Inflated square footage listings

[rkp]

I keep finding listings that are inflated and it pisses me off.  There is no valid reason for an RE agent to inflate the number...its blatant false advertising.  I notice some of them put disclaimers that the sq ft is whats listed in county records and buyers should verify on their own but thats a cop out.  Majority of these houses are tract homes that follow a template.  At most they might be 5% off but a 3000 sq ft house wont suddenly be 3500!  What they should really do is fix the public records but that means they care about honesty and ethics.  Here are a few examples. 

The woodbury castle.  This is a juliets balcony plan C with 3833 sq ft but the listing shows it as as 4216 which is a plan E.  The agent insists that is whats listed in public record and buyers should verify but any one with any common sense would know there is no way for this house to be a plan E.  The easiest give away is the front door being on the side vs the middle as a plan E.  This difference is ~10% and thats huge when trying to compare price per sq ft and make an offer.
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/24-Lamplighter-92620/home/5950544
Plan C:http://floorplans.irvinerealtorsite.com/Woodbury/JulietsBalcony/JulietsBalconyC3833.JPG
Plan E:http://floorplans.irvinerealtorsite.com/Woodbury/JulietsBalcony/JulietsBalconyE4216.JPG

This is a new one that just came online today and inspired me to post about this. This is a mille fleurs plan 1 with a 3-car garage and 4 baths.  It is 100% 3174 sq ft yet the listing shows it as 3411 and making it $322 per sq ft which seems reasonable for woodbury right now but it really is $346 per sq ft making it much more expensive. 
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/63-Stowe-92620/home/5923112
Mille Fleurs floorplans:http://floorplans.irvinerealtorsite.com/Woodbury/MilleFleurs/

Share other clearly incorrect listings here.  Hopefully peoples google searches will lead them here and these crappy agents will be outed for their dishonesty.

 

[davenlei]

Incorrect Sq. ft. is rampant in listings.  The home I live in I have seen the same floorplan listed as three different sizes up to 150 sq. ft. in difference from the smallest listed to the largest.  I know that is not a lot of sq. ft. but that is enough to be noticeable I think...

The other thing I have seen incorrectly listed is the association dues.  When I bought, the listing said the association dues were $75 a month.  When I was signing my paperwork I noticed the dues were $125.  Found out that the association used to charge a different rate based on the plan you had but some time later they changed it so everyone pays the highest rate ($125).  So the listing had the lowest original rate in the description...  I can't complain.. $125 for a well kept gated neighborhood is not bad.