Does a Legal Bedroom Need a Closet

Ryan: She just said «sliding door,» which could be sliding glass (like for patios), sliding wood (like for cabinets or even barns), or even a pocket sliding door. I think a better question to ask him is: a) Does he offer privacy? and (b) is it secure (locked and/or locked)? While buyers would likely expect a home they buy to have closets in bedrooms, IRC doesn`t mention closets as a requirement for bedrooms. Thus, the absence of a closet does not necessarily mean that a room cannot be a bedroom. However, there may be state or local codes that may apply. So how can you name a room or space that doesn`t meet those average 7-foot requirements? Depending on your condition, you could get away with calling it an «office,» a «nursery,» or a «bonus room.» Whether it`s bedrooms or not, almost any indication of extra space will make the eyes of most buyers shine. Ryan, In my training as an evaluator, I was taught another requirement, but I can`t find a source I can cite for the examiner – there must be a full bathroom on the same floor where the room is located for it to be called a bedroom. I haven`t seen this addressed in this comment thread, could you please weigh it? The IRC defines a cabinet as «a small room or bedroom used for storage». A chamber is defined as a natural or artificially closed space or cavity. This means that a 6-inch box with a door can be called a cabinet or a cabinet or a cabinet can be called a closet. Hi Dick. I think it depends on the situation. If the market views your rooms as bedrooms (although they technically don`t have closets), the argument that your home has fewer bedrooms probably doesn`t carry much weight.

As a homeowner, I guess it may not hurt to raise this point, but if all the other homes in the neighborhood have the same problem, you`re probably barking at a tree that bears little fruit, so to speak. Best wishes. There are a number of requirements, but the basic requirements relate to minimum room size, minimum ceiling heights, fire leakage requirements (i.e., two ways to exit the bedroom in the event of a fire), daylighting, ventilation and heating requirements, and smoke and carbon monoxide requirements. Agents, sellers, and buyers should be aware of the requirements of the above code. ( Learn more about the specific requirements ) What Pat is referring to is that builders place a room (which may or may not have a closet) near the main entrance of the house. This room, which is usually called a cave by the builder. The real estate agent might call her a bedroom if she has a closet. To use a bathroom, you usually have to go through a good part of the house to get to a bathroom. In the properties I`ve seen, you have to walk past a formal dining room, walk past the living room, past a family room, past a kitchen to access an opening in the hallway to use a bathroom, or go through the master bedroom to use the master bathroom. Yes, that`s what I mean by my second history comment. I hear what you are saying, and I also appreciate your constructive tone and your conversation.

It is rare to see a new one-bedroom house on one floor without a bathroom. However, I see that in older homes, and in many cases it is a conversion or some kind of addition, as you say. I understand what you`re saying about these situations not being common, and it seems like you`re really thinking about what`s also typical in the neighborhood, but part of me is cautious when it comes to hitting on a rule «It`s not a bedroom if there`s no bathroom on the same floor.» It may be an atypical layout, but that doesn`t mean it`s not a bedroom. The same seems to be true when considering a space closer to the common areas of the house than private spaces. I know what you are getting at, but it seems that we are talking about functional obsolescence rather than the definition of a bedroom. Do you have any ideas? «Sellers can usually set and receive a higher price the more rooms a house has,» Abdel explains. But getting creative with your living space and trying to jam a standard bed or twin room in too few square feet just won`t fly. In fact, there are legal requirements for bedrooms and minimum bedroom sizes that need to be taken into account. Great tips on closet or extra hanging space for the wardrobe. The buyer will quickly comment on a «bedtoom» without a cabinet.

Often, the safest and easiest option is to advertise the property as a 3 bedroom bedroom with a cave/office, a children`s room or a «bonus room». This language allows potential buyers to know that there is another room without you having trouble listing a room that is not really a bedroom. I also don`t like it when a list says 4-3, but it`s 4-2.5. I will click on the list to learn more, but it is still said that below in the description it says beautiful 4 bedroom 2.5 bathroom house I think the hell! Obviously can look further, but only boring, not to say what it is. But how is this possible if this seems to be the norm. After all, a new house under construction would not even be considered without being built a closet. So that should be a requirement, right? Yet the answer is no. Interesting. I guess my follow-up question would be whether there is any documentation on the «Evaluation Institute Standard». Is there a written standard to which the examiner refers? Sometimes we refer to rules, but sometimes they are not really rules, but rather traditions that have been passed down through the centuries and considered definitive. Maybe the critic here is on the right track, but I`d like to see the benchmark for AI.

I`d like to make that part of the conversation here, if the reviewer/reviewer can find something definitive. Also, does the Appraisal Institute prevail over local code and IRC? I don`t think personally, but there may be some wisdom. I think I made a link to the code above, or at least referred to the bedroom section of the code. I`m not sure what IRC says about cabinets in terms of minimum size, but I would say that if a «closet» was tiny, this could be a problem. I`m not so worried about a small turn, but I`d be very worried if the «closet» was 2-3 feet high, for example. The bonus room is the only area upstairs in the house, so the location is a bit different. But it meets the size requirements you listed above, so it`s pretty much a success or failure depending on the appraiser and buyer. I`ll give the seller the options and let them know what «might» happen and let them choose whether or not to put the money in a closet in the room.

This has been EXTREMELY helpful because I am new to the industry. Your help is greatly appreciated. Hi Bill. That`s a good question. No, the FHA does not have a ministerial mandate. Like many other topics such as smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors, FHA complies with local building codes and standards for cabinets (santa Ana HOC told me in a phone call this morning). Since the FHA is limited to the local code, the Cabinet issue is a contentious issue. Have you heard anything else? I always appreciate your insight. It shouldn`t be such a big problem. We brokers try to make problems out of thin air. The buyer should look at the house and decide for himself if the room is a viable room for his lifestyle.

Think. What would you do with a one bedroom house/cabin? Is it a bedroom or a kitchen or living room, or is it just a cabin with a bathroom? Again, just describe it accurately and don`t make it more complicated than it should be. Hello SC revision issues. I am sorry to hear about your situation. Was the conversion of the garage allowed? Does the renovation look like high-quality work where it is similar to the rest of the house? It is difficult to say who is right in this situation. If there is no permit, I can understand why an appraiser would be reluctant to call it a legitimate room.