Begining March 27 the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association will be changing the way square footage is reported on the Multiple Listing Service. Instead of actual square footage, it will be reported as a range.
Many other parts of the country already report the size of the house this way. Lots of folks tell me the most important dimension is the actual size of the "room" itself. They want to know if the plasma TV will fit or will the dining room table will fit into the room with enought space to walk around. Or they want to know if their bed will fit into the room - or will the window placement interfere with their current furniture.
We are, however, very close to the furniture capital of the world. So maybe you just want to buy some new furniture.
The square footage reported on the tax records is most frequently wrong. It was most likely taken from the original floor plan. As you know, during the sales process or during construction, that usually changes due to the desires of the owner (make a room bigger or smaller) or actual construction will not allow a particular design.
Here are a few points of interest: if your room (let’s say the bonus room) has a knee wall that is less than 5', you must deduct that space (the dimension of the less than 5' area). If it is 5' or more and has a ceiling height of at least 7' over a minimum of 1/2 of the room you can count the space. Houses are measured from the outside. If you have bushes close to the house, put a stake into the ground on the other side of the bush and measure from there. If 4 people measure your house, they will probably get a different calculation.
Terri Latta