Buying a flat - Incorrect floor space advertised

Snakey

The OP is right to view square footage as relevant. Flats in London vary so much in size (since many of them are in converted houses and some have tiny bedrooms, split rooms, mezzanine sleeping areas and all sorts of non-standard stuff) that the square footage is an important tool for comparing prices. There is massive variation. You can get two-bedroom flats that are smaller than one-beds, and I was looking at a studio which was 420 square feet while others (which I didn't view) were less than 300.

I've just bought, and a lot of estate agents would talk about price per square foot - and since it's around £800-£1,000 here at the moment a 10% exaggeration would make a difference. I can totally see why the OP is annoyed, the question is whether s/he should be annoyed with her/himself or with someone else!

I'm with the others on where you stand legally. These things have disclaimers on and EA's are always going to go high rather than low. I bet you can't find one where they have underestimated the measurements - if you want to look on the bright side, it's likely that most of the flats you're comparing yours to are also puffed up in a similar manner although I do think you got unlucky with a 10% margin.

I would think hard before walking away in a rising market, you may find that prices have gone up so much since your offer was accepted that you won't find a bigger flat for less money once you've factored in your lost expenses anyway.

I can only suggest that you use the same plans when you come to sell, you will probably be able to find a buyer who won't check either.

Annie1960

Snakey wrote: »

These things have disclaimers on and EA's are always going to go high rather than low.

But Trading Standards specifically state that EAs cannot rely on disclaimers.

burnoutbabe

flatLondon wrote: »

Thanks for your responses.

Before I made the offer for this flat, I was considering a similar property in the same building, the advertised floor space for which was 10% smaller than the one I made an offer for. I made an offer for this flat because it was advertised as a larger flat and my offer price was higher relative to value of properties sold in that building.

I understand that floor space is not the only factor that determines price, but all things equal, larger floor space should command higher prices. No?

I want to still buy the flat, but I may want to sell in the future and would likely not get a price in proportion to the price I paid.

My issue is that the estate agent falsely advertised and I am having to pay for it.

i would guess that this flat is still around 10% bigger than the other flat, though both are probably over estimated in the plans. (have you got both listings and can see room sizes are a bit bigger in 1 than another.

I get frustrated they don't list sizes on listings apart from somewhere on the floor plans (if any). No one lets you search by them for some reason.

robatwork

Perhaps we should really be talking about cubic metres rather than square metres (please let's stop using feet, it's 2014).

After all a room with a high ceiling will have a different feel to one with a 2.2m ceiling.

Would also echo the sentiment that on the continent the first thing you see in a property's details is the floor space and floor plan. No idea why EAs here don't do this as a matter of course unless they are lazy, deliberately obfuscating the details, or unable to do the maths.

PasturesNew

robatwork wrote: »

Perhaps we should really be talking about cubic metres rather than square metres (please let's stop using feet, it's 2014).

After all a room with a high ceiling will have a different feel to one with a 2.2m ceiling.

I'd not be interested in cubic metres.... you can see/tell if there's a tall ceiling.... it's how many square feet you've got available to stand or put a sofa that's important. I'd rather have a room 6'x6' and 6' high, than one 6'x3' and 12' high.

ethank

In answer to your question;

A) You can try to renogotiate, and see what happens. What will you do if they say no? Do they have any other offers that they could go with? Would you be happy if they pulled out?

You are not going to get anything from the seller. You can try going down the ombudsman route, but I doubt you will get anywhere.

lincroft1710

Floorspace can be confusing, does it include hallways and corridors, built in cupboards, cloakrooms, bathrooms? Is it measured by net internal area (the totals of all rooms added together, thus excluding internal wall thicknesses) or gross internal area (area between external walls)?