Square footage & permits

[Christine Powell]

I am doing a flip that has a 480 square foot room off the kitchen, 4 windows, double exit door, sub floor, dry walled, heating vents, electrical outlets. Also has a wood burning stove. It is listed on the county website as a porch and is not included in the total square footage of the house. If it is on the site does that mean it was permitted to build?  I want to use this as a dining room/family room. How can I get the square footage added to the house to increase the value? My contractor says I should not add the square footage to the house because they could make us do stuff that is way out of budget. Any suggestions?