How do I determine square footage of my home?

[disneysteve]

Is there someplace online where I can look up property records to find out the square footage of my home? People are always talking about the size of their homes and I honestly don't have a clue how big ours is. Is it on our property survey? I have to dig that out and look.

[kv968]

I would think certain property surveys would have the dimensions of the house on it. I don't remember if the surveys of my property had them on there or not. If not, you could always measure the house yourself and figure it out that way.

[disneysteve]

If not, you could always measure the house yourself and figure it out that way.

What actually counts when people talk about square footage? Do bathrooms count? How about the garage? The basement? Closet space?

Can I just measure the outside dimensions of the house and multiply that square footage by 3 for the basement, first and second floors? For example, let's say the house is 25 feet long and 14 feet deep. That would be 350 sq. ft. Multiplied by 3 would be 1,050 sq. ft. total. Does that make sense? (I'm just guessing at numbers, but if that's the right method, I can measure for real.)

[tinapbeana]

well, your tax accessors office (or website) is a good place to start, as square footage is taken into consideration when determining property tax. an appraisal of your house should include sq ft as well, and it might be somewhere in the paperwork you signed for your mortgage...

be forewarned, though, that different appraisers consider different things when calculating sq ft. when we bought our house in july the size ranged from 1700-2100 because some appraisers included baths, closets, and one even included the porch!

i'd say your guesstimate method will work well enough for having a number when the topic comes up in conversation

[crabbypatty]

Many tax records are online. Check this site to see if your county is one who lists them Morris County Library--Real property & tax information OL

[scfr]

What about Zillowing your own house? Zillow - Real Estate Valuations, Homes for Sale, Free Real Estate Information
If your county posts the info on-line, Zillow has probably pulled it.

As far as what "counts" I wonder if that is something that varies by county. Where we live, garages don't count.

I would imagine the older the house, the less accurate the public records. For example, if someone has enclosed a covered porch and turned it in to a room, who knows if that footage is counted.

[creditcardfree]

Square footage often doesn't include unfinished space, such as a basement or a garage. I think it does vary where you live how space is counted. I was just looking at our appraisal the other day and it did include closets and bathrooms. Our basement, of about 400 sq ft, wasn't included. However, that space is very useful to me.

[disneysteve]

What about Zillowing your own house?

Zillow has no info on our house except the tax assessed value, but that really tells you nothing useful since the resale value of the property is at least double that amount.

[jodi]

My real estate broker taught me to get a "rough' square footage by measuring around the outside of the home and getting the area. Multiply by two if it's a two story house - don't count any basement space unless it's living space (i.e. finished bedrooms, family rooms). From this figure, subtract any space that is not living space, i.e. an open area in the first floor that stretches up to the second (like an open foyer) - you would measure this area and subtract it once since it results in no living space in the second floor). I don't recall that she said to subtract closet space - I guess that's subjective.
I would think that you could call your local tax assessor too for this information. If I need tax information for a property, I will start on the Internet (for one local county - another county does not post this). If I don't find it there, I call the tax assessor or collector directly. I have never had a problem getting tax information over the phone - I don't suppose they would give you a problem about getting the s.f. either.
If you have an appraisal, it will be listed there. Or, if you bought a property that was listed on the MLS, see if you have an old copy of the MLS listing sheet. It would be listed there as well.

[scfr]

Zillow has no info on our house except the tax assessed value, but that really tells you nothing useful since the resale value of the property is at least double that amount.

Ah ... Then I suspect that means your county does not record sq footage anywhere in public records. In the county where I live, the Tax Assessor does record sq footage and I assume that's how Zillow gets in. [If you Zillow any home in our county, the sq footage is shown.]

If it's not included in the paperwork from when you bought your house, then jodi's method of doing a rough estimate sounds good.

[vsjhoc]

Another possible source: your home insurance policy documents.

[disneysteve]

Another possible source: your home insurance policy documents.

Good idea, but no. I just checked and it says nothing at all about the structure except for when it was built.

[jIM_Ohio]

length times width puts you in ballbark.

if you have a two story foyer, substract that length x width... do same for any 2 story room. Garage doesn't count either.

Basements are "funny" I was told you can count a basement IF it's finished and IF it has a door to outside.

Closets count, hallways count, bathrooms count.

We sold out 2200 sq foot condo. It was 40x20 on main two levels... the stair case was included for both floors, the first level had no walls (very open dining-living area). There was a closet and pantry included. The second story had 2 BR and each had a full bath. The basement was finished, and was nearly as open as the main floor, but there was a small storage area/ laundry room which reduced the room to 20x30.

So 2200 sq ft is what realtor listed/explained to us.

Look at Sunday listings 2200 sq foot, 2 story 2 car garage, plus finished basement for example would tell me:

1) the basement may not have a door/exit
2) there is room to park 2 cars in garage
3) the house is probably close to 1100 sq feet up and down, which is about 24x45 each level, give or take based on length x width.