Allowable Square Footage

[elsie ross]

I am selling my home and I need to know if the loft (fomaly a attic) above my carage is included in the square footage of the home.

the stairs leading to the loft are just outside the kitchen door in the carage. the tallest point is 7' and slants down to lowest point 2'. The room is 14X13.

thanks

 

[Ghost Rider]

Without seeing it, Best answer is "Maybe"

If you want my guess, from your description - No. You can't access it from the main living area without going into an unfinished area (the garage) AND, as per ANSI standard, anything with less than 5 feet of height cannot be considered Living Area - and thats assuming the highest point is truely 7 feet - If there is no point of the ceiling higher than 7 feet, it cannot be considered living area.

Though you might want to wait for Pam to post on this one, she's the ANSI guru on the board. How did I do??

 

[Farm Gal]

Elsie:

I hate to tell you but... "It Depends". The answer is it probably not GLA, but 'attic finish' instead and will have less value than traditional finished area.

Many appraisers use what is called the ANSI standard for measuring. Based on that standard the area you describe would NOT be included as Gross Living Area.

To properly answer you we need the answer to a couple more questions:

1. Are there a set of stairs leading down to the garage? Is there a stairwell through the floor area you describe?

2. If less than 50% of the floor area is less than 5' high it sounds like this area cannot even be counted as a 'room'. Since yourefernce the 'high point' as 7 foot I have to assume this fails that test.

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This area may not be GLA but instead a non-access FROG (Finished Room Over Garage). It will still count as 'something' but most typically NOT as equivalent to main level finished area.

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Originally posted by NAHB (National Association of Home Builders - publishers of the ANSI Standard)
For a finished room with a sloped ceiling, check if 50% of the room has
a vertical ceiling height of at least 7 feet. If yes, then the total
"finished" square footage is the total square footage less any finished
square footage below 5 feet.

50% refers to the total area of the room.

we generally do not count any area in whihc a normal height adult's shouder won't clear, so the area between 5 foot high and the 2 foot outside wall doesn't 'count' as finish under ANY circumstances.

Hope this helps?

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Pretty good MHM & Lee Ann.

For an area to be counted in the Gross Living Area (GLA):

Area in question MUST be accessed directly from the base living area of the house. Access from the garage automatically makes it NOT eligible to be counted in the GLA.

Additional 'rules' IF it could be counted as part of the GLA:

Construction and finish must be at least equal in quality to the base structure.

Nothing under 5' ceiling height can be counted AND the area of 7' or taller ceiling height must be at least 50% of the floor area for any of it to be counted.

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This area should be adjusted for on a separate line item in the Sales Comparison Grid section of any of the standard Fannie Mae appraisal forms. Research of YOUR market area would/should be able to locate what $+/- amount that adjustment would be.

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Thank you for finding the Appraisers Forum and asking us!

 

[elsie ross]

thank you all for educating me. The room has a closet and storage cabnets. If we close off the stairway from the garage, what clasification can I give this room?

We also are closing in the patio. We have piped our central heat and air out there. Can this area be concidered living square footage?

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Regarding the attic room above the garage, the access MUST be from inside the house with all construction materials and workmanship equal to the main GLA. Be careful not to cause a 'functional obsolescense' if you do this. The floor plan still must 'flow' easily. Sounds like without major reconstruction, it will be considered finished attic storage and is probably better off staying that way.

The enlcosed patio foundation, walls, roof, windows, and interior finish MUST be of equal or better quality construction materials and workmanship as the main house or it's an enclosed patio with HVAC and counted separately from the main GLA.

By the way, please don't let any Realtor or uneducated appraiser tell you anything different. If they do, they don't know what they are talking about and you might want to consider hiring someone else. It very well could prove to be adjustable at about the same $ per square foot as the main GLA would be, but an analysis of similar properties would be necessary in YOUR immediate market area to know what that $ amount would be.

 

[elsie ross]

thank you Pamela.

As it turns out, our real estate agent did want to list the attic loft as a third
bedroom. When the house was appraised, one appraisor gave some sq. footage and the other appraisor gave no sq. footage but listed it as a finished attic. Which of course gave two different $ amounts.

We are building the enclosed patio with materials as you mentioned. I just wanted to make sure it would be concidered square footage.

I am no longer listening to agents. I am reseachering my needed information on the internet which brought me to this site.

thanks again

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

You are very welcome Elsie! So glad we helped!!!

We are building the enclosed patio with materials as you mentioned.

I have to ask... why are you calling it an 'enclosed patio' instead of an 'addition'? Most often, an 'enclosed patio' would not be built with the same materials (foundation, walls, roof, etc) as the rest of the house. An addition, to be considered included in the GLA, would need to look like it belongs with and is part of the house. Typically, an 'enlcosed patio' would not ever be included in the GLA. A terminology question with implications.

Also, please make sure you get permits and an approved final inspection by your city, county, or whatever local agency that would issue such. I'll add a link to an article that will explain why you should.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Here's the link to another thread here about additions without permits.

http://appraisersforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=18153

 

[elsie ross]

Hi Pamela

I am calling it a enclosed patio because we are using the exiting roof
and concret that is already there just closing it in. We are buying a do it yourself kit. I just want to make sure before we do the work, we do it right so that when we put the house back on the market, we will know if it counts as square footage.

I don't want to make any assumptions

yes we plan to pull permits. just haven't got that far yet. Still figuring the best
way to do this.

thanks for the link