I'm buying a home in Massachusetts and feel like I'm getting the run-around.

We are buying a house that is advertised at 2800 sq ft. in the MLS. We understand that the MLS disclaims sq. ft. as an "estimate." So, apparently, does the realtor. When an actual physical measurement was done of the house by our appraiser, it came in at 2450 sq ft. That, to us, is a fairly significant discrepancy and what we based our offer price on (which was accepted). We made an offer based upon a house that turned out to be about 12% smaller than what we knew.

Now, in discussing this issue with the realtor, they just hem and haw and say they are only disclosing what their records showed. She said she had to add a "bonus room" measurement that was completed by the previous owner to the info in the public records (I think it was tax assessment), and that's how they came up with the MLS sq ft. they inputted. The seller wasn't willing to offer anything in exchange for this discrepancy.

The house is only 3 years old.

1. How could such a discrepancy arise in a house that's only 3 years old? Measuring sq footage is not rocket science. This should be a well-known piece of factual information.

2. Nobody wants to take responsibility for it. MLS says its an estimate. Realtor says it was to the best of their knowledge (e.g., "good faith"). Seller doesn't want to budge because of the discrepancy.

I could understand being off 3 or 5% and was allowing for that. But basically we're missing a whole room because of this discrepancy. The problem is, we want the house. We'll live with paying for it despite it, but I really don't understand how this is fair to buyers when they make an offer to buy a house based upon inaccurate information.

Square footage is measured various ways.

If your contract says in writing you are buying a house of 2800 square feet and you don't think it is 2800 square feet, then you don't have a contract and you are not obligated. It's unlikely your contract says that; if I am wrong, correct me.

One thing that's unclear in your post: Are you saying that when the bonus room is added that the house is 2800 square feet?

The general rule is that square footage doesn't make any difference. You saw the house and saw how big it is, so your decisions are based on what you actually saw. If square footage is very important to you, then you should take a tape measure to the house and measure it.

No, with the bonus room, it's only 2450 -- the realtor did the addition of the bonus room to the public records number to find the number they placed in the MLS. Since I don't believe her addition could've been so off (the bonus room is a simple square room), it looks like the original public records were off.

Yeah, it doesn't look like there's any recourse and just something you have to live with if you're interested in the house itself. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth, since sq ft. is one of the main factors most people take into account when making an offer (not just "eyeballing" it).

Nowhere else do we buy something with so much documentation and pieces of paper we have to sign for disclosures and such, but one of the basics of what you're buying is basically "unknown" and could be one or none of 3 different measurements.

If you want a second opinion, here it is.

It's the old, 'What you see is what you get'. Unless there was a specific warranty as to size (or term) square footage is an approximation only.

As Senior Judge pointed out, square footage can be determined in a number of various ways. (In Mexico they use the outside wall to determine footage.)

Some factor in undeveloped areas of the home, others don't.

I would be very surprised if you had any recourse - but make a fuss - maybe you can something out of it - don't waste your money on a lawyer or taking it to court - you just don't have a sound basis for a claim.

Steve @ www.buyingahouseandsavingmoney.com

You do realize that if you sum the floor areas of the rooms, the sum will be quite a bit less than the overall exterior footprint of the house. Every realtor I have known measured the exterior footprint to get the value. It takes a lot less time.

Every three feet of interior wall subtracts a square foot from the floor area. Two feet of exterior wall removes a square foot. And don't forget chimneys and utility runs, which can make walls thicker. I have a dead space 18 inches on a side for a chimney and another one for a huge air duct.

Also, some interior measurements exclude closets and kitchen cabinets, and count stairways only once for the two floors they connect. And don't forget the garage.

Other places where space exists, but is not very usable, include dormers, gable roof low points, scuttles, crawl spaces, and utility spaces.

Actually I've found many realtors don't even bother measuring the outside. They just assume the court house records are correct, and those are often wrong (in many (almost all) cases they are determine without entering the property). Sometimes the realtor will adjust for obvious discrepencies, but starting from an incorrect number doesn't make it any better.

-Tim