also has 1418 (higher this time's listing area). I specifically asked the realtor what should I put if I decide to put it for sale, he said 1418. Again its not such a big deal for me, just that I want to know the discrepancy and also the fact that the difference crosses the 1400 mark. When people hear the house area, they tend to ignore the last 2 digits, so 1352 becomes 1300


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