Lying About Square Footage Of Property
Hello,
I bought a property last year that was listed at 3700 sq ft but now after some comparison it feels more like 2800-2900 sq ft. What can I do legally in this case. It seems to me the previous owner lied on purpose. He really seems like a schemer and probably wanted to boost property value. Please help me in this matter, I would appreciate it.
Thank you
[ Edited by kidcash on Date 07/17/2006 ]
When you did your due dilligence before signing the final documents, what square footage did you come up with?
John (LV)
If the numbers are off by at least 500 sq ft then theres a big problem and appraisal value might be overstated. If the sq ft was off by 150 or less then I wouldnt mind too much but 3700 vs 2900 is just ridiculous. I hope I can have some recourse because houses at 2900 sq ft were 20K cheaper.
kidcash,
I ask again this specific question “When you did your due diligence before signing the final documents, what square footage did you come up with?” and now add what was your source?
John (LV)
Well, the previous owner thinks hes slick in all aspects just on the way he carries a conversation and from previous tenants. Also, he never turned over the last months rent of the tenant living in the first floor and its been over a year now and I called him last month asking for the money. I think this should be done without me asking or he can face paying me damages for that. Massachusetts state law says that if its not turned over within 30 days then they would have to pay triple damages. What do you guys think about that on top of the sq footage situation.
Is there a standard way of measuring square feet? Some measure outside building footprint of foundation vs. measuring interior of each room/hallway etc.. Some add unfinished basements.
I went to look at a $1million+ lake home advertised at 4600sq ft. I know there wasnt much over 3000 finished livable sq ft.
They must have threw in the 3 car garage and the neighbors top level!
Here is a link to california landlord/tenant laws:
http://www.dca.ca.gov/legal/landlordbook/catenant.pdf
page 35 and page 36 go into detail regarding what repairs make a residence "uninhabitable"., and the following pages have really good information as well. CA also allows the "rent and deduct", where the tenant can make repairs on certain damages as long as the repairs are necessary to the tenants health and safety and as long as the repairs are not more than one months rent.