4 bedroom or 3 bedroom house? (for sale, real estate, loft)

[DanielChang]

I was reading this thread and now it's piqued my interest.

//www.city-data.com/forum/real-...bedroom-2.html

What's the definition of a bedroom here? I know in a lot of places it's at leas 90 sq ft plus a closet. That other thread mentioned looking on tax records. I went to wakegov.com but wasn't able to find record on number of bedrooms.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by jinxor

I was reading this thread and now it's piqued my interest.

//www.city-data.com/forum/real-...bedroom-2.html

What's the definition of a bedroom here? I know in a lot of places it's at leas 90 sq ft plus a closet. That other thread mentioned looking on tax records. I went to wakegov.com but wasn't able to find record on number of bedrooms.

That open loft is certainly not a bedroom. I bumped into that this week when an open loft was listed as a 3rd bedroom in a 2 bedroom home.

From the North Carolina Real Estate Commission:

To be or not to be...
A bedroom?


Reports are that some brokers are mischaracterizing certain rooms as “bedrooms”.

Specifically, in order to enhance the marketability of homes listed for sale, they are submitting information to multiple listing services and through advertising identifying as “bedrooms” rooms which were never designed or intended for such use.

As a result, prospective purchasers seeking homes with the number of bedrooms shown in the MLS are frustrated and angry when their agents show them homes where one or more of the “bedrooms” is clearly not suited for that purpose - even though the seller may have used the room as a bedroom.

The question then arises, “What is a bedroom?” Although there is no clear answer, here are some factors to consider when classifying a room as a bedroom:

Is there a clothes closet in or conveniently available to the room? However, since bedroom closets were not a common design feature in many older homes, do not disqualify rooms in these homes which do not contain closets if they were clearly intended to be used as bedrooms.

Is there sufficient space in the room to accommodate standard bedroom furniture? 8’x10’ is suggested for a single bed, and 10’x11½’ for double beds.

Does the home comply with governmental regulations (septic tank requirements, fire and safety codes, etc.) pertaining to bedrooms? When in doubt, check with the appropriate local government agency.

To paraphrase a classic song, “A room is not a bedroom, just because there’s someone sleeping there.” So, save potential buyers and their agents time and trouble, and save yourself possible action from the Real Estate Commission by using your common sense and exercising reasonable judgment when determining whether a room is, for listing purposes, a bedroom.

[saturnfan]

Door + closet makes one in apt lingo. Otherwise, it's a den or study.

[DanielChang]

I have a master bedroom downstairs.

Upstairs, I have 2 enclosed rooms that are about 12x15 and 1 room that is 12x11. They all have good sized Walk In Closets.

I purchased the house as a 4 bedroom house, but recently have seen houses in this neighborhood with similar set up advertised as a 3 bedroom + bonus. I'm starting to wonder whether or not my house is actually a 4 bedroom house or not.

[DanielChang]

Originally Posted by saturnfan

Door + closet makes one in apt lingo. Otherwise, it's a den or study.

Yup. I once rented a studio + den that was advertised as a 1 bedroom. Um, excuse me, if I have to exit my "bedroom" (which barely fit the full bed) to reach the clothes closet (across the living room, in the "hall" next to the kitchen and bathroom). It was definitely not a 1 bedroom!

[JohnE1000]

I asked the same question to a builder once, and the answer was that to be considered a bedroom it must have a closet.

[sls76]

We have a bonus room with a big closet. I wouldn't advertise it as a bedroom because we have no hall bathroom so to get to a bathroom you'd have to go into another bedroom.