A Fort Bend area master-planned community where luxurious homes, water features and resort-style amenities define the landscape, Riverstone is one of Fort Bend County’s most desirable addresses. Riverstone residents enjoy an enviable lifestyle with a superb selection of new homes with Sugar Land and Missouri City addresses. Plus, with varied highway access and an array […]
Sienna is a comprehensive 7,000-acre master-planned community. Sienna is more than houses inside one of the top Fort Bend County subdivisions. Neatly tucked between the acclaimed cities of Missouri City and the City of Sugar Land, it is a community in the truest sense of the word. Every effort is made to maintain a sense […]
Imagine a place with vast open spaces and spectacular sunsets. An 11,400 acre master-planned community in northwest Houston where flocks of waterfowl glide across natural lakes. A refuge from the chaos of your workday. A place where you can find true balance. The new home community of Bridgeland is such a place. Bridgeland attracts and […]
Towne Lake reflects its Texas-sized appeal in a 300-acre lake, with beautiful views. Lake coves allow neighbors easy access to the water and to the many amenities and destinations throughout, bonding the community together. Towne Lake Charm is all these things and more, reflected in a community steeped in Texas pride. Caldwell Companies has perfected […]
Cypress Creek Lakes is a beautiful master-planned new home community nestled in the charming Northwest Houston suburb of Cypress, Texas. Mischer Development has carefully designed the 1,600-acre community to respect the natural beauty of the land while developing approximately 2,000 new home sites. Its convenient location on Fry Rd. just off of Highway 290 also […]
The 2020 Texas Relocation Report released today by Texas REALTORS® shows the state ranked second in the nation for relocation activity in 2018, with 563,945 new residents moving to the state.
Texas eclipsed its 2017 total for new residents (524,511), and accounting for those moving out of state, saw a 78.1% increase in net new residents—from from 57,173 in 2017 to 101,805 residents in 2018.
For full report, click here.
I been asked about this questions every time when I deal with client and there is difference in the square foot from Appraiser and Appraisal district. I have seen many times deal almost fall through because of this difference. Buyer don’t want to pay more for the less sqft and Seller is trying to justify it’s the right square foot from their source. So How we solve this problem?
Let’s look at some snippet of the article published in Texas Realtors Magazine this time.
It’s not necessarily that the home was measured incorrectly in one instance or another; it’s likely a difference in the method each follows when calculating the house’s square footage, or gross living area. The gross living area (GLA) of a home refers to the above-grade, finished living space. Garages and basements—any part below grade and however well finished—do not count toward the GLA. While condos and co-ops use the interior perimeter dimensions to calculate the GLA, for single-family homes, the exterior dimensions are used.
Builders
Builders often use the exterior dimensions of a home before the veneer is applied when calculating livable area. Floorplans might also include parts of the house in the total square footage that would be excluded by others from the GLA, such as garages, finished walk-out basements, or space on an upper level that is open to the level below.
Appraisal District
An appraisal district measures the exterior dimensions of a home outside of the veneer then rounds each measurement—sometimes to the nearest foot—before calculating the area. Appraisal district measurements also may not exclude area where the home’s exterior is irregularly shaped, such as around a bay window, or parts of an upper level that are open to the level below. The appraisal district does not inspect the interior of homes and may not know what sections of upper floors are open to below, ?like a vaulted ceiling or the space for stairs.
Appraisers
Many appraisers follow the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) process and measure the exterior dimensions of a home outside of the veneer to the nearest inch or tenth of a foot and round only the final calculated square footage to the nearest foot. ANSI also requires appraisers to exclude areas that do not contribute to the livable area, such as areas open to the floor below or bay windows that do not extend to the floor. Appraisers also report basement or below-grade parts of the home separately from GLA. If any portion of the part of the home is below-grade, such as a walkout basement, it is excluded from GLA.
Sometimes confused with the GLA, the gross building area (GBA) is a measurement used mainly for multifamily properties that uses the exterior dimensions of a building, including all common spaces. For a single-family home, the GBA may or may not be the same as the GLA.
Check out this worksheet and try it out yourself to have it handy.
I came across this interesting and intriguing concept from Unison. It is like “home co-investment” start-up, which means it wants a share of the equity of your home. To put it simply, they want share your appreciation pie which is expected in many locations over the years. If your home value goes up, then it wants some of the gain. If your home value drops, then it will absorb some of the loss. In exchange, the benefit to the homeowner is either an increased upfront home downpayment or the ability to cash out your home equity with no monthly payments.
That’s the basic idea, although they aren’t technically a co-owner of your home. The arrangement is structured as an options contract with a secured lien on your home, as laid out below:
Unison is betting that over the long-term, your home value will go up and they will profit when you eventually sell (or when 30 years is up). In addition, they charge a one-time transaction fee at the time of closing (2.5% of proceeds) or at home-equity cash-out (3.9% of proceeds).
Unison’s business model depends on home prices going up over time in a reasonably-predictable manner, so they’ve done some research about the reliability of rising home prices.
As per my co-money blogger Chris from mymoneyblog.com, Unison will become successful, as long as they have patient sources of funding. Customers get a much bigger home down payment upfront, and the payback is not until later and only taken out of profits (less pain). That’s a pretty brilliant idea in the context of behavioral finance . As a homeowner, you are still essentially selling a piece of your home asset, but anything that makes it possible for people to buy a nicer house now is going to be popular.
It might be good business model but is it good for the homeowner ? Yes they can get bigger better new home expected to appreciate but at the same time you wanted that growth for you and don’t want to share it. Why would anyone willing to pay $40k for just $50k paid up front whether it’s 10 years from now or 30 years. That’s big junk of money. I would think about it many times.
Please do act accordingly with your discretion and after your own due diligence. We are just sharing the different ideas coming out in the market for investment returns.
