Home, Land, Property Buying and Selling - Wrong SquareFootage given by Builder. What to do ?

We just signed a contract with the builder, Meritage Homes. But when we measured the blue print, it occured to us that the quoted Square footage on their floor plan is not accurate. The blue print calculates about 200-300 sf less than the printed floor plan. The house is about 3300 sf. This certainly make us not quite happy.
We can still back out of the contract, but before we do that (since we still like the house), we are just wondering, legally, is there any thing we can do/say to the builder, to maybe, require them to add to full amount of the advertised squrefootage, or ask them to give us discount accordingly ? The house is not being built yet.

I have just several days left before I can back out of the contract. So, your kind advice will be highly appreciated.

The builder may have made a mistake in calculating square footage. It may also be that he and you may calculate square footage differently. If he used gross square footage (to the outside face of exterior walls) and you used net square footage, there could easily be that kind of difference.

I'm real big on talking things out in a non-confrontational way. If it were me, I would call the builder right away and just see what he says. If he made a mistake, he may discount the price or maybe not; he may have made a mistake on the area, but I'm betting he knows to the penny what that house will cost to build and what kind of profit he needs. If you're not satisfied with his answers or the difference is just too much for you to accept, then definately walk away from the deal while you still can do so legally.

So you thought you were getting less house than you are. If you like it, and agreed on a total price, not a per square foot price (in other words the price is what you agreed on), I don't see what the big deal is.

Now, if you have the plan and he is building the house, for an agreed upon allowance of $100 per square foot (for example), then it's a problem, because it may have blown your budget. Of course you can always use cheaper fixtures, and things like that to reduce the cost. And you should go back and talk to him about the actual square footage it's based on. Also, in that case, he may be able to shave a few feet here and there, depending on his capability and where you live (codes and all).