Major discrepancy in square foot estimate vs. nerighbors

jerry_alexandratos
Contributions:3

Hello,
I live on a block with townhouses only, all very similar in size and built by the same builder, with no single family homes. Lot sizes are nearly identical. You list my neighbors as having a substantially larger square footage (approx. 1600sf) than my home (approx. 1300sf).
My home: 9279 Ridgefield Cir Frederick MD 21701
3 beds, 2.5 baths, 1,332 sq ft;
Comparable homes:
9253 Ridgefield Cir Frederick MD 21701
-- beds, 2.5 baths, 1,635 sq ft;
9263 Ridgefield Cir Frederick MD 21701
-- beds, 2.5 baths, 1,636 sq ft;
9273 Ridgefield Cir Frederick MD 21701
-- beds, 2.5 baths, 1,620 sq ft;
6128 Baldridge Cir Frederick MD 21701
-- beds, 2.5 baths, 1,736 sq ft;

One of these neighbors (9273) has a home connected to mine and it is the same size on the outside. According to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation Real Property database, their homes all have about the same square footage as mine (1320sf to 1330sf), not the values you list (1620+sf). In all cases, the home sf is larger than the lot sf (exactly 1600sf). How do you account for this large discrepancy? Is my house size underestimated or are all of the other homes overestimated?
thanks,
Jerry Alexandratos

Question refers to 9279 Ridgefield Cir, Frederick, MD 21701

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August 28 2007

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Answers (2)

jerry_alexandratos
Contributions:3

The online Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation Real Property database at http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/ does not show the finished basement size. That is where I verified information about the square footage, and the missing data is why I was confused. Thank you very much for the information.
JA

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August 31 2007

Sandie Koutavas, "Sandie4Realty"
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I'd like to try to help answer your question but can only hazard a guess based on what I'm seeing in the tax records. The tax records in Maryland list a square footage for finished living space but they also list a finished basement space square footage as well. If you add those two numbers together, you'll get the square footage listed for the other homes in your neighborhood that you reference. According to your tax record, you have no finished square footage in the basement recorded so your square footage in Zillow shows up as the living area square footage. Lot size is irrelevant unless you have a one-story building. Since you're going up in stories, the square footage can exceed the lot square footage. I hope this was helpful. I'd be happy to e-mail you tax records from the MRIS that break it down. Contact me at sandie@sandie4realty.com if you'd like more information.