Heated Square Footage Q and A

The following Q & A appeared in the March 2, 2011 issue of the NC REALTORS “REALTOR Report”

QUESTION:
I am listing a property for sale that includes a home and a detached garage. The garage can be accessed from the home by a covered breezeway. The garage includes an area that is heated and air conditioned and has finished walls. The owner currently uses that area as a workshop. The owner wants me to include the square footage of the workshop as part of the living area of the home when I list the property in the MLS. Should I do that?

ANSWER:
No. The North Carolina Real Estate Commission has established guidelines to assist agents in understanding their responsibilities when they report square footage of residential properties. The Commission’s Guidelines note that the square footage of a dwelling must be limited to the home’s “living area” as that term is defined in the Guidelines. In order to be considered “living area”, the area must not only be heated and finished, it must also be directly accessible from other “living area” either through a door or by a heated hallway or stairway. Since the garage in this example is accessed by an open (unheated) breezeway, the workshop does not qualify as “living area”. The Commission’s Guidelines can be reviewed on the website of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

This Q & A appeared in the March 2, 2011 issue of the NC REALTORS “REALTOR Report”