What Is a Professional Measurement?
At Carolina RES we concentrate on making sure that the square footage is calculated correctly and complies with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA requirements. We follow American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard which was first introduced in 1996 in conjunction with the National Association of Home Builders Research Center and was updated in 2002. This defines gross living area (GLA) as continuous finished living area. If finished living area is separated from the main dwelling, or can only be accessed by going outside, then it is not counted in the total heated and air-conditioned square footage. However, this area would be included in the gross building area (GBA). Fireplaces on the exterior of the dwelling are not included in GLA and a bay window is counted only if it has a floor underneath and a ceiling height of at least seven feet. Stairs are included on the floor where they are located and subtracted from the floor where they end going up. This prevents them from being counted twice. The upper level’s GLA should include only walkable, finished space.
The importance of accurate Square Footage
Bedrooms and baths and square footage are some of the most important considerations a home buyer contemplates when purchasing a home. Square footage, in many cases, lays the foundation to a seller’s pricing strategy as well as gives the buyer a starting point when making an offer.
The importance of accurate square footage can’t be underestimated. Per the insurance industry, inaccurate square footage is one of the main reasons real estate agents are named in law suits. In fact, square footage problems have become such a huge concern for the real estate insurance industry, that some insurers have started marketing campaigns educating realtors on how to accurately calculate square footage.
