A Texas court has ruled that Realtors had better get the size of the house right or they’ll likely have to pay for their mistake.  According to the National Association of Realtors, simply quoting the square footage from the tax record won’t be enough,

A jury awarded the purchasers damages and held the real estate professionals liable for misrepresentation and fraud. The court of appeals in Austin upheld the decision, even though the couple had moved into the home 30 days prior to settlement and the information came from tax records filed with the local municipality.

Through my own MLS, we have the choice of stating the source of the square footage when we list a home: agent measured, tax record, owner provided, appraisal.  I will always use the figures provided by an appraiser, however I’ve also used the square footage stated in the tax record as well as measuring for myself.

How do you measure?  Do you just add up the square footage of the rooms?  No, that won’t work because you’ll miss closets, wall thickness, cubby holes, and more.  To measure, you calculate the EXTERIOR of the home for an official number.

Photo by karindalzial, courtesy Flickr Creative Commons.