True Gotham

Last week on TGTV we discussed the various methods by which square footage can be measure with an emphasis on the liberties that developers sometimes take in adding common areas, etc to an apartment's stated square footage.  Don Meade also shared that he has been asked by real estate agents to provide a measurement from outside walls which would obviously yield a higher number than measuring the interior perimeter.

Check out this week's episode as we travel further down the path of who seems to be responsible for the overstating of square footage as we determined that the physical measurement (at least by our panel) was calculated using very similar methods of measuring the exact same interior space.  There does seem to be some confusion however on exactly what is defined as gross living area (click the link for the Google search and check out the definitions and some of the forums for appraisers who even question the definition)  Gross living area for a house seems to be different than gross living area of an apartment...

On the final episode of this TGTV series on Square Feet we will explore ways in which to hold accountable those who grossly overstate square footage in the real estate industry.  It's a shame I can't do another 25 episodes on square feet because this issue has a lot of holes and loose ends that definitely need to be addressed and tied up.  Will do a little bit of that next week. 

Posted By Douglas Heddings | Permalink | 3 Comments

In last week's episode of TGTV, our panel of experts shared the results of measuring a property and we suprisingly saw that each of them came up with numbers relatively close to one another.   It appears that each of them measured the property the exact same way by calculating "interior perimeter"...hmmmm?   Can you say "standardization?" 

In this episode, you will hear our panel discuss more reasons for the lack of standardization across the market with a particular focus this week on new development projects and what factors contribute to stated square feet in these projects.  Don Meade also touches briefly on real estate agent "wants and needs" in terms of square foot calculations.

This comment after last week's episode from Justin Patwin, a Los Angeles based Architect, sheds some light on one way to "police" the standardization of stated square footage:

I am an architect from L.A. who has extensive experience in what are A.R.O. (Adaptive Reuse Ordinance) projects in our city. Those are existing historic buildings that have been retrofitted to accommodate residential "lofts". We have this conversation with our clients constantly due to lawsuits so I am interested to see how NYC handles this issue, because a buyer will always measure differently from a developer. Developers (and their architects) use a method that begins with how the City Planning Dept. and Building and Safety assess how large a potential project can be (known as F.A.R.- Floor Area Ratio). Developers then turn around and charge buyers for whatever they build to the extent the law allows(with mark-up of course). Typically in L.A., we measure from center to center of the demising walls (walls that divide units), and include the exterior wall and the corridor wall. If there is a stair, then the opening for that stair is not included as well as any other floor penetrations. Other than that columns, interior walls, etc. are included...

...The one thing that would really alleviate the guess work is if BOMA were to create a standard for residential condos which right now they do not have. Do you plan to address this specific issue? Great that you are tackling this subject and I like that you have a few different professionals however I would have a developer too since the architect does not represent their point of view.

Would have been nice to have a developer on the panel but it appears that in NYC we would have had to poll several developers and their architects to get a sense of how each  calculates square footage.

Tune in next week for more as we explore accountability as it relates to overstating of square footage.

Posted By Douglas Heddings | Permalink | 4 Comments

In last week's pilot episode of TrueGotham TV we met our expert panel,  Jonathan Miller from RadarLogic and Miller Samuel Appraisers, Yungie Hahn from H2 Architects, and Don Meade from Quality Floor Plans, and saw exactly how they go about measuring property.  Surprisingly, each of our experts used similar methods of measurement and measured only the interior perimeter of the property.  Why is that surprising?  Because if they all measure the same interior space, why can't the consumer ever get an accurate quote for square footage?  Check out this week's episode to see what each of our experts calculated to be the square footage of this property and learn more about their methodology.

Tune in next Thursday for more of our panel discussion including why our experts think this is such a frustrating topic for consumers.

Posted By Douglas Heddings | Permalink | 6 Comments

I just received an email from Joel Burslem of Future of Real Estate Marketing that I have been named one of the 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers for 2007. 

I'm absolutely honored to have been named to this list.  Congrats to all of my colleagues as well.  An exciting day indeed for TrueGotham as our appearance on this list coincides with the launch of TGTV!  It's a good day.  Thanks Inman!

Posted By Douglas Heddings | Permalink | 2 Comments

If you're a regular reader of TrueGotham, there's no secret to how I feel about discrepancies in square footage and the lack of standardization of measurement (or is there?) in the marketplace.  Buyer frustration permeates the market as prospective purchasers continue to ask, "why can't we get an accurate quote of square footage?"

In our inaugural episode of TrueGotham Television (TGTV), we explore the methodology of measuring square footage.   Jonathan Miller from RadarLogic and Miller Samuel Appraisers, Yungie Hahn from H2 Architects, and Don Meade from Quality Floor Plans join me to share their methods for calculating and their thoughts on square footage inaccuracies.

Tune in next week for each professional's findings and the first part of our panel discussion on methodology and the lack of accuracy in square footage quotes.  

Posted By Douglas Heddings | Permalink | 11 Comments

I'm off to the Dominican republic today for a much needed vacation with the family.  I'll be back blogging on Monday, April 2nd but today and all of next week, I will rerun some of True Gotham's most popular/controversial posts.  Enjoy.

Posted By Douglas Heddings | Permalink | 0 Comments

Welcome.

Although it's published, and largely written, by a working Manhattan broker, TrueGotham was never about buying and selling property. (In fact, there has never been a single link or description on TrueGotham to any of Doug's properties.) On the contrary, TrueGotham was born with a clear mission to help build trust between real estate consumers and their real estate professionals.

That makes TrueGotham a rarity: reports from an experienced voice inside the industry that is not afraid to admit that a whole bunch of what happens here is scandalously terrible. To that effect, in its young life TrueGotham has been home angry posts about brokers intentionally misleading their clients (in various different ways), the low barrier of entry to the real estate profession, the shady practice of making old listings look new, and all that mindless rah-rah "the market's always good" talk that comes standard from some real estate professionals.

TrueGotham also aims to have straightforward, non-salesy, hands-on perspective about the business of real estate, including how to find a good broker, why not to get hung up on price per square foot, what's wrong with low-ball offers, the new housing futures market as a predictive tool, the hassles of very aggressive co-op boards (and more), and why it's not always good to have a broker fall totally in love with your property.

TrueGotham also has really sweet wheels.

Posted By Henry Abbott | Permalink | 2 Comments