- Check the tax records to see how much square footage the City / County believes you have in your home.
- Measure the square footage of each room and hallway and add it all up.
So, how do you really measure square footage? It starts outside the home! You'll need to measure the exterior dimensions of each level of your home -- and then subtract any open areas, such as the open space above a foyer.
This measurement method, as odd as it may be, is what is used by nearly every appraiser, as it is how "gross living area" is defined by Fannie Mae, HUD, FHA, ERC and ANSI. As such, it is important that you're measuring the square footage of your home in the same way that nearly every appraiser and Realtor would be measuring it, so that you're comparing apples to apples when comparing the size (SF) of your home to another home that has sold or that is on the market for sale.
And here's why I consider it to be an odd way to measure square footage....
- WALLS: I don't know anyone that lives inside of the their walls -- but by measuring the exterior dimensions of your home, you are including the square footage that is inside the interior and exterior walls of your home. As a side note -- this makes a home with an open floor plan slightly more spacious than a home with lots of separate rooms -- because the home with the open floor plan has less 'lost" square footage inside of interior walls of the home.
- STAIRS: I don't know anyone who spends meaningful parts of their day on the stairs between levels of their home -- but by measuring the exterior dimensions of your home, you are including the square footage that is in the stairwell of your home. As a side note -- this makes a 2000 SF ranch style home slightly more spacious than a 2000 SF colonial home -- because the ranch style home does not have any "lost" square footage in a stairwell.
