Square footage discrepancy due to additions (real estate, house, buying)

[eeaea1212]

Hi,

I am looking at the tax records of a house I am interested in and noticed a big 800 sq foot discrepancy (with the listing being the larger amount). When I enquired, the sellers agent claims that there were additions done to convert living space 30 odd years ago and that they do not have any records of this (The previous owner is deceased). I am wondering if this will come back to bite me if I were selling the house or something.

I know this topic gets posted a lot and I did read through the responses. But most of them talk about discrepancies in measurements. But this one is about a third increase in area, due to additions ( claimed to be done 30 years ago). We do like the house and were wondering what would happen if we did claim that sq foot is not accurate to the county and ask for reassessment. Will they ask for permits and ask us to bring it to code?

Thanks,
Vishnu

[Austin97]

They most likely will. Unpermitted additions are a big no no.

[Trainwreck20]

Not sure why you would point it out to the county, though.

[Rakin]

Yeah, you want to tell them about the footage so they can raise your taxes ? Not a bright idea.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by eeaea1212

Hi,

I am looking at the tax records of a house I am interested in and noticed a big 800 sq foot discrepancy (with the listing being the larger amount). When I enquired, the sellers agent claims that there were additions done to convert living space 30 odd years ago and that they do not have any records of this (The previous owner is deceased). I am wondering if this will come back to bite me if I were selling the house or something.

I know this topic gets posted a lot and I did read through the responses. But most of them talk about discrepancies in measurements. But this one is about a third increase in area, due to additions ( claimed to be done 30 years ago). We do like the house and were wondering what would happen if we did claim that sq foot is not accurate to the county and ask for reassessment. Will they ask for permits and ask us to bring it to code?

Thanks,
Vishnu

If the listing agent has no documentation of the larger size, then they shouldn't be using it. Most Realtors nowadays are actually pretty lame, so it doesn't surprise me to hear that you were told this nonsense by one.

The "Tax Record" sqft is generally known to be 'not exactly correct', but should be fairly close. It's what we call a "safe harbor" number to use in advertising, because it was sourced from a generally accepted public record. Another acceptable source is a real estate appraisal measurement, also known to not be exact though very close) because three appraisal measurements will all differ slightly. But a seller or his agent cannot be successfully sued over discrepancies when representing a sqft sourced like this.

No so for simple "saying" a home is a certain size, and the agent accepting that and representing it as that sqft size in advertising. That agent and the seller are putting themselves at risk even the sqft amount turns out to be wrong.

So, demand documentation else assume the lower amount and proceed accordingly. Also, that much additional space causes side effects in the sizing of the HVAC system if that wasn't done right at the time. Also, if it was just captured garage or covered patio space, the slabs beneath are different.

Be very, very careful when buying into someone else's older "addition".

Steve

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Be very, very careful when buying into someone else's older "addition".

Steve

....ESPECIALLY if it was never permitted or (presumably) inspected.

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Not sure why you would point it out to the county, though.

Originally Posted by Rakin

Yeah, you want to tell them about the footage so they can raise your taxes ? Not a bright idea.

Why would you tell the appraisal district you want to pay more taxes??

Does the seller have an appraisal from when they bought it? If so, that's all the documentation they need to market the larger number measured. A listing agent should never market "per seller" numbers. They should always be a documented number.

[centralaustinite]

To me, I wouldn't worry about the tax issue -- I prefer to pay my fair share of taxes based on actual sq footage -- but the issue that this addition was likely made unpermitted. The previous owner apparently coasted through but if the addition is 30 years and you want to do some remodeling that requires a permit, you might not be able to until the previous work is permitted and done to code.

Make the seller address this issue or just don't buy it. I passed up so many (often beautiful) unpermitted remodels when we were looking in NW Hills, i also did a permit search on any project I was interested in, we were bidding on house that had an open permit (plans were made and permit pulled before illness struck the owner, no changes were made but the permit remained opened), I insisted on the seller closing the permit! If you buy it first, all those issues become yours! NOT WORTH IT!

[TexasRedneck]

It's also possible that the property was in an unincorporated area, which would negate permit requirements. Essentially, if someone expands a home where permits aren't required, then it's up to the taxing entity to realize that it's been done - otherwise, it's simply "there". We're looking at a rural home right now where the owner built a "garage". About 2 years later, he sealed the doors, then finished out the interior into a very nice party room of almost 1,100 sq ft, complete with a nice kitchen area. It's done pretty frequently in the area - and can save quite a bit on taxes.