roger g
04-09-2004, 06:21 AM
I had something just happen that I didn't expect and didn't even foresee..
About 17 years ago We bought a brandnew small house from a builder. Since then it has been rented out and the people who are in there now have been there almost 15 years. It has been about 15 years since I even went into the house. We kept the rent low because we didn't want a lot of different tenants especially since we travelled alot for months or years at a time. I mention this because that we had such good tenants and we were good landlords I never really took any notice or much interest in the house.
When we got the house we had the deed and the survey plus the small plans for the house all wrapped up together. We had no reason to ever look or study them. For some reason, and I can only think that the builder said it, was that the house was about 1040 square feet. We never measured it or had to buy anything for the house to even think of the measurements.
Based on those measurements we paid out property tax AND property insurance ALL based on the square footage. We may have even rounded it off to an even 1100 square feet.
A few days ago we decided to sell the house which is 3000 miles away and got the real estate agent to check the place out. He measured it. It is a little over 900 square feet. I couldn't believe it because it didn't look that small. I remembered we had the plans so I dug them up. 900 square feet was being LIBERAL!!!! I should point out that regardless of the size it still is a pretty brick and siding house.
The problem is of course, how much extra have I been paying in taxes and insurance for all that extra square footage I didn't have. I was paying for a house 10-20% bigger than I had. When was the last time you measured the square footage of your own place? This happened mainly because we didn't live in the house but as house prices go up do builders give you everything they are supposed to. Years ago the square footage of a home never included the garage or the basement but I have seen it lately. When you said you had a 7 room house it never included the bathrooms. Be careful! It's now like buying a new 48 inch TV. Where and how did they measure to get that 48 inches.
I learn something new everyday!
Roger
About 17 years ago We bought a brandnew small house from a builder. Since then it has been rented out and the people who are in there now have been there almost 15 years. It has been about 15 years since I even went into the house. We kept the rent low because we didn't want a lot of different tenants especially since we travelled alot for months or years at a time. I mention this because that we had such good tenants and we were good landlords I never really took any notice or much interest in the house.
When we got the house we had the deed and the survey plus the small plans for the house all wrapped up together. We had no reason to ever look or study them. For some reason, and I can only think that the builder said it, was that the house was about 1040 square feet. We never measured it or had to buy anything for the house to even think of the measurements.
Based on those measurements we paid out property tax AND property insurance ALL based on the square footage. We may have even rounded it off to an even 1100 square feet.
A few days ago we decided to sell the house which is 3000 miles away and got the real estate agent to check the place out. He measured it. It is a little over 900 square feet. I couldn't believe it because it didn't look that small. I remembered we had the plans so I dug them up. 900 square feet was being LIBERAL!!!! I should point out that regardless of the size it still is a pretty brick and siding house.
The problem is of course, how much extra have I been paying in taxes and insurance for all that extra square footage I didn't have. I was paying for a house 10-20% bigger than I had. When was the last time you measured the square footage of your own place? This happened mainly because we didn't live in the house but as house prices go up do builders give you everything they are supposed to. Years ago the square footage of a home never included the garage or the basement but I have seen it lately. When you said you had a 7 room house it never included the bathrooms. Be careful! It's now like buying a new 48 inch TV. Where and how did they measure to get that 48 inches.
I learn something new everyday!
Roger