How Big is my House?

Have you ever wonder ... How big is your house and how much it impacts the property’s taxes?

I am Inés García your real estate advisor

One of the biggest challenges we face as agents, when it comes to pricing a home, is the disparities in the REAL size of the property. 

For example ... a seller tells us that it has certain size and we can't find a way to validate it.

Using the most reliable data source and questioning inconsistencies in the size of a property is essential, both when promoting it and when submitting an offer.

What sources are used to determine the size of a property?

-The Construction Drawings, which contain the most precise number but are generally difficult to obtain.

-The private appraisal of the property, which is generally ordered by the bank to grant a mortgage.

And

-The County Property Appraiser, who does the calculation for property tax collection purposes.

Although their system was not created to determine the true size, it is the only source we can access that applies to all properties; despite the fact that many times it has errors.

I had a situation in which the covered patio area was taken as interior area. The owners were charged more taxes than what they should. Later the county corrected and it represented a saving of over $1,000 a year.

I want to review the difference between the interior, adjusted and total construction area ...

And how each one is used

The LIVING/INTERIOR AREA: is the area under air conditioning.

It is normally the one used by external appraisers when preparing an appraisal.

THE ADJUSTED AREA: It is the interior area plus a fraction of the areas that are NOT under air conditioning; such as terraces, patios, porches, balconies, and garages; as well as adjustments are made in areas with higher than usual ceilings and the area on the upper floors.

This is, as I mentioned before, the one used by county appraisers to determine single-family homes’ property taxes.

The TOTAL AREA: is the entire indoor and outdoor area under roof, it is not so useful but it is used as a reference.

You may wonder, why is it so important to be clear about these differences?

Well ... determining the “correct” square footage is extremely relevant since it is used to determine the value of properties when selling and buying; It is important to compare apples to apples!

When we area analyzing a house, we must check the available sources of information and question if there is any inconsistency.

A discrepancy in the square footage may indicate that an addition was built without obtaining permits, that there is a mistake somewhere, or that the information has been manually changed in the Multiple Listing Service for a particular reason.

When a new listing is uploaded in the Multiple Listing Service, the system that real estate agents use to share information, property data is automatically populated from IMMAP which is a Provider's portal, it contains information extracted from the public records.

I had a listing in which we found an error in the number of bedrooms, making it look as if an addition was done without the requested permits; the owner called the county property appraiser’s office and the error was corrected.

In summary ... be mindful that the square footage of a property, in the multiple listing system, is not necessarily accurate. Understanding the different possible sources and the ways in which the size of a home can be determined, will give you a better guidance when deciding on the REAL value of a property.

When you check the size of your property I hope you do not find any inconsistencies, if you do, remember that there are ways to correct them!

I am looking forward to read your comments and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

Below is the link for the pages of Miami-Dade and Broward counties property appraisers.

I am Ines Garcia, your real estate advisor.