A dust up between a builder and condo owner near our home in Greater Hartford, CT, reminds us that few things in real estate should be taken for granted.
According to the Hartford Courant's Consumer Watchdog column, Mike Tedford bought an upscale condo in West Hartford from Konover Properties, a major local developer, which was advertised at 1,639 square feet. But when Tedford actually took the measure of the place, he found he only had 1,545 square feet. He was short 100 feet, or the equivalent of a small room.
Tedford claims he overpaid for his unit by about $20,000 since he was calculating a price based on $255 per square foot. Konover, for its part, thinks Tedford is trying to wangle an unfair rebate from them.
"It's almost extortion," said a Konover vice president of Tedford's complaints.
Although we have never heard of any developer advertising anything but livable square feet, no party to the dispute has yet to claim the law is on one side or the other (sounds like blind justice). The best the local building inspector could say is that he had never heard of anyone using the Konover method of measurement.
"You are buying living space," he said, "not insulation."
Konover may not lose any legal battle - Tedford has gotten his deposit back for the unit - but the bad PR could not come at a worse time for the firm. Today, voters in the nearby town of Simsbury are going to the polls to consider whether to enfranchise a newly invented party whose candidates pledge more rational development of the town's remaining space. The race is predicted to be close.
Specifically at issue is whether current town officials have been too lax (and, perhaps, colluding) with a developer who wants to build a "big box" Target department store on a verdant piece of property just across the street from a residential development. The possibility of increased traffic, reduced property values, and the loss of small-town charm has enflamed local opinion. If the new party wins, it is almost a sure thing the developer will lose.
The developer, you may have guessed, is Konover. And its fortunes could turn on a lousy 100 square feet.