Definition of Bedroom

[FLRealEstateValuator]

A bedroom does not require a closet thats a old wives tale that has been propagated for about 50 years. Prior to WW-11 and Levitt Town style Tract homes most people used what was called Amouires which was a piece of . furniture and you took it with you- Built in closets were for the rich and wealthy. Toady what constitutes a bedroom is normally it has to have a window in which to escape out of in the event of a fire or natural disaster. when someone removes a wall and opens up a bedroom then its no longer considered as a functional bedroom and re-labeled to something else but if its inexpensive to re-convert back to a bedroom ( Put Wall Back Up ) then it may be called a bedroom with a cost to cure ( Typical Cost $2,000 +/- anyway most old mentors trained there FHA appraisers that a bedroom had to have a closet - funny because in my 35 plus years there is nothing in FHA handbook or Fannie or Freddie BUT the issue is market acceptance if a particular area mostly has built in closet's then a buyer may expect them BUT it's cheap to install closets and they can even be purchased already built.

The photo is of Armoire- in some very high end custom homes I have seen 25 foot long ones and ones that cost over $10,000 a cheap ones is typically $200 to $300 bucks. When asked this question by my trainees I used to tell them a Bedroom with out closets is just that and a bedroom does is designed to sleep in not hang clothes and to not get hung up on it .

Thank you! Agreed. I understand the current market's buyer's frame of mind, but - armoires. I thought of that too. :-D

 

[FLRealEstateValuator]

No firm requirement, but how will local market react? Its already adjusted in GLA, so to make the additional adjustment as a bedroom, not, say, a study or spare room, how will the market view it?

Our SCA adjustments are always based upon market participants' reactions to features, not definitions or standards.

Right. Good point. The market defines worth. Thanks!

 

[FLRealEstateValuator]

Its like p**rnography, I can't define it, but I know a bedroom when I see one. Rooms in houses that were built in the oldest city west of the Mississippi didn't have closets and the rooms and people were smaller. People didn't hang out in them with their TVs, computers, ipad, and iphones.

It' s definitely a bedroom... has a bed, 2 windows and a door you can close. Thanks!

 

[Ariba]

A bedroom does not require a closet thats a old wives tale that has been propagated for about 50 years.

What are today's buyer expectations of a newer-built house? I venture to say they expect a closet before it is considered a bedroom.

 

[Ariba]

It' s definitely a bedroom... has a bed, 2 windows and a door you can close. Thanks!

So basically what you are saying is that any room with a door and window is a bedroom.

 

[CGinMN]

What are today's buyer expectations of a newer-built house?

According to this logic a garage isn’t a garage unless it has an automatic opener, or a kitchen isn’t a kitchen without a dishwasher.

 

[Overimprovement]

It' s definitely a bedroom... has a bed, 2 windows and a door you can close. Thanks!

One other thing to consider--its not the furniture in a room which defines the use as the market will view it. I have seen dining rooms used as bedrooms too. And bedrooms used as dining rooms. One could conceivably call most rooms bedrooms.

I always consider the path from any potential 'bedroom' to the nearest full bathroom. Does it cross any common living areas? How will the market think about that if so...

Our house has a small room on the first floor that the prior owners used as a bedroom. But...there are no full bathrooms on the first floor. So someone taking a shower from that room would have to cross an open living area, go up the steps to the full bathroom. I instantly viewed it as a small office/study when we were going thru the house, which is how I actually use it. Not that this is similar to the home in question, just a general consideration.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

FLORIDA
Chapter 2 – Definitions
Section 202 Definitions
Add definition of “Bedroom” as follows:

BEDROOM. A room that can be used for sleeping and that:

1. For site-built dwellings has a minimum of 70 square feet of conditioned space;
2. For manufactured homes is constructed according to the standards of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and has a minimum of 50 square feet of floor area;
3. Is located along an exterior wall;
4. Has a closet and a door or an entrance where a door could be reasonable installed; and
5. Has an emergency means of escape and rescue opening to the outside in accordance with the Florida Building Code.

[As used in ss 381.0065 - 381.0067, Florida Statutes]

http://www.floridabuilding.org/fbc/thecode/2010_Code_Development/Post_FBC/2012_SUPPLEMENT_TO_THE_FLORIDA_BUILDING_CODE.htm

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------------ given the age of the subject, recommend consulting the LOCAL Building Inspector to ascertain the answer to your question /it's entirely possible legal non-conforming, pre-existing use applies to the question posted......... which may or may not be transferable "as-is" on sale.

 

[Tom D]

in my big olde city when ben franklin was the recorder of deeds, and up to the 1940's most homes including the detached didn't really have closets like we need today. most men had 1 suit, you got married and buried in it. so the vast majority of homes here don't have original closets. so it goes with the neighborhood.

 

[Ariba]

According to this logic a garage isn’t a garage unless it has an automatic opener, or a kitchen isn’t a kitchen without a dishwasher.

Maybe a little common sense goes a long way.