As a Home Measurement Specialist, this article is close to my heart! This week I have a ghost writer who offers some reasons why you should hire a professional to measure your home as well as to remodel it. I hope you find some helpful information in this article!
There are many benefits to hiring an expert to measure your home, and there are two most obvious reasons for that. One is putting your home on the market. The other one is having to accurately disclose the square footage of the various rooms. Just in case you weren’t aware, real estate brokers in some states, like Ohio, are now required by law to show you the home’s interior living space. For that and many other reasons, it’s essential to know why you should hire professionals to measure your home.
They know what they’re doing
One reason to hire professionals to measure your home is that they have the necessary knowledge and experience to get the job done right. A professional’s accurate estimation will help you stick to your budget and prevent you from buying too much or too little flooring. It’s possible that you’ll need more product than the actual square footage of your room.
Especially if any components are broken during installation or if there are unusual angles that require carefully cut pieces. A professional may assess the situation and determine if any additional operations, such as a bespoke cut, are required. That can happen because of the subfloor’s unevenness, the room’s unusual form, the location of any corners, or any seams.
They are aware of the best places to take measurements
Each level of the house was meticulously measured using data collected from the building’s exterior. This may appear to be easy when dealing with the upper floor of a 1.5-story house. However, measurements are often taken from the inside of the upper floor. Then, the wall thickness is brought back in. It’s common practice for floor plans that aren’t used in appraisals to be drawn to scale using only internal dimensions, but by using outside measurements, we can account for more space.
They could verify if the area claimed for the county is accurate
If you believe that the square footage they have on file for your home does not match the home’s actual size, you can check whether you are paying an excessive amount in property taxes. Your annual property taxes may go down if the value of your home is significantly lower than what it was initially estimated to be. To achieve that, you must demonstrate to the local government that that’s the case.
They’ll let you know if including an apartment in the GLA is possible
Another reason to hire professionals to measure your home is to find out about your gross leasable area. Houses may on occasion incorporate living spaces for teenagers or mother-in-law quarters, and as long as these rooms adhere to ANSI criteria, they are counted against the total amount of usable space in the home. If this isn’t done, the anticipated amount of habitable space will be off by a significant amount.
Professionals will show where work is finished and where it’s still ongoing
It is essential to disentangle the metric differences between these two locations. A “finished area” refers to a conditioned, habitable space that has been heated and cooled. Basements are typically considered unfinished. While they may have concrete floors and walls, they are typically not heated or cooled. Many homes include basements with only dirt floors and low ceilings, but they are not factored into the square footage.
Use caution when relying on publicly available records
Most data in public archives comes from tax assessment records, which are notoriously inaccurate. Why? The tax assessor, often known as the property value administrator, typically does not conduct onsite visits in most areas. Is your home split-level or multi-level? Do houses usually have cellars? This means that the reported square footage of your home might be incorrect. Assessors often estimate the area of lower levels and upper stories. Guesses. Do you intend to use it as the foundation for your retail price? This is especially important when buying and moving to a new house. If you’re moving, you should know some tips that can help. Short-distance moving tips can make a big difference.
Taking accurate measurements yields a more precise cost
When setting the asking price for a home, what is one of the most important considerations for the seller and the real estate agent? If you guessed the area, you’d be right on the money. Let’s take a look at a situation that’s come up more than once in the past. Based on the assessor’s square footage of 1,500 square feet, the listing agent promotes the property for $125 per square foot. The home was probably expensive if its actual square footage was 1,700. However, if the house is smaller than 1,350 square feet, it may be overvalued, leading to a lower appraisal than the actual sale price.
Take into consideration the following: A buyer was dissatisfied with the square footage when he received my assessment of a large property last year since it did not match what the seller had said. As a result of his dissatisfaction, he backed out of the deal. Whether you’re a real estate agent or a homeowner, you definitely don’t want this to happen to you.
Thank you to my guest blogger for sharing some ways a qualified professional can help a homeowner with home measurements. I measure homes for homeowners and real estate agents, and not just for appraisal assignments.
Hopefully, you enjoyed this article. And thank you as always for your being here to read articles at the Cleveland Appraisal Blog!
This week I leave you with some Super Bowl Commercials from 2020! Enjoy! And enjoy the new commercials this weekend!
Have a great weekend!
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Click here to visit their website.
Here are some links to other articles I think you might also enjoy…
Standing On A Solid Housing Platform After Groundhog Day – Housing Notes by Jonathan Miller
How Agents Can Adjust For Square Footage? – Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Appraisal Profession Dying? – APPRAISAL TODAY
Market Target? – George Dell’s Analogue Blog
Sellers have been sitting out of the housing market too – Sacramento Appraisal Blog
Housing Market Down But Not Out – January Newsletter 2023 – DW Slater Company Blog
For my readers in the CLE area… here are some articles related to news in our local area that you may enjoy…
Tropical escape: Botanical Garden transforms into colorful paradise with Orchids Forever show – Freshwater Cleveland
Moyenage: a grand lakefront home to many prominent Cleveland business founders throughout history – Angelina Bair and Tom Matowitz of Freshwater Cleveland
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