APPRAISER'S LIVING AREA MEASUREMENTS:
The ANSI Z765-2021 (American National Standards Institute®) Square Footage-Method has been utilized for measuring, calculating, and reporting the gross living area (GLA) and non-GLA areas of subject property for appraisals of single family dwellings requiring interior and exterior inspections. As noted elsewhere in this report, the appraiser has provided a sketch in this appraisal report to show the approximate dimensions of the improvements. The sketch is included only to assist the reader in visualizing the property and understanding the appraiser’s determination of its size.
The portions of the ANSI standards that will most often impact market participants, include, but are not limited to:
* Standard method for measuring the dwellings to the inch or to a tenth of a foot. Appraiser typically measures properties to a tenth of a foot using both an appraisers tape measure and laser measuring device;
* Standards regarding dimensions of a room (including minimum height) in order to be considered GLA;
* Standards regarding above vs below grade living area
In the subjects market, GLA for properties listed in the local MLS systems, assessor records and/or other online sources, usually are not ANSI-compliant. The appraiser may not know what method an MLS listing or assessor used to calculate the GLA, though most often in the subjects market MLS listings use information from the assessor records and, most often, the assessor records for GLA is from the original building floorplan, especially for tract built homes.
Differences in dimensions between a builders floorplan, assessor records and/or an MLS listing and appraiser measured dimensions occur as construction is not an exact science and includes variances from the floorplan, such as siding/insulation thickness. This difference in measured GLA vs floorplan GLA is often negligible and adjustments are not made for small differences in GLA, as noted in the sales comparison analysis.
When considering finished living area, the ANSI standard, and applying the standard when developing an appraisal report, the finished living area may be broken down to three different areas:
* Below grade finished area, including basements. If any part of a floor is below grade, than the entire floor must be considered below grade.
* Above grade finished area, reported as GLA, includes all areas above grade that meet the requirements set forth in the standard for dimensions and livability.
* Other finished areas, reported as an additional line item, that are not included in the below and above grade areas that are finished.
As noted above, the market, through MLS listings, assessor records or other online sources, usually does not adhere to the ANSI standards and may include below grade and/or other finished areas as above grade GLA. The ANSI standard is a defined method for measuring living area and does not necessarily follow market trends and expectations. Through research and knowledge of the local market, appraiser will determine if the GLA provided through alternate sources should be adjusted. Any GLA adjustments made to the comparable properties utilized in this report are based on the review of records available during the completion of this assignment.
Readers of this report should note that there are three different areas in an appraisal report where finished living area is reported, as noted above, and each area is valued independently. However, this does not necessarily mean that they will have a different value. For example, a tri-level home with only one level above grade will likely have a similar adjustment per square foot between the above and below grade finished areas. In the example of a tri-level home, often the GLA reported through an MLS listing, tax records and/or other online sources would consider all finished living area as above ground. Therefore, most market participants would also consider all of the GLA to be above grade, however the ANSI standard and this appraisal report, would not. When multiple types of finished areas are observed for the subject, commentary will be added providing an explanation regarding the value of each finished area and how the comparable properties GLA compare to the subject and the impact the ANSI standard has had versus typical market expectations.
The above is informational only and does not cover all parts of the ANSI standard and any examples are general examples and do not necessarily apply to the subject property. Specific commentary regarding if the ANSI standard has impacted the reporting of the subjects living area can be found in the analysis contained in the appraisal addendum. If the reader would like to learn more about the ANSI standard, they are advised to look into the standard through Home Innovation Research Labs.
