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Description: Prudential Unlimited Realty in Brookline allegedly listed properties with falsely inflated square footage
URL: http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/blogs/renow/2008/03/but_it_feels_bi.html
Info/Broken?: http://www.bostonbubble.com/link_info.php?id=1516

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[Brian C]

This stuff happens ALL the time and nothing is done to these realtors who lie.

Back in 2006, I viewed a condo that was listed at 2,050 sq ft. The price per sq/ft was right in my range so I decided to check it out.
Well the condo was 1025sq/ft on the first floor then 1025 sq/ft of unfinished basement storage. I complained to the realtor and she said "look at the official docs, it lists it at 2050sq ft".
I did some digging and found out that current owner also fell for the trick when they bought the property. It was in fact 1025 sq/ft in the assessed before the current owners bought it.

I liked the property anyways and placed a offer on the condo. I wrote up a nice letter with all the numbers and offered the buyers the area comps $/sqft * 1025 sq/ft. They laughed at my offer so I contacted the MAR on it.

The property was soon adjusted and sat for another 200+ days.

[admin]

Yes, that's pretty bad. I think the listings that The Globe pointed out are even worse, though. The agents in those cases weren't just miscategorizing space, they were making up space because the units "felt larger." Both are misrepresentations, but including imaginary space takes it to a whole new level.

- admin

[CJ]

I also notice some houes listed as said, 1600 sq-ft. Strangely I add all the rooms (living room, baedrooms....etc) and usually get only about 1100- 1200 sq-ft. That's more than 25% difference! Based on the story on Boston.com, even rounding up the numbers or adding the spaces of walls and stairs can't get 1600 sq-ft.

I know that unfinished, unheated living spaces and basements don't count. But the question is what is the standard is to measure the square footage of a house? Does it include the hall way, stair, and closet?

Or to measure the square footage based on the outside dimensions of the house and minus the unfinished spaces? My agent only told me the numbers are from the city's record.


Any idea?

Thanks!

[Brian C]

This is what my agent tells me about measuring living space.

- Starting at an exterior corner, measure the length of all walls. Round measurements to the nearest inch.

- Make a sketch of the home's perimeter, recording all dimensions.

- If you must measure some areas from inside, add six inches for an exterior wall and four inches for an interior wall.

- Space for living but be intended for human occupancy. Must be heated by a conventional, permanent heating system.

- Must have walls, floors and ceilings of materials generally accepted for interior construction.

- Must be directly accessible from another finished area. That means a finished room accessed through any unfinished space cannot be counted as finished square feet.

- Rooms with sloped ceilings, only measure the area with at least 5 ft of ceiling height as living space. This is something the sellers agent does not follow.

- Stairs does not count. Open Foyers do not count in living space!

[CJ]

Thanks!

How about a finished basement? If there is a walkout, does that count? (I guessed "walkout" means a stair to the outside, not the stair to the first floor inside.....).

I saw some split-entry houses have a room or a space in the corner (heated, because it's open space) in the basement with the heater or water system. Does that count?

Any idea?

[Brian C]