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Article: Building a Better Square-Foot Formula
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 19, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Anyone building a new house or putting on an addition this year
needs to know the answer to this construction conundrum: When is a
square foot more than a square foot? And when is it less?
The answer is important because so much in residential real estate
depends on square footage:
* Appraisers and tax assessors assign market values based heavily
on square footage. Their work sheets require it.
* Architects and builders project the price of buildings based on
the anticipated square footage multiplied by the anticipated cost per
square foot of materials, labor, overhead and profit.
If your budget is $250,000 and the architect estimates a finished
cost of $150 a square foot, you will have to ...