HOMEOWNERS

Emphasis on accuracy. Protecting your equity.

 

What Makes Us Different? 

We are licensed Agents certified as Home Measurement Specialists - HMS. Our Emphasis is on Accuracy and Protecting Your Equity.

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Our measurements and square footage calculations follow ANSI Standards, the accepted method used by Appraisers and, with over a decade of experience in the real estate industry, we understand equity and the importance of square footage in determining the value of your home.

“Guestimate” is not a word you want to hear.

 

Tax Records and Automated Valuations: That’s a BAD combination

Before you decide on a price of your home, you need to know one of the most important numbers in real estate. After location, size or square footage is the most influential number on a home’s value. What most homeowners don’t realize is that county tax records and other data can have major discrepancies when it comes to the size of your home. These inconsistencies can arise from many different situations: incorrect data from previous sales, errors in reporting, different completed measurements compared to plan specifications, wrongly labeled builder floor plans. etc.. However the biggest culprit for discrepancy is a county appraiser does not typically measure the inside of a residence. This means the interior layout of your home is an unknown and conversions such as an enclosed attic or garage may be missed completely. Tax Records become a “guestimate” in regard to the true livable square footage of your home. Even new construction homes are susceptible to errors in reporting. Don’t base the value of your home and the equity you have on a “guestimate.”

Photo by baona/iStock / Getty Images

Photo by baona/iStock / Getty Images

The Dominoes begin to fall.

In today’s technology driven world, many companies are using automated valuations to determine the value of your home sight unseen. A basic search online on any number of real estate leading sites will give you the estimated value of your home. In addition, it’s common today to be inundated with ads for companies promising homeowners/potential sellers with instant cash offers, no hassles guaranteed. That sounds like a wonderful deal until you realize the formation of your value from these sites and companies come from the tax records that show your home size based on a guestimate. These companies are guessing your value based on guessing your home size. If the square footage is wrong, any other criteria used to value your home will be wrong as well. Trusting inaccurate tax records or computerized valuations can be costly. They’re based on a “guestimate” and that’s not a word you want to hear when calculating the value on your largest, lifetime investment

It’s your money, keep it!

Measurements and Square Footage

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The actual size of a home, and most importantly its Gross Living Area (GLA), is typically the most vital characteristic having the largest impact on a home’s value. There are many rules and restrictions to how a home can be measured such as:

  • what exactly qualifies as “living space” vs. what is “non-livable space

  • when to measure inside or outside of walls

  • how to count square footage under stairs

  • do sloped ceilings or ceiling heights make a difference

  • what’s the difference between finished, partial, and unfinished basements

  • what’s considered above grade and below grade

Because of these rules, any changes, additions, or conversions made to a home can affect your total living area differently than you may think. Square Up Measuring works with home owners to give you an accurate home size and square footage evaluation for your home, to give you truthful data. We eliminate the fear of inaccurate data and misrepresented measurements. We will help you get value for every square foot. Remember, square footage is the currency of real estate. It’s your money, keep more of it!