Living area calculations for condominiums
Today, Sam Schneiderman, broker owner of Greater Boston Home Team continues the discussion about living area that he started on August 8th. That discussion was about single family living area calculations. Today, Sam discusses condominium living areas.
Condominium and single family living areas are calculated differently.
While single family living area is calculated from exterior dimensions of a home’s living area, a condominium’s living area is calculated from interior dimensions. (The outside perimeter walls of a condominium unit are usually part of the condominium association’s common area.)
Unfortunately, all kinds of “extras” are often added into the living area of condominiums to inflate their size and value. This starts when a developer insists on including the square footage of garages, decks or porches in “living areas” stated in condominium documents. That living area is typically used to market the condos and the town assessor usually uses the inflated living area to assess the value of the condominiums for taxation.
The living area for a condominium unit is supposed to include all heated finished spaces, including below grade (basement) spaces that are legal living areas. (If not part of the original condo construction, added living areas should be heated, have proper ceiling height, windows, entrance and egress, and town building inspectors should have signed off on the permits for its construction.)
Strange things can happen between the time that someone buys a condo and the time that it is sold again. For example, I found my buyers a condo with a master bedroom suite that included a private bath and a small room overlooking a park. The listing stated that the living area was about 1800 feet. The condominium was priced right for that square footage and my buyer-clients made an offer quickly.
After the offer was accepted, we had time to perform due diligence that we could not perform when rushing to make the offer. When we were finally able review the master deed, it indicated that the condo was about 200 feet smaller than advertised. After reviewing the floor plan and running some calculations, I concluded that the discrepancy consisted of the room and bathroom off of the master bedroom that was referred to as an open back porch in the condo documents. When we searched for a master deed amendment referencing the converted space and appropriately updated living area, we came up empty handed. There were no building permits on file, either.
The bottom line is that we discovered illegally built “living area” that was technically not even owned by the sellers. (It was still part of the condominium association’s common area.) When questioned, the listing agent’s response was that the sellers bought the condo that way and that was how they were selling it. I advised my buyers to walk away.
PERSPECTIVE:
Before working with a buyer’s agent, buyers should understand how much due diligence (if any) that agent will guide them through.
Using the town assessor’s records is not always the best way to determine square footage, but that is the way that most agents do it.
Buyers and/or agents should verify living areas before getting too far into a deal or they risk overpaying or buying into problems.
