Square footage of house smaller than advertised

[EarthSight]

I went to see a house recently and had to put in an offer much quicker than I would have otherwise, due to the estate agent telling me on Monday morning that the place had already received an offer over the weekend after it was listed on Friday afternoon. The area is pretty (countryside) but very deprived and far away from main centres of work (I'm at the bottom of the ladder practically in terms of affordability). It surprised me that not only someone got a viewing on the weekend (when they are almost always fully booked on Saturday you're booking the same week). Instead of viewing the place once or twice again and scrutinising a bit more before making an offer, I went ahead and made an offer.

In the viewing I thought the place felt smaller than their advertised sq meters, but thought it might just be me. However, since then I've found out that the place is about 16% smaller on the EPC than advertised on Rightmove. I knows EPCs can be wrong at times, but I'm inclined to believe this one's accurate due to my experience of viewing houses of a similar size. I would look pass 2-3 meters, but this is 15 sq meters in a house that's already small.

I now feel like a mug because I made the offer (the exact asking price) partly on the listed square footage, and the estate agent is pressing me to move with the memorandum of sale. I asked them to explain the discrepancy, at which point they sounded a bit awkward and said that when they put properties on Rightmove it generates the sq footage based on nearby properties. I could understand if there was a much larger house nearby, but it's in a row of identical sized terraced houses....so I think that's a bit odd. They didn't apologise but in my view it is their responsibility as the estate agent to manage their own listings and display accurate information, and not inaccurate one which might mislead buyers.

I could renegotiate, but I don't want to be seen as someone who would deliberately gazunder a seller and risk the estate agent not being cooperative with viewings in future.

Any thoughts?

I would say this is irrelevant really

Do you want the house or not? If you think it's too small withdraw your offer

Three of my kids have bought houses over the last few years and I thought it was totally normal that the estate agents dimensions were ficticious.

There is a reason estate agents have such a bad reputation.

Sorry I'll edit my last post, it's square meters, not feet! And the discrepancy is more like 24 - 25 square meters!

@Peoneve @@TheRoseTurtle @boatyroo @Cerialkiller

Sorry I made a mistake - meters is correct.

@user1471505356 When I email them they call me and don't or cannot respond back to my email promptly.

@localnotail I know but I guess it's not as noticeable if it's a little amount off of each room.

@ChopSue Totally - I don't hold them responsible at all for this error.

I will be reducing my offer. Just need to figure out by how much.

Just to check that I'm not somehow making an error, I even input the figures in Excel to add them up, and yes, it's that much of a discrepancy. My calculation was based on liveable advertised spaces, which most estate agents do, so I omitted the very small landing, stairs and small corridor. Even if I went by the old EPC, it's still about a 15% difference. I'm guessing that likely included an outdoor space as well, which has since been demolished, so that might be part of the reason why it's bigger than my own calculation.

Just offer a lower price. There's nothing stopping you. I don't understand this stuff about estate agents taking against you. Their job is to forward all offers to the home owners. They just want a sale as quick as possible.

The house we are buying is different on multiple sites.

We have measured the attic for a conversion and it is 55m2 this is on top of 2 floors the same size so its clear all of them including the EPC which lists it as 105m2 can only include the 2 floors of the main original building max. and doesn't include the later additions of a single story kitchen and WC extension even though its been there for over 30 years and the EPC was only done last year.

Op, why don't you get someone in to measure it? Like, survey company, buiding surveyor, another estate agent or something? I don't really know how it works in legal terms but maybe ask your solicitor for advice? To have it all measured room by room and record the sizes, a bit like measured survey but less detailed. The you can be sure and would have a better proof of their mistake.

I don’t think I’ve ever looked at the square footage of a house, but if it’s not worth what you offered then reduce or withdraw

2.2 square metres is a very small area - it's 1 metre x 1 metre.

No. Really, it's not, 1m x 1m is exactly 1 square metre.

Doh! So it is! A very large bathmat then ...

You're the only person acting in your own interests here. So if you don't want to pay that amount anymore, then tell them. They can always choose to accept or start again.

It's awkward and not ideal, but I can see why you felt rushed and the EA must realise that those tactics may lead to this kind of situation once the initial adrenaline has worn off.

Estate agent details always come with a disclaimer about accuracy. These aren't professional surveyors, they are sales people who whizz round as quickly as they can to cobble some details together. It's totally normal for all kinds of errors to be in the advertised details - they don't exist as some legal document for you to base your offer on and over-ride what you see yourself in a viewing. If you panicked and made an offer you regret, just hurry up and withdraw it and stop wasting people's time.

Do you feel your offer is too high? If yes - reduce it..

Do not worry about not getting future viewings.

Tell the estate agent that the discrepancies in the house dimensions have led you to reconsider your offer and you feel that £X-Y is what you are prepared to offer.

No further discussion required.

So how many hallways and toilets are there? I'm in an 82 sq metre place and 9 sq metres is taken up with two hallways. Do you have a floor plan you can share?

You saw the house and could see the space. It's either big enough or it isn't. Who offers based on a drawing?!

@RunningThroughMyHead

I've reduced my offer and it was rejected. This isn't the reason why I pulled out and reduced my offer in the end - there were other more substantial reasons that just added to my dismay at the lack of accurate advertising.

honestly, i think most vendors are greedy and i reckon you'll find a better property. don't overpay. you'll kick yourself down the line. it's a falling market and a buyer's market. you don't need to overpay. clearly during all this time as well, no one else has made an offer.

just tell them if they change their mind, to let you know. keep looking elsewhere.

Re the price calculation

are you buying this as part of a collection of investment properties?

Houses aren't priced by the square foot though. Do you like the house?

Square footage is one of the things EAs use to value properties particular in dense areas like London where space is limited.

Anyway, it sounds like @EarthSight has pulled out now which sounds sensible given they have lost the love for this property.

I think you’ve done the right thing. The shine has gone off the property for you and it’s hard to get that back I think.

Good luck with your onward search.

Exactly this. I have no idea of square footage and it's not something I ever look at when thinking about houses - it's more like how many bedrooms, what does the living space look like. Square footage is pretty meaningless - there could be a massive hall or bathroom and tiny bedrooms. Look at the measurements of individual rooms rather than the overall square footage. Many of the agents around here don't even list a square footage, usually only on brand new houses which have been built to specific measurements.

Agree with @ThatEdgyOliveFox - either you think it's worth what you initially offered, or you don't. Don't be pressured into anything by a pushy agent. You are in charge here.

@EarthSight you did the right thing...and both square footage and the risks of dealing with someone who lies about square footage are totally relevant to your decision. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

@Misthios Personally, I don't care at all how many bedrooms a place has because anyone can simply insert a partition wall to divide a space up. I've seen estate agents listing houses as 3 bedrooms, where they're all tiny or aren't meant to be legally classed as bedrooms, as they are too small and don't have a window for ventilation &safety reasons.

Overall space is more important in small housing as there are only expensive or limited ways to make a house larger, like building an extension. Not always easy if the garden space is not suitable or really small to begin with .