Square Footage Does Not Match Tax Records

[Stinson Bland]

Hello BP,

I recently put a house under contract and I'm looking to rehab the home. I used the square footage from the tax records to build my offer and rehab estimates. My seller accepted my offer and I was excited about the deal. This house is in a prime neighborhood and I got the house at what I thought was a deep price.

After getting the contract recorded with the city, I took my contractor out to the house and we realized the house is 500 sq. ft. larger than the tax records. We have measured several times and I am positive that the house is larger. This neighborhood sales at an average of $90 a square foot for similar properties... I just found roughly $45K of additional spread on this deal. JACKPOT BABY!!! :D :rock: :wowo: :woohoo:

I literally did a touchdown dance in the front yard after the third measurement. Youtube T.D. Celebrations

Here's my question: How do I get the square footage adjusted with my tax office? I've called the office and I've gotten the run around so far. I plan to go to the office in attempt to get a better response. Would it be best if I got an appraiser to verify the square footage and take that info to the tax office? I'm sure I can figure this out by spending some time at the office but I was hoping someone has had the experience and can give me some insight into a quick solution. In order to help my sale I want the tax records to represent the correct sq. footage. I have roughly 8 weeks to get it corrected before I list the house.

Thanks for any and all help!