2nd floor GLA open to 1st Floor

[jnordquist]

Here's the situation. I measure off the open space for 2 story great rooms, family rooms, foyers etc. I don't count this in my GLA. Now the assessment records that go off of spec plans or have been physically measured do not cut this out of the GLA. So I'm sitting here thinking that I am cutting the subject short by excluding the open area in the GLA. So I go back to my books "Appraising Res Prop 4th Edition" from AI, all of my manuals, FHA handbook and Fannie Guidelines. I can find not one word of cutting out the open space.

So I'm going to put the open space back in the sketch, What do my peers think right or wrong.

 

[Thomas Fiehler]

You are correct in the method you use. In this area, our MLS's will tell if the house has an open foyer so it might be necessary to modify their reported sq. ft. Normally it doesn't make much difference since that area is often 100+/ SF and the house is 2800+. If you do modify their reported size, just be sure to tell the reader what you did. My comment is something like "GLA of comparable #2 was modified to reflect an open foyer, which the auditor fails to show. This was verified with the selling/buyer Realtor."

 

[Michigan CG]

The ASK AN APPRAISER section is for the general public to ask questions. I have moved it.

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http://www.ansi.org/

 

[Mike Kennedy]

ANSI STANDARDS 2003 - see page 2 (PDF too large to attach here, PM me your email - be glad to send it over)

Openings to the Floor Below
Openings to the floor below cannot be included in the square footage calculation. However, the area of both stair treads and landings proceeding to the floor below is included in the finished area of the floor from which the stairs descend, not to exceed the area of the opening in the floor.​

 

[hglenbetts]

When I was new to the business, my supervisor said "It's called gross LIVING area (GLA), if there's no floor to stand on, there's no living going on".

She applied the same standard to upper levels with sloped ceilings, "If you can't stand up in the space, you don't include it".

 

[cjski]

...the area of both stair treads and landings proceeding to the floor below is included in the finished area of the floor from which the stairs descend...

I've always measured the stair treads with the 1st floor GLA and cut out the staiwell from the 2nd floor...Am I doing it wrong?

 

[Lee Lansford]

...
So I'm going to put the open space back in the sketch, What do my peers think right or wrong.

Wrong.

If you can't walk on it, it ain't GLA.

If competing properties have 2-story ceilings areas reported as GLA, factor-out that 2-story area.

 

[Lee Lansford]

I've always measured the stair treads with the 1st floor GLA and cut out the staiwell from the 2nd floor...Am I doing it wrong?

If you follow ANSI, stairs to the 2nd floor are included both as 1st and 2nd floor GLA. Reasoning: If you were to remove the stairs, there would remain floor area on the 1st level.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

The "if you can't stand on it or stand up in it" is a pretty good test. In this area, most of the real estate people have been using the living area shown in the assessor's office records. There are occasions when the property records badly overstate living area. For example: the upper level area in the property record will be the same as the lower level. Also, many times I've found that the property record will show that the bonus room area is the same as the area of the garage.

This doesn't affect the property being appraised, but it can certainly affect the way the comparbles adjust.

 

[G-man]

I agree with excluding open foyer areas & the like from the dwelling area of a home. I've had several spirited "discussions" with Realtors & homeowners as to why my GLA is lower, or in some cases higher, than what is stated by the auditors office. This is where interior measurements come in very handy.
One thing I can't agree on is estimating the open foyer area on comps, even if the Realtor states it is there and wasn't taken out of the GLA as reported by the auditors office. It isn't accurate, and I don't like the "guestimate" quality of that statement. Just my two cents.