March 25th, 2024 at 2:29 pm
1. Understand Why Disputes Arise: One major reason for square footage disputes is the lack of any official source of square footage measurements. Just because a County’s tax roll information provide square footage measurements for property tax purposes does not mean that the County’s measurements are accurate or complete as according to other sources. Additionally, there is also no accepted standard method for calculating square footage anyway. There can be a discrepancy in square footage measurements from different source, such as, but not limited to, County’s records, appraiser’s measurements, architectural and floor plan drawings, and so on.
2. Advertise Accurately: Make sure that your MLS listing and other advertisements are as accurate as possible. If you provide a square footage measurement, make sure that you also disclose in that advertisement the source from where you obtained that information (e.g. County’s records). Although there is no official method for calculating square footage, be aware that many agents would exclude certain things, like unpermitted space, garages, and outdoor decks.
3. Use the SFLS: Be sure to include C.A.R.’s standard-form Square Footage and Lot Size Advisory and Disclosure (SFLS) in all your sales transactions. As the listing agent, encourage the seller to insert in the SFLS any and all known square footage measurements of the property.
4. Encourage Buyer’s Investigation: If you are the buyer’s agent, encourage the buyer to hire someone to measure the square footage if desired. A buyer’s investigation into square footage is especially important if the buyer is using a price per square foot to decide how much to pay for the property. You can easily encourage buyers to have the square footage professionally measured by asking them to sign a one-page C.A.R.’s Buyer’s Investigation Election (BIE).
-Thank You to Shala Tavakoli (Irvine Office) for suggesting this week’s legal tip!
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