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Size Matters! Measuring and Calculating Residential Square Footage.(Book review)

Appraisal Journal

| June 22, 2008 | Wright, Larry T. | COPYRIGHT 2008 The Appraisal Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

Size Matters! Measuring and Calculating Residential Square Footage

by D. Hamp Thomas--The Measure Man

Published by The Measure Man, LLC, in association with Carolina Appraisers & Real Estate, 2008, 159 pages

$24.95, softcover

Size Matters! Measuring and Calculating Residential Square Footage is not just a book about how to measure a house; it is a passionate plea for consistency in measuring and calculating square footage. D. Hamp Thomas ("The Measure Man") is a North Carolina Certified Residential Appraiser/CRS/ABR/GRI/Realtor who believes that a uniform method for measuring a single-family residence is essential for accurate appraisals and listings of homes for sale. While the focus of this book is on residential structures, his point is equally applicable to commercial properties. It is the author's goal that someday there will be one standard, that all real estate professionals agree on, to measure and calculate residential square footage.

Thomas claims that his book has everything you need to know about measuring and calculating residential square footage. He is correct. The book covers "The Eight Basic Categories of Square Footage"; "Basic Measuring Principles"; "Wall Construction and Interior Measurements"; "Stairs, Guidelines and Square Footage"; and "Calculating Square Footage." Following these discussions, there are thirty-one examples of how to measure and calculate square footage. He also gives detailed instructions on how to measure one-story and two-story homes, and two-story homes with basements. According to Thomas, all houses are like a jigsaw puzzle waiting to be solved. The examples include how to treat dormers; bonus rooms; unfinished storage; partial and unfinished basements; bay windows; fireplaces; sloped ceilings; and circles and octagons. This portion of the book is a good training manual for novice appraisers and real estate agents.

Thomas concentrates on making sure that the square footages are calculated correctly and comply with the FNMA, Freddie Mac, VA, and FHA requirements. He 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.

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