Clarification

[Dingbat]

okay, silly question. i just bought a house and am in escrow. my property detail report lists two numbers for the square feet of the house. one listed as "building square feet" and the other as "gross building area." can anyone of you pros explain the difference?

 

[Paul Isolda]

I don't know what a "property detail report" is. Gross building area usually includes basements and garages, i.e. areas that are not part of the finished, heated, above grade living area. Building square feet may be what they are calling the finished living area but is not a term I am familiar with. If there is more information you can provide, maybe someone here can give you a better answer.

 

[hastalavista]

okay, silly question. i just bought a house and am in escrow. my property detail report lists two numbers for the square feet of the house. one listed as "building square feet" and the other as "gross building area." can anyone of you pros explain the difference?

Here's the definition of Gross Building Area (also referred to as GBA) from The Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal, 4th ed.

gross building area (GBA)
The total floor area of a building, including below-grade space but excluding unenclosed areas, measured from the exterior of the walls. Gross building area for office buildings is computed by measuring to the outside finished surface of permanent outer building walls without any deductions. All enclosed floors of the building including basements, mechanical equipment floors, penthouses, and the like are included in the measurement. Parking spaces and parking garages are excluded. See also area.

GBA is not a term frequently used in single-family residential appraisal, but there's no reason why it could not be used.
The frequent term used is GLA, or Gross Living Area. This is defined as

gross living area (GLA)
The total area of finished, above-grade residential space excluding unheated areas such as porches and balconies; the standard measure for determining the amount of space in residential properties. See also above-grade living area (AGLA).

(AGLA is defined as)

above-grade living area (AGLA)
Total area of finished, above-grade residential space. Unfinished attics are not considered a part of AGLA. See also gross living area (GLA).

GBA is used by residential appraisers when analyzing a 2- to 4-unit property.

As a rule, the GBA will be larger or equal to the GLA (I say "as a rule", but I cannot think of an exception!).

I hope this helps you in interpreting what you are looking at.
BTW, you said you were looking at "my property detail report ". Are you looking at something other than the appraisal?

 

[Webbed Feet]

okay, silly question. i just bought a house and am in escrow. my property detail report lists two numbers for the square feet of the house. one listed as "building square feet" and the other as "gross building area." can anyone of you pros explain the difference?

I suspect you are looking at county or jurisdictional authority taxing assessor information provided in your title package, not a real estate appraisal done for your purchase transaction loan.

If so, you need to be asking the tax assessors office what those numbers mean, not us.

Best Wishes