The only challenge was finding insurance coverage because it was right after the horrible tornado and some companies had put a freeze on new policies.

However I really like the MLS system in Charleston SC.. there is a big disclosure on the listings that says  " If square footage is important Measure "  putting the onus on the buyer to verify.and if its a big deal its written in as a contingency item up front with the offer not after the fact.the listing agent might have taken county records  which are often wrong ( although usually smaller not bigger) and relied on those.its tough doing business in a state that is so dominated by closing attorneys everything freezes until you can talk to them.. 

@Charlie MacPherson One thing to point out though, especially up here in MA, is that heat pump efficiency gets a lot worse when the temps are well below freezing.

That is a crazy story and I thought people shutting off the furnace in winter and freezing all my pipes was bad! 

If the exhaust freezes up, they can shut down, and if you aren't there to fix it, it can get cold fast! 

Most people believe the clay absorbs water from above (rain and snow), but what really happens is clay acts like a vacuum when it freezes, and pulls up ground water from below as it freezes.

do you have snow.. freeze thaw.. or in spring when things grow wild  LOL  or texas were your soils move and create foundation issues over time .. or in Vegas were you have no yards  but sun beats the crap out of the places LOL.. how old is the house.. etc etc. 

Corporate lease sounds great until they cut corners and freeze your pipes. 

If you're in a freeze thaw area, cracks will let water in and cause damage. 

Over this past winter, we had 2 or 3 weeks were temps were consistently below freezing and a week or two stretch were we were averaging right around or below 20 degrees with lows in the low teens.