But Conley said he is not the only homeowner being duped. He alleges that Mark Wilkinson, a branch broker for Prudential Utah Real Estate in Alpine who represented the Pettros as their real estate agent, has overinflated the square footage of several other homes he has sold.

"I simply took a look at all of Mr. Wilkinson's MLS (Multiple Listing Service) listings and square footage number and then I compared that against what Utah County online records have for square footage," Conley said. "I've seen differences range anywhere from a low of 58 square feet to a high of 2,798 square feet."

Wilkinson said those differences can easily be explained.

"Most of them, the builder's plans were changed or there was additional square footage added during construction," Wilkinson said. "A lot of them are excavated garages. It's routinely different."

In February, Conley brought his dispute before the Utah Association of Realtors, which found no ethical violations against Wilkinson.

"In almost 25 years of real estate, I've never been sued. I've never gone to an ethics hearing," Wilkinson said. "I've never even had a mediation."

But Wilkinson may soon face another hearing. In addition to the lawsuit filed in January, Conley last week filed a complaint against Wilkinson with the Utah Division of Real Estate, requesting that Wilkinson's real estate license be suspended or revoked.

"We would be concerned if an agent intentionally misrepresented square footage one time," Miller said. "But if we see a pattern of it, then that increases the amount of concern we have."

Chris Kyler, chief executive officer and general legal counsel for the Utah Association of Realtors, said the homebuyer is the person with the most interest in checking the facts.

"This guy apparently was not a diligent buyer and is trying to put the blame on somebody else," Kyler said. "A diligent buyer would have had the property surveyed, measured, appraised and would have had a home inspector check the electrical outlets, plumbing and would have made sure the whole thing was up to code."

Yet for Conley, the missing square footage amounts to more than an honest mistake.

"It was a deliberate attempt on their (the seller and the seller's agent) part to overinflate the square footage of the home so as to extract more money for the home," Conley said. "From my point of view, I shouldn't have to catch them in their lie. I should be able to rely on information they presented as honest, true, correct and accurate."

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com