The counties around here have the tax records on line. You type in the address and up pops a photo taken the last time the property was sold or the last time the propetry was appraised by the county for tax purposes. Part of that tax record includes the heated/cooled square footage. So unfinished basements and garages are not included.

So square footage for me is conditioned living space as told to me by the client and confirmed by the tax records. The client usually gets the square footage from the MLS listing which is usually within 100-200 sq ft of the tax records.

I charge a flat fee for homes 3500 or less square feet. I discount for homes under 1200 sq ft. Most homes here have crawls, maybe 25-30% are slab. Virtually no basements. Foundation type does not change price. I do add surcharge for age.

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Bruce Ramsey
Advocate Inspections
www.NCAdvocate.com