How is Square Footage determined?

[natenfi]

I am having a home built in NW Indiana and in the contract it says the home will be approx 2850sq ft. When having a walk through with the construction manager he verified this and I asked if the square footage included the garage.. he said no.. it is 2850 sq feet of living space. Now, my home has been appraised for the mortgage company and the square footage came out at 2521sq ft. This does not include 168sq ft of finished storage area above the garage which I know the contractor included in the square footage. Even with this area included the total is still only 2689sq feet.. 161sq ft short and at $135 per square foot ($160sq ft including building lot) this adds up to a tidy sum. When I asked the contractor about this discrepancy he said that the square footage didn't matter as long as the house was appraised for the mortgage amount. This does not seem right to me as the appraiser determined that my home is costing over $200 a sq foot (including lot) other larger homes in the area used as comparisons are only around $175 (including lot). By the way this home is costing us over a half a million dollars and we do not feel now we are getting a good deal. If I had been told at the beginning that this home was 2689sq ft there is no way I would have agreed to pay that much in this area. What is my position?

 

[HomeGuru]

I am having a home built in NW Indiana and in the contract it says the home will be approx 2850sq ft. When having a walk through with the construction manager he verified this and I asked if the square footage included the garage.. he said no.. it is 2850 sq feet of living space. Now, my home has been appraised for the mortgage company and the square footage came out at 2521sq ft. This does not include 168sq ft of finished storage area above the garage which I know the contractor included in the square footage. Even with this area included the total is still only 2689sq feet.. 161sq ft short and at $135 per square foot ($160sq ft including building lot) this adds up to a tidy sum. When I asked the contractor about this discrepancy he said that the square footage didn't matter as long as the house was appraised for the mortgage amount. This does not seem right to me as the appraiser determined that my home is costing over $200 a sq foot (including lot) other larger homes in the area used as comparisons are only around $175 (including lot). By the way this home is costing us over a half a million dollars and we do not feel now we are getting a good deal. If I had been told at the beginning that this home was 2689sq ft there is no way I would have agreed to pay that much in this area. What is my position?

**A: have your architect measure the home and do an as-built drawing.

 

[JETX]

"What is my position?"
*** Your 'position' is weak at best. Simply, you are buying a property, and though you might use $/sq. ft. as a comparison, it is NOT a relevant factor in the process. Presumably, you liked the house and property or you wouldn't have purchased it. The price appears fair for the property as set by the appraisal.

A further problem you may have is that your own post says the contract is for APPROXIMATELY 2850 square feet. What is 'approximate'??? Why does the contract NOT specify the EXACT square footage or reference to a specific floorplan or set of drawings???

I suggest you accept the fact that there is some confusion as to the living area of the home and move on.

 

[HomeGuru]

Great points.