Comments on: When Your House Shrinks – A Case Study of Wrong Square Footage Size http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/ Austin Real Estate Blog Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:04:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Steven Carr http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-100405 Steven Carr Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:28:50 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-100405 I purchased a home in 2006 and made the offer on same based on the square footage of 5284. We never saw the banks appraisal, just head from the banker that it appraised for full value. Six months ago, we refinanced and got an excellent appraisal but did not notice the square footage until we decided to sell and noticed the appraisal came back with 4757. This 537 underage is a huge misrepresentation on the paert of the builder and his Realtor. Based on square footage, our appraisal sould be 11.27 % higher. All buyers buy on the house AND the square footage. We have consulted an attorney and in Texas there is a 4 year period of time on Contract misrepresentation to go back to the seller and seek restitution. I purchased a home in 2006 and made the offer on same based on the square footage of 5284. We never saw the banks appraisal, just head from the banker that it appraised for full value.

Six months ago, we refinanced and got an excellent appraisal but did not notice the square footage until we decided to sell and noticed the appraisal came back with 4757. This 537 underage is a huge misrepresentation on the paert of the builder and his Realtor.

Based on square footage, our appraisal sould be 11.27 % higher.

All buyers buy on the house AND the square footage.

We have consulted an attorney and in Texas there is a 4 year period of time on Contract misrepresentation to go back to the seller and seek restitution.

]]> By: Stacey http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-91068 Stacey Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:47:07 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-91068 Ryan, Since this is the second time they re-listed the home still with the wrong sq. footage, I would definitely turn and file a complaint about the listing agent and the firm or broker to the Real Estate Commission in your state. It is not only wrong that the real estate agent is aware of it but still re-listed the house. Make sure you keep all of your paperwork if you do plan on filing a complaint to back up your complaint. Ryan,

Since this is the second time they re-listed the home still with the wrong sq. footage, I would definitely turn and file a complaint about the listing agent and the firm or broker to the Real Estate Commission in your state. It is not only wrong that the real estate agent is aware of it but still re-listed the house. Make sure you keep all of your paperwork if you do plan on filing a complaint to back up your complaint.

]]> By: Ryan http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-90943 Ryan Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:16:00 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-90943 Thanks Steve and Stacy, we have already moved on, but I just don't want a 3rd couple to get duped into making an offer and have to go through the same headaches we have only to find out the property was listed as being over 200 sq. ft. larger than it actually is. Mistakes do happen, but after we found this out, we realized they already had an appraisal from the previous couple that showed the sq. footage was much smaller as well and they just didn't disclose it until our appraisal came in at even a lower sq. footage. It's true that the tax record has the wrong amount and they maybe didn't know it until a couple months ago, but since then they have re-listed the property twice knowing the information is not correct. Who would I inform about this, I just want to drop a line to the appropriate people so that someone else can look into it to save any potential buyers the headaches I have been through. Thanks! Thanks Steve and Stacy, we have already moved on, but I just don’t want a 3rd couple to get duped into making an offer and have to go through the same headaches we have only to find out the property was listed as being over 200 sq. ft. larger than it actually is. Mistakes do happen, but after we found this out, we realized they already had an appraisal from the previous couple that showed the sq. footage was much smaller as well and they just didn’t disclose it until our appraisal came in at even a lower sq. footage. It’s true that the tax record has the wrong amount and they maybe didn’t know it until a couple months ago, but since then they have re-listed the property twice knowing the information is not correct. Who would I inform about this, I just want to drop a line to the appropriate people so that someone else can look into it to save any potential buyers the headaches I have been through.
Thanks!

]]> By: Stacey http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-90929 Stacey Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:06:24 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-90929 It seems this is becoming a huge problem in the real estate industry. When is the government going to step up and make someone responsible for it?? This is all the reason why we are still sunk in this slow moving economy. Since, I have not heard anything back from the seller, I am putting in my withdrawal of offer on the condo and moving on. Ryan, Steve is right. The best thing is to move on. If you're out $1200, I would go to the county and check to see what the county has the house sq. footage as. If the y re-listed the house according to county records then there is really nothing you can do to get your money back, but if they did not you can turn the listing agent to the REC and see what happens. It seems this is becoming a huge problem in the real estate industry. When is the government going to step up and make someone responsible for it?? This is all the reason why we are still sunk in this slow moving economy.

Since, I have not heard anything back from the seller, I am putting in my withdrawal of offer on the condo and moving on.

Ryan, Steve is right. The best thing is to move on.

If you’re out $1200, I would go to the county and check to see what the county has the house sq. footage as. If the y re-listed the house according to county records then there is really nothing you can do to get your money back, but if they did not you can turn the listing agent to the REC and see what happens.

]]> By: Steve Crossland http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-90894 Steve Crossland Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:35:37 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-90894 Ryan, Your option is just to move on and look for the next house. You can't force a seller to adjust a price based on appraisal. If you believe a violation of Ethics has happened, or is happening, check with your local real estate commission or board of Realtors to find out what you can do, otherwise let it go. But if the agent is reporting a public number (from the tax records), and stating the source, that is not a violation of ethics. There may be a requirement, however, to disclose that the tax sqft number may be incorrect. A prudent agent would disclose this up front, in my opinion, but it's a can of worms because each time it's measured a new number will be produced. Steve Ryan,

Your option is just to move on and look for the next house. You can’t force a seller to adjust a price based on appraisal. If you believe a violation of Ethics has happened, or is happening, check with your local real estate commission or board of Realtors to find out what you can do, otherwise let it go.

But if the agent is reporting a public number (from the tax records), and stating the source, that is not a violation of ethics. There may be a requirement, however, to disclose that the tax sqft number may be incorrect. A prudent agent would disclose this up front, in my opinion, but it’s a can of worms because each time it’s measured a new number will be produced.

Steve

]]> By: Ryan http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-90888 Ryan Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:13:39 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-90888 This situation just happened to me and our deal fell apart last week because the sellers refused to sell for the appraisal price and that is all the banks will back at this point. In our case, we were the second couple to terminate a contract on the property and now the sellers agent has reposted the house still at the wrong sq. footage. Is it not illegal to knowingly post the wrong sq. footage and mislead someone into making an offer on the house? We should get our Earnest Money back since the house did not appraise for what they were asking, but now I'm out over $1200 and the house was knowlingly mis-represented from the beginning. This situation just happened to me and our deal fell apart last week because the sellers refused to sell for the appraisal price and that is all the banks will back at this point. In our case, we were the second couple to terminate a contract on the property and now the sellers agent has reposted the house still at the wrong sq. footage. Is it not illegal to knowingly post the wrong sq. footage and mislead someone into making an offer on the house?
We should get our Earnest Money back since the house did not appraise for what they were asking, but now I’m out over $1200 and the house was knowlingly mis-represented from the beginning.

]]> By: Stacey http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-90246 Stacey Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:12:58 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-90246 I recently put in an offer for a house which I thought was overly priced to begin with. After the initial acceptance by seller, i quickly did my home inpection, prior to the appraisal, come to find out the home is 200 sq ft. smaller than represented by the seller. So, I told my real estate agent to halt the home appraisal due to the fact that this house is mis-represented by 200 sq. ft. So, I did some research on the neighborhood and found out that this condo, not a house was overly priced. There were seven other condos in the area going for 74k, 80k and I had put an offer for a 1400 sq. ft. home at $115k. Now, I have re-negotiate down to 100K which I felt was by far a better deal than what the others in the area have been sold for. The petty part about all this is that my stupid real estate agent advises me to go ahead and offer $113 when I have initially looked at others homes sold for less. Where do these real estate agents get their education from??? I am trying to be fair and my own agent is trying to convince me to put in a higher bid. I really did not care if this deal goes through or not because I felt I got swindled by the seller. I put in the re-negotiating price only becuase I thought it would be a fair price if the seller still wants to sell it. I highly doubt they will because of their intention to sell the house for more sq footage than what it was, I intend to make sure the whomever is going to buy this house to know that they are being swindled by the seller. I recently put in an offer for a house which I thought was overly priced to begin with. After the initial acceptance by seller, i quickly did my home inpection, prior to the appraisal, come to find out the home is 200 sq ft. smaller than represented by the seller. So, I told my real estate agent to halt the home appraisal due to the fact that this house is mis-represented by 200 sq. ft. So, I did some research on the neighborhood and found out that this condo, not a house was overly priced. There were seven other condos in the area going for 74k, 80k and I had put an offer for a 1400 sq. ft. home at $115k. Now, I have re-negotiate down to 100K which I felt was by far a better deal than what the others in the area have been sold for. The petty part about all this is that my stupid real estate agent advises me to go ahead and offer $113 when I have initially looked at others homes sold for less. Where do these real estate agents get their education from??? I am trying to be fair and my own agent is trying to convince me to put in a higher bid. I really did not care if this deal goes through or not because I felt I got swindled by the seller. I put in the re-negotiating price only becuase I thought it would be a fair price if the seller still wants to sell it. I highly doubt they will because of their intention to sell the house for more sq footage than what it was, I intend to make sure the whomever is going to buy this house to know that they are being swindled by the seller.

]]> By: Steve Crossland http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-86658 Steve Crossland Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:58:37 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-86658 > Other than having the county tax record corrected, is there any other recourse for this? Not that I can think of. But I'd remeasure to see if what the correct measurement is the most recent or the three previous. Seems like if three previous said the same thing, the most revcent different one would be questionable. Steve > Other than having the county tax record corrected, is there any other recourse for this?

Not that I can think of. But I’d remeasure to see if what the correct measurement is the most recent or the three previous. Seems like if three previous said the same thing, the most revcent different one would be questionable.

Steve

]]> By: Tracy Tenpenny http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-86542 Tracy Tenpenny Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:37:18 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-86542 This became a real problem for my wife and I when we went to refinance recently. Our house had been sold to us and appraised at least 3 times at 1756 square feet. When we paid for a new appraisal for the refinance the house was found to be 1681 square feet. Based on a per foot price, our house value reduced by over $7,000 and meant we could not refinance due to the loan to value ratio. Other than having the county tax record corrected, is there any other recourse for this? This became a real problem for my wife and I when we went to refinance recently. Our house had been sold to us and appraised at least 3 times at 1756 square feet. When we paid for a new appraisal for the refinance the house was found to be 1681 square feet. Based on a per foot price, our house value reduced by over $7,000 and meant we could not refinance due to the loan to value ratio. Other than having the county tax record corrected, is there any other recourse for this?

]]> By: Steve Crossland http://crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/comment-page-1/#comment-85363 Steve Crossland Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:44:54 +0000 http://ben.crosslandteam.com/blog/2006/06/24/when-your-house-shrinks-a-case-study-of-wrong-square-footage-size/#comment-85363 > In the future, will this become a problem that the actual size and county records do not match? It's mainly a problem only when the tax records overstate the sqft. No buyer ever complains about the house being bigger than reported. You are not required to inform the appraisal district of the square footage, but when this happened to one of my houses, I did anyway. I just like to keep my side of things above question in all matters. They won't back charge you for taxes. Steve > In the future, will this become a problem that the actual size and county records do not match?

It’s mainly a problem only when the tax records overstate the sqft. No buyer ever complains about the house being bigger than reported.

You are not required to inform the appraisal district of the square footage, but when this happened to one of my houses, I did anyway. I just like to keep my side of things above question in all matters. They won’t back charge you for taxes.

Steve

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