house in ohio

[Alon A.]

Hi

I have a question i a bit confused from something. Hope you can help

I almost put an offer on a 2400SQFT house. the house has 2 story and basement.

when i looked online in county site i saw this details:

Total Basement 676SQFT (Basement finished - 388SQFT)

Living area above ground - lvl1 - 690sqft, lvl2 - 724sqft

Total SQFT - 1414SQFT

Total 1414 SQFT + 388sqft = 1802SQFT ??

I wanted to ask if a basement count as soft in realtor, Zillow ... im really confused also why they put it as 2800SQFT.. so weird.

I did my comps based on this 2800SQFT and not 1414SQFT. 

When im looking in zillow what i supposed to look for? 2800SQFT like listed or 1414SQFT or 1802SQFT ?

reason im asking is because some comps around 2000SQFT sold in certain amount but based on county site they are not 2000SQFT in living area, only if you add basement area.. please help 

[Alon A.]

Quote from @David Bilandzija:

@Alon A. Buyers can easily get hoodwinked in a situation like this. Gross living area is what matters most to a lender and the appraiser they hire.  Gross living area aka GLA is your above grade, finished, permitted area.  GLA will determine which comps get used.  Appraiser will look at the basement area and assign +/- value based on comps with similar design.  

thank you for the answer !