GLA
Joel Frost said:
I am an appraiser trainee. My Mentor has asked me to find a good definition of "LIVING AREA." Which I haven't found yet. I am wondering what elements of construction does the structure need to have in order to be included in the "Living Area" of the home. Does it need to be heated? does it need to be air conditioned? Does it need to have electrical? Insulation? Does it need to be built to code?
These are my questions on Living Area. I would like to find a better definition. Thank you for your help.
Joel,
Some of the following ANSI standards may be helpful to you:
The ANSI standards define "finished area" as "an enclosed area in a house suitable for year-round use, embodying walls, floors, and ceilings that are similar to the rest of the house." Measurements must be taken to the nearest inch or tenth of a foot, and floor area must be reported to the nearest square foot. Garages are specifically excluded.
What ANSI Is and Isn’t
The ANSI standard is intended for use in calculating square footage in detached & attached single-family residences. It
should not be used as a means of measurement for commercial buildings or apartment multifamily buildings. There are
other recognized standards that should be employed when appraising these types of properties. Also, to date, there is
no recognized standard for calculating square footage in condominiums.
Calculating Square Footage 101
Measurements of each level should be made to the "exterior finished surface of the outside walls." When measuring a
second floor from inside the residence, the thickness of the walls should be included in the calculations. For attached
homes it may be appropriate to measure from the centerlines.
Areas protruding from a finished area may be included as finished, provided they have a floor on the same level as the
rest of the living area & meet ceiling height requirements (described in the next section). So, where a fireplace would not
be included in GLA calculations, a bay window could be. There would be no deduction for a fireplace which was located
within the exterior walls, however. A window box, which protrudes from the exterior but does not have a floor common to
the level on which it is located, is not calculated.
When finished & unfinished areas are adjacent to one another the finished area should be calculated by measuring to
the exterior surface of the inside wall separating the two areas. Similarly, the measurement of the unfinished area should
be from the exterior finished surface of the outside wall to the exterior surface of the inside wall.
If I can’t stand on it, is it still GLA?
The two most common misunderstandings of what is and is not considered to be calculated area are areas beneath a
sloping ceiling & areas open to the floor below.
No area may be considered as living area if they do not have a ceiling height of at least 7 feet, with two exceptions. First,
areas under a sloped ceiling may be included as living area as long as they have an average ceiling height of 7 feet.
However, no portion of an area that has a ceiling height of less than 5 feet may be included as finished area. Second, all
areas with sloped ceilings underneath stairs may be counted as finished area, regardless of ceiling height.
