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I purchased a house in Michigan that I heard was for sale from someone I knew that wasn't listed yet and we purchased it directly through the owner so there wasn't a listing showing sq. ft, room size, etc. When I looked it up online before purchasing, it showed on all of the online for sale sites as a 2 bedroom home but when we looked at it, it had 3 bedrooms. I didn't understood why the online sites listed it as a 2 bedroom and not 3 bedroom but it didn't matter since there were very few houses for sale at the time and we needed one right away.
We plan on selling in a year or two and need to know whether we can list the house as a 3 bedroom or not so I did some research online. Our house is a 2 story with all 3 bedrooms and a bathroom on the second level off of a small landing at the top of the stairs. I thought the small size of the 3rd bedroom might be the issue. It has a small closet (38"Wx25"D) which looks like it was added in the corner at some point after the house was built and two large windows so couldn't think of any other reason besides size for it not being counted as a bedroom.
From my research I've found that a bedroom has to be at least 70 sq. ft. with the width being at least 7' wide to be considered a bedroom with a minimum of 7' high ceiling and a window for fire escape. There is also conflicting information on whether or not it has to have a closet. Some say yes and some say no. I measured the bedroom in question and it's 7' 8"x 10' 7" but the closet is carved out of that in the corner. If you just go by the main measurements without removing the closet space, it meets the 70 sq. ft. and the 7' wide requirement to be legally considered a bedroom but if you remove the closet measurements, it's a bit shy of meeting the 70 sq. ft. requirement and isn't 7' wide across where the closet sticks out. It also meets the window and closet requirements.
My 1st question is, does the closet count in the sq. ft. of the room when determining if it's large enough or is it just the actual room space that counts? If I can't use the closet space in the measurement requirement making the room too small to be a legal bedroom, then there is still a room on the main floor which the previous owner used as a den which meets all of the requirements except it doesn't have a closet.
My second question is, does anyone know if in Michigan a room has to have a closet to be considered a bedroom. Our house is older but I'm not sure exactly when it was built. If I were to make an un-educated guess I would say 1940-1950 going by the wiring looking older but the basement is smooth cinderblock. I'm not sure if age makes a difference of whether or not a closet in the bedroom is required but thought I'd put it out there in case it does. It would be great if both the small bedroom and the downstairs room could legally be listed as bedrooms.
Closets are not required to count it as a bedroom. Many older homes don't have closets as they used wardrobes to store their clothes.
You said the room was off the landing. Maybe this room was part of a loft/gameroom area that was walled off to form a 3rd bedroom. That happens all the time. You would be silly to call your city office and correct them as you'll probably be taxed more as the value will be higher. Leave it alone. People buy a house, not words in the MLS. They'll see for themselves that it's a bedroom.
You would be wise to use the same data that the tax records show. If your county records say there are 2 bedrooms, you should say the same. While you personally may count 3 bedrooms, that would mean that the third one was never added to the tax records and there might be a penalty somewhere.
I don't know about the requirements in your area. I would guess the closet area counts as part of the width and sq. ft.
Bit of advice though--I would not recommend mentioning the den as a bedroom. Not because lacks a closet, but because it doesn't sound like there is a full bath on that level.(guessing this based on the age of the home) As a buyer I'd be irritated to view a house listed as 4 (or even 3 if you use this as the third bedroom) bedrooms only to find one of the bedrooms doesn't have a full bath on the same level.
Yes closets count in square footage and I don't think the whole room has to measure more than 7 feet wide if a section that is less is part of a closet. The best thing is to look up the county tax records and it will tell you how many bedrooms and bathrooms it has.
The overall square footage often varies depending on how it is being measured. Closets are counted in overall square footage, but, not in individual room measurements.
The mistake many make (particularly realtors who are hoping to show a potential buyer something else, if this one doesn't work) ... is to OVERSELL the house with a palatial description, wide-angle photos of tiny rooms, empty store rooms included as bedrooms, etc.
It shows a lack of consideration for other's time (and a lack of ethics) to 'lure' potential buyers to a showing, hoping they will not notice or care about the differences between what was advertized and what is being sold. (Retailers call this "bait and switch").
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