Bonus Rooms to Include or Not Include in GLA

[Terrel L. Shields]

ANSI is a voluntarily standard in most states. Consistent measurement whatever you decide.

 

[Carnivore]

The ANSI standard is that in a room with sloped ceilings, you count all the square footage where the ceiling is at least 5 foot tall and over 50% has to be over 7 feet tall. Some builders will put the knee walls at 4 feet high so you don't measure from wall to wall, you measure from where its at least 5 feet high.

I like your response because this is where Builders pull a fast one on New Home Buyers. I have studied a few new home sale with the bonus room o/garage.

ANSI is a good standard to use. So where the builders pull the fast one is they often price/sell that area to the home buyer for a discount, but not really much of a discount. What I mean is the Builder will use the price as a percentage of the true GLA.(but not always, some will even use 100% of GLA Price) of the 2nd floor. They often misrepresent the GLA of the Bonus room by having a shorter knee wall. Finishing off the bonus room(formally great attic space) is relatively easy to a builder. It not like adding an addition at all.

 

[Carnivore]

ANSI is a voluntarily standard in most states. Consistent measurement whatever you decide.

Kinda funny you said that and here is why. The Charlotte Board of Realtors had established how to measure a house GLA, etc. They actually put it in writing for for Realtors to follow as a standard of practice. The funny part is the Plagiarized ANSI and claimed it as there own. Kinda like 'Look how good we are thing'. I don't know if they actually listened to me, but I did bring it to the attention. Any how I have looked and its gone or they buried it!

Well they did change it and they don't claim it anymore! Woo Hoo and its sorta of buried. The NCREC recognized that its important and IS a standard of practice. This partially explains the recent sudden growth of Professional Measuring Companies in the Charlotte area.

http://www.ncrec.gov/Brochures/Measurement booklet 2013.pdf

 

[jay trotta]

As always have seen many variations on the "Bonus Rm" and GLA; I use the envelope (all accessible from within) method (Ren. #2) more often than not. Most builders here, when offering to finish or not have a cost involved, but the question generally becomes, has it been upgraded or not ?

 

[glenn walker]

If it's done by the builder and the assessor includes it in the GLA and they are boght and sol as GLA and if the Realtors and all the other dunderheads thinks its GLA and especialy if I have comps with the same floor plan and GLA then in order to keep uniformity I include it and explain in my comments. If its a added on bonus room then I try and fifure what utilty valu eit has and make a separate line item adjustment on a lower grid and do not include it in the GLA. AS far as ANSI I don't get to involved in it unless it's an -A frame type design or ceilings are so low a adult cannot walk into it with out bending down and of course some of these areas are great Covid-19 isolation and safe spaces to contain those pesky kids and or seniors who annoy me

 

[Mr Rex]

Kinda funny you said that and here is why. The Charlotte Board of Realtors had established how to measure a house GLA, etc. They actually put it in writing for for Realtors to follow as a standard of practice. The funny part is the Plagiarized ANSI and claimed it as there own. Kinda like 'Look how good we are thing'. I don't know if they actually listened to me, but I did bring it to the attention. Any how I have looked and its gone or they buried it!

Well they did change it and they don't claim it anymore! Woo Hoo and its sorta of buried. The NCREC recognized that its important and IS a standard of practice. This partially explains the recent sudden growth of Professional Measuring Companies in the Charlotte area.

http://www.ncrec.gov/Brochures/Measurement booklet 2013.pdf

ANSI is a voluntary standard in NC, however the NC Appraisal Board has said that while not required that they recommend Appraisers use ANSI or the NC REC "Yellow Book" (pretty much plagarized from ANSI). It is free online and does a decent job of explaining, more so that ANSI.:

https://www.ncrec.gov/Brochures/Measurement%20booklet%202013.pdf

 

[Carnivore]

So I posted the link above for the North Carolina Real Estate Commission standards of measuring and determining what is and what isn't GLA.

In North Carolina I would be hard pressed to Convince the NCAB North Carolina Appraisal Board I was right about my calculations as a defense against some Complaint from a Consumer/user of my services if I did not use the NCREC Measuring Guide. The actions/practices of my peers would certainly come into play.

We know that disgruntled homeowners over the results of an appraisal that was different than their opinion of value. Yes they are biased. I have also been challenged several times by AMC Phone Monkeys on why my Cals results were not the same as some previous appraisal. The tone from the Clowns is what gets me riled up. One incident they were accusatory in the message. They actually said in that communication: "....Explain why your results are so different from another Appraisers results."

This is the worse approach to take with me. I was one unhappy Camper!

ANSI is a voluntary standard in NC, however the NC Appraisal Board has said that while not required that they recommend Appraisers use ANSI or the NC REC "Yellow Book" (pretty much plagarized from ANSI). It is free online and does a decent job of explaining, more so that ANSI.:

https://www.ncrec.gov/Brochures/Measurement%20booklet%202013.pdf

I agree. I think I said in my prior post that the Realtors has plagiarized ansi. Yes, that yelllow book does a better job splainin than anzi.

I use the Yellow Book. Well I actually only refer to it, because like you, i know how to measure GLA. One in awhile you get an odd-ball.

 

[Mr Rex]

I used to build houses and used to work for an Architectural firm so I'm profecient with measuring GLA. Once took on a good friend as a Trainee that was "spatially challenged" and went in to measure a cut up 1.5 story house. He literally spun in a circle trying to figure where to start and asked me. I said start somewhere. I went ahead of him and measured it in about 15 minutes. I take extra exterior photos on the funky ones and overlay the 2nd floor over the first as a start. I hardly ever can not associate my measurements with the photos etc. Did one last week that was challenging, radiused loft area open to below etc. but I'm confident I'll be as accurate as can be. The guy asked me what was taking so long, maybe 30 minutes on a +/-4,000sf super cut up house with weird angles etc and said it was appraised a few months earlier and the guy was in and out in 10 minutes. No way in hades I could even take the measurements with a Disto that quickly.