Portland Area Real Estate Appraisal Discussion

In February I wrote a blog post about the value of our Portland appraiser home measurement service and how it can increase the sales price of a home, reduce liability for the agent, and reduce problems at closing.  Since that post, response for the service has been overwhelming and we have been receiving feedback on the product.  Based on customer demand, we offer our clients home measurement service with or without floorplan depiction of interior walls as shown in the image above.

The basic home measurement service focuses on providing just the information that agents need when entering accurate data in the RMLS.  This includes the total living area for each level of the home and the room dimensions.  However, we find that including the floorplan layout of interior walls makes listing packets look even more attractive.  As a result, floorplan measurement with interior walls has become our most popular product.

Did I leave anything out or do you want to join in the conversation?  Let me know in the comments below.

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Thanks for reading,

Gary F. Kristensen

This is a great service, Gary. I know from email exchanges with you that you have been measuring quite a few homes lately too. Congrats on helping so many agents. I just measured a house very carefully at 1726 sq ft, but it was marketed in MLS at 1906 sq ft because that's what Tax Records states. In this case my sketch lined up perfectly, so it is very clear 1906 is not accurate (despite that being listed as official in public records). The difference here isn't as extreme as it sometimes can be, but still this can make a difference in the value as well as increase potential liability as you said.

Thank you Ryan for the story. It is typical for the measurements in the Portland area to be at least a little low from the county records. This is because the county usually does not include the second floor stairways and the county usually just has the builder's measurements that are from the studs and the appraiser includes the siding. Also additions are also often not picked up by county, even if they have been permitted. However, in the Portland area, I do see county measurements that are too high when there is a finished attic that has a large amount of area below five feet.

Those are some nice looking sketches Gary. I think agents that get a house measured and include the sketch in the listing information not only have more accurate information but also look more professional. Congrats on the sketch service doing so well!

Great point Tom. At first, I was selling the measurement and floor plan service for getting the correct square footage noted in the listing. However, now it seems that most agents are buying the floor plan service to make the listings look nice and the square footage verification is just an extra.

nice