square footage Archives

10 reasons why public records and the appraiser’s square footage can differ

By Ann O'Rourke on May 5, 2014 / appraisers, square footage / 2 Comments

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10 reasons why public records and the appraiser’s square footage can differ

My comment: Too many AMCs think that the assessor’s office square footages are correct, and the appraisers don’t know how to measure. Unfortunately, some appraisers just “fudge” the measurements to fit the assessor’s records. Big Mistake!!

From Ryan Lundquist’s Sacramento appraisal blog at www.sacramentoappraisalblog.com

I love this blog!!

Here are 2 of the 10 reasons:

5. Permitted but not updated: Sometimes a homeowner will do an addition with a permit, but the Assessor’s office never updates the property’s profile.

8. Ceiling height: A ceiling has to be at least 7 ft tall, and have at least 50% of the ceiling at a height of 7 ft. Sometimes a converted attic won’t meet these requirements, so the appraiser cannot consider it as square footage. It might still add value, but it won’t be included in the living area.

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How accurate is the reported square footage from the tax records in your primary service area?(Opens in a new browser tab)

Top Ten Reasons Why It Is Great to be an Appraiser Humor(Opens in a new browser tab)

How accurate is the reported square footage from the tax records in your primary service area?

By Ann O'Rourke on April 8, 2014 / AMCs, appraisal, appraisal management company, appraisers, lender appraisals, square footage / 20 Comments

Tags: appraisal, square footage

How accurate is the reported square footage from the tax records in your primary service area?

3/10/14 poll – www.appraisalport.com

Poll Results

– Very accurate for most homes 869 votes – 16%

– Mostly accurate (about 75% of the time) 2495 votes – 55%

– Hit and miss (about 50% of the time). 1470 votes – 27%

– Not reliable (accurate less than 25% of the time). 475 votes – 9%

– The tax records do not usually show the square footage in my area. 127 votes – 2%

Total votes = 5,346

My comment: AMCs seem to be assuming that tax records are more reliable than appraisers’ measurements. WRONG!! I started appraising at an assessor’s office in 1975. We were no more accurate than any other appraisers and never thought that our square footages were exact.

I used to do a lot of relocation appraisals where 2 or 3 appraisers were hired to appraise the same property. Very, very seldom did the appraisers have the same square footage.

A few years ago, a local real estate agent asked me about an appraisal where the sketch did not match the house. Tax records sq.ft. was way off. The appraiser had “fudged” the dimensions to match public records.

Do many appraisers do this to avoid AMC hassles or they were taught to do this by their supervisors?

I have always looked at tax records sq.ft. as a cross-check, but never assumed it was more accurate than my measured sq.ft. In some neighborhoods and cities, they are accurate and are very unreliable in other areas as they often are not correct.

9/20 update. Not much has changed. Still a big problem!!

Generally speaking, how accurate do you find MLS data in your area?(Opens in a new browser tab)

10 reasons why public records and the appraiser’s square footage can differ(Opens in a new browser tab)

12-27-18 Newz:// Change Your Templates!!/Corelogic takeover?/Square footage?(Opens in a new browser tab)

6-7-18 Newz//Square footage, Novelty Architecture, Appraisal Fraud(Opens in a new browser tab)