Appraisal Services
Property Measurement and Square-Footage Services
Square footage drives value, and the recorded number is wrong more often than people expect. Tax records lag renovations, older homes were measured to looser standards, and finished spaces — sunrooms, converted garages, rooms over detached garages (a Lowcountry staple), elevated enclosures — get counted inconsistently or not at all.
Minor Appraisals provides stand-alone measurement services using the ANSI Z765 standard that lenders and appraisers rely on. You receive a professionally measured gross living area with a floor sketch, giving sellers, agents and owners a defensible number before it becomes a dispute.
Who commonly needs this
- Sellers and listing agents who doubt the tax-record square footage
- Owners who added or finished space that records don't reflect
- Buyers or sellers in a square-footage dispute
- Attorneys needing documented area for a legal matter
- FSBO sellers preparing accurate listing information
When an appraisal helps
- The tax record, prior listing and prior appraisal all say different things
- A renovation or addition changed the home's finished area
- A transaction stalled over a square-footage discrepancy
- Elevated construction or partially finished lower levels make the GLA genuinely unclear
Charleston-area experience
Charleston housing is full of measurement edge cases: raised beach houses where the ground level may or may not count, Charleston single houses with piazzas and irregular footprints, historic homes with multiple additions, and FROGs (finished rooms over garage) that records treat inconsistently. Measuring these correctly is routine work for us.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ANSI standard?
ANSI Z765 is the national standard for measuring single-family residential floor area. It defines what counts as gross living area and how to measure it, and it's the standard required in most lender appraisals.
Is a measurement service cheaper than a full appraisal?
Yes — because no valuation is developed, a measurement-only assignment is faster and less expensive than an appraisal. If you later need a full appraisal, the measurement work carries forward.
Related services
Estate & Date-of-Death Appraisals
Retrospective and current-value reporting for estate settlement, probate and inheritance planning, prepared to the standards attorneys and the IRS expect.
Pre-Listing Appraisals
An independent opinion of market value before you list, so pricing decisions rest on data rather than guesswork.
Private Sale & Cash-Purchase Appraisals
Independent value for off-market transactions — sales between family members, neighbors or investors, and cash purchases with no lender involved.
Need an Independent Opinion of Value?
Tell us about the property and the intended use of the appraisal. We will review the assignment and contact you with availability, pricing and next steps.