When I take a listing, I am careful to consider the total square footage of the home.  It also depends what city or MLS system I’m using when and how I display the home’s square feet.  It’s interesting, in the Denver metro area, most listings do not include the basement square footage, unlike Boulder Colorado where every square foot counts.  Why is this?   It’s confusing to buyers when they see a home listed in Boulder Colorado for 2500 square feet which includes a 900 square foot basement.  The same buyer will travel south towards Denver and a 2500 square foot home doesn’t include the basement, the basement square footage is listed separately. 

As a Colorado realtor I use our standard form for all residential properties which discloses the source of the square footage information.  This form must be signed by both Seller and Buyer.  Although most often, probably 90% of the time, we use the tax record as our source for square footage.  If you think about it, the tax record was never designed to be used for Real Estate Agents, but rather for the appraisal systems.  As agents, we must exercise reasonable care when providing the square footage information to buyers.   As I mentioned, in Colorado we use this standardized form.

So, whose numbers can you trust?  Often times, I will have a home measured by a certified appraiser and everytime I do, the square footage is different than the tax records.   In cities, like Boulder where every square foot counts it’s important that the numbers are right.

What if a buyer thinks they are buying a 2500 square foot house for $950,000 and the square footage is actually 2250, what would you think happens?  Is the seller on the hook for 250 square feet at a cost of $400 per square feet equaling $100,000 liability?  Could be.  Now that I’ve scared the bejesus out of you, pay attention to the square feet, make sure the source is disclosed and check the source.  If you are selling your home, hire a trusted source to measure your home, the cost is minimal compared with the liability. 

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