Property Description, Measurement, and Analysis
Measuring and describing improvements
Gross living area (GLA) is finished, heated, above-grade space measured using consistent conventions: exterior dimensions for detached housing and interior dimensions for condominiums, with ceiling height generally at least seven feet. Below-grade finished space is reported separately and is not added to GLA. Garages, carports, and unfinished attic space are not GLA. Describe quality and condition separately; effective age reflects maintenance and updates rather than chronological age alone.
Traps
Questions often blend total area with GLA, count basement rooms as above-grade, or add a garage to GLA. Inconsistent measurement sources and rounding create adjustment errors. Functional utility issues, such as awkward floor plans or poor room count, belong in the analysis, not only in the description.
Worked example
A two-story house is 30 by 40 feet on each floor, with a 20 by 20 finished basement. Above-grade GLA equals two floors times 1,200 square feet, or 2,400 square feet. The basement is reported separately as 400 square feet finished below grade. If ceiling height is six feet, that space should not be included in GLA.