Home Appraisal lists a 3/2 as a 4/2 (2014, sale, rental, Realtor)
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We are buying a house that is technically a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. However, it's listed as a 4/2. The 4th room does not have a closet, and is straight up just an office. It share's a bathroom with the Master - they're all connected on one side of the house.
The current appraisal on file has it listed as a 4/2, and we just got our appraisal back for the purchase/loan, and it also lists it as a 4/2.
I guess what I'm concerned about is when we go to sell it, the appraisal then may just see it as a 3/2, and then would be worth less.
Am I worrying about nothing? The comps compared it to other 9 room homes, which is what ours is, and similar square feet.
In Illinois the room must have a window to be considered a bedroom. I would first ask your realtor and then also contact the appraiser or have your realtor do it as that is what they are getting paid for! A home with only 3 bedrooms will sell for much less than 4, so you would be able to re-negotiate your price as well! I would definitely start asking questions while you're still in your grace period to back out!
this might be why the current owner listed and i assume priced it as 3/2. at the very least it will appraise as a 3/2
But they DIDN'T list it as a 3/2; according to the OP, they listed it as a 4/2.
OP, can you clarify, when you say that the master bedroom plus master bathroom plus this "other" room are connected, does that mean that the only way to get INTO the "other" room is by going first through the master bedroom? Or does the "other" room have a door to (say) a hall as well? I think that would make a difference in terms of what it's called, but as others have pointed out, it depends on your local area. Can you look up the property on your town's web site? (EG where I live, I can just put in an address and the tax records come up including a description of the house and often a picture.)
But a simpler solution would be to simply ask your agent and/or the appraiser what the "rules" are for calling something a bedroom, and how they concluded that the "other" room IS a 4th bedroom.
Thanks everyone I'm in Tampa Florida. The room does have a window but no closet. It's about a 10x10 room. It's listed by the county as a 4/2. So I guess that's what it is!!
If the county calls it a 4 bedroom, and the appraisers do the same, that is exactly what it is. Many home owners today, would use it as an office or one of the bedrooms as an office, but that does not make it an office for valuation, and listing for sale. As it can be used for a bedroom, it is a bedroom in the real estate business.
If it is sold as a 3 bedroom plus office, instead of a 4 bedroom, does not change the value as the room count and square foot remains the same. Due to the fact that it would make an ideal home office, may actually raise the value a little with some buyers, who need an office not another bedroom. Today there are a lot of people with office jobs working from home. An office is becoming a plus when selling the home, and become more so in the future, but most will still call it a bedroom for selling the home.
I strongly suggest contacting your local government to ensure that room counts as a bedroom per local code. Some require egress to the outside (window), often with clear rules as to how large the window has to be and how high it can be from the ground. Some require at least two points of egress (window and door), some require its own separate entry door (ie, not through a bathroom or other bedroom. I have not read anywhere where HUD, FHA or international building standards code require a closet, but in some municipalities a bedroom without a closet would be considered functionally obsolete.
Whether your home is a three or four bedroom most definitely does impact its appraisal price, including future buyers' bargaining power and ability for it to appraise high enough to satisfy their mortgage company. It also likely impacts the amount of property tax you pay.
At any rate, I strongly suggest looking into it, both to ensure that you are not overpaying and that any future buyers will not have issues either. If it does not qualify as a bedroom per your municipality, both the agent and the inspector are guilty of neglect and/or misrepresentation.
If the county calls it a 4 bedroom, and the appraisers do the same, that is exactly what it is. Many home owners today, would use it as an office or one of the bedrooms as an office, but that does not make it an office for valuation, and listing for sale. As it can be used for a bedroom, it is a bedroom in the real estate business.
If it is sold as a 3 bedroom plus office, instead of a 4 bedroom, does not change the value as the room count and square foot remains the same. Due to the fact that it would make an ideal home office, may actually raise the value a little with some buyers, who need an office not another bedroom. Today there are a lot of people with office jobs working from home. An office is becoming a plus when selling the home, and become more so in the future, but most will still call it a bedroom for selling the home.
It's better to be sold as a 4 bedroom, that way if a person has 3 kids they each have their own bedroom or if 2 kids they can have a guest bedroom or use it as an office.
You don't need a closet to call a room a bedroom. Many rooms a hundred years ago did not have closets. They had wardrobes where they stored their clothes.
I've been in many, many bedrooms in Germany (newer and older) and none of them had closets in any bedroom.
For that matter, most kitchens don't have built-ins as we know them in the U.S. They appear to be built-in if they are upscale, but it is because they fit so well. In most cases, landlords and home sellers take these with them when they rent out an apartment or sell their house.
Whether your home is a three or four bedroom most definitely does impact its appraisal price, including future buyers' bargaining power and ability for it to appraise high enough to satisfy their mortgage company. It also likely impacts the amount of property tax you pay.
Lets look at a few facts in the real estate business in the 21st century.
1: Three bedrooms with a room for an office, is just as valuable as a 4 bedroom home to a huge majority of the people. An office, has become very in demand for a lot of people, and they will pay as much or more for a 3 bedroom and office home as they will a 4 bedroom home. If they buy it as a 4 bedroom home, they will convert one bedroom to an office. Today about 40% of office workers work full time or part time at home. This really requires a home office, which by the way is tax deductible. In addition this home has this potential home office connected to the master bath room which makes it easier to separate the the office from the rest of the home for working at home. I have kept a home office for the last 40 years as an example, and worked with many of my investors that kept a home offices, and we all took the depreciation on our federal and state income taxes. Not having a closet, makes it easier to define as a home office for tax purposes.
2: The county considers it a bedroom for designation purposes, so it will meet the local requirements to be called a bedroom.
3: The appraiser call it a bedroom, so that is another proof that it meets bedroom requirements or the appraiser would not have done so.
Of course I don't know anything about the real estate business, as I only spent from 1972 till I finally retired as an investment real estate broker, that has had homes built for projects and have subdivided land.
If I was marketing the home, I would have done it as a duel use as a 3 bedroom with home office/4 bedroom home so it would appeal to both groups of buyers.
It is not going to lower the value of the home to market it as a 3 bedroom with home office over a 4 bedroom home, in fact it may actually make the home more valuable to a large percentage of buyers.
The appraisers and the county will consider it a 4 bedroom to define value, and taxes.
Of course I don't know anything about the real estate business, as I only spent from 1972 till I finally retired as an investment real estate broker, that has had homes built for projects and have subdivided land. I took a good solid appraisal class through a major state university, so I know what the appraiser will look at in defining it as a bedroom, or home office.
If I was marketing the home, I would have done it as a duel use as a 3 bedroom with home office/4 bedroom home so it would appeal to both groups of buyers.
It is not going to lower the value of the home to market it as a 3 bedroom with home office over a 4 bedroom home, in fact it may actually make the home more valuable to a large percentage of buyers.
It is not going to lower the value of the home to market it as a 3 bedroom with home office over a 4 bedroom home, in fact it may actually make the home more valuable to a large percentage of buyers.
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It does lower the value because you have just shut out many people. If they are looking for a 4 bedroom house they are not even going to see your 3 + office because of what they put in as search parameters. A 4 bedroom can always have a room turn into and office, but a 3 + office can't be sold as a 4 bedroom and the office may not even work as a 4th bedroom.
I know 2 people with home offices that have a room with the same layout, It has an entrance from 2 hallways. It can be used as a small bedroom but it looks like an office because of the layout. One I have seen county records and it's listed as a 2/2.
Thanks everyone I'm in Tampa Florida. The room does have a window but no closet. It's about a 10x10 room. It's listed by the county as a 4/2. So I guess that's what it is!!
Florida statutes state that in order to be a bedroom, it must be at least 70 sf, be located on an exterior wall and have exterior egress, cannot be the only access to another room and must have a closet.
That doesn't mean that some cities don't have their own rules. It's not unusual for the county to include rooms as bedrooms to increase the tax amount.
In my area of Florida, there is no measurable difference between a 3 bedroom with a "den" or a 4 bedroom house. People will look at a room and how if fits their needs, regardless of what the state, county, or anyone else calls a room. If it works for them, that the only thing that matters.
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