If the living area is different from the appraisal value, the actual size should be reported to the appraisal office?

To add, I recently read over the residential contract and specific section where you have a choice to choose that if the appraisal comes back differently that the seller or buyer is responsible for updating the information in regards to the title and title policy. This is a whole other question I'd like to post.

The advantage is low appraised value and taxes paid. The disadvantage will show up when you want to sell it. It will be a good idea when you get it fixed when you are ready to sell it.

Chris
Coldwell Bankers
www.ChrisRealEstatePro.com
832.859.8698

As previously stated, it depends on the purpose. If you are attempting to sell, I would hire an appraiser to provide actual sqft to base pricing on. My personal home is showing accurate sqft but shows an additional bedroom. In an effort to dispute tax value, I had them remove it.

Mr Lee -

There are many reasons why the tax appraisal district may have the wrong square footage for your home. One of those could be that the area was added onto by a previous owner. For example adding another bedroom or bathroom or expanding the kitchen. Usually, the tax appraisal district will only report the original square footage before improvements. You will need to report it, but watch out you don't have taxes raised as a result.

Good luck.

Great question,
They are several methods to measure square footage, a small difference may simply due to a different person making the measurement.
If the difference is small, it should not be a big deal. If the difference is large, reporting to the appraisal office may be warranted.
Cheers.
francois@cozy-homes.com / 713 397 8857

The appraisal district can be wrong often. Once you realize that the living area is different it should be updated with the Tax appraisal district. If it stays the same you may pay lower taxes since the formula that they use to calcute your taxes is based off of the property value that is usually heavily influenced by the square footage of the home. It's definitely could be beneficial to make sure you have it updated before you sell your home that way you could height your chances of possible getting more in your sale price.

If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me.

Thanks
Eboni Taylor
Keller Williams Realty

I suggest to my clients to report the square footage of the home to the county appraisal district if it helps them. Typically if they have an appraisal that shows the square footage that is smaller than what the county is reporting. Why? Because the appraisal district bases much of the homes value on the dollar per square foot in the area. If the square footage goes down, the accessed value also drops and then your property taxes.

We here in Texas want to keep the government out of our homes. And this includes the appraisal district. Now by all means, if you want to report the higher square footage, feel free. But your property taxes will surely go up as well. Keep in mind you never have to tell them this information (as the sales price, any upgrades, etc).

And to wrap this up. Who says the higher square footage is correct anyway? I would bet 3 appraisers measuring a home would get 3 different numbers. Not sure why, but it happens all the time. If the square footage is smaller on the tax rolls, leave it alone! If it is higher....than report it with your evidence!

Mark McNitt
MarkKnowsHouston.com
832-567-4357
Bernstein Realty

There are many reasons why the county’s assessment of the property and the square footage calculated by a home appraiser may differ. If your assessor uses an estimation to determine square footage, there’s a good chance that this square footage may not be precise. If you believe that the public records are inaccurate, you should contact your local assessment department to request that the data be reviewed. The process varies by location; some may ask you to file an appeal or submit a grievance.

Keep in mind that square footage can affect your home’s assessed value, which has an effect on how much property tax you pay. If the actual measurements taken by a home appraiser result in a higher square footage than the tax assessment office has on record, using the higher square footage calculation could increase the value of your home. That’s great if you want to sell, but it may also increase your property taxes.

Ryan Modi
Pattern Realty
(281) 236-4040
RyanM@PatternRealty.com