Maybe They’re Counting Four Stairs I’ve seen homes with as much as 3,000 finished square feet in the lower level — “basement” to non-Realtors (it was a very big house). And I’ve seen homes with no finished square feet in the lower level (typical of 19th century homes that have limestone foundations and only partial basements with...Read More
Golden Valley Rambler With 5 BR/4 BA, 4,500+ FSF for $475k What at first blush looks like a screaming value becomes less so once you factor in the house style — a one-story rambler (“Ranch” outside the Midwest). In particular, fully half of the finished square feet is in the basement. Basement vs. “Lower Level”*...Read More
How Many Square Feet is THAT?!? At first blush, the home pictured above looks like it has something like 30,000 finished square feet, not the relatively puny 4,400 FSF listed on MLS — and is worth A LOT more than the $2.15M asking price (even in the affordable Midwest, genuinely palatial digs cost more than that). Looking more closely,...Read More
Question #2: Calculate How Much per Square Foot Quick! Test your knowledge of today’s Twin Cities housing market, and guess how much this cute, 2 Bedroom/1 Bath South Minneapolis rambler with 864 FSF (above ground) is listed for: A. $89k B. $149k C. $249k D. $385k Before I give the answer, here are a couple clues: –The...Read More
. . . when the listing agent — plugging the (new) listing at the weekly Tuesday office meeting — starts by saying, “Well, let’s see, on the first floor, there’s over 5,000 square feet . . .” If you don’t know houses and square feet, a larger two-story family home with, say, 4 BR and 4...Read More
Real Estate Measuring Mistakes(?) I’ve previously written about homes I’ve shown as a Buyer’s agent where the square footage was significantly exaggerated. See, “The House That Shrank.” This post is about encountering a mismeasured home as a Listing agent, representing the seller. Background First, a stipulation: it doesn’t happen that often. I’d estimate the 90%...Read More
