A Bedroom or a Den?

[stiffaknee]

I am contemplating listing my home for sale this fall, but I have an appraisal concern and since I have exhausted all my real life resources, I've turned to you!

Last year, we had an appraisal done for refi purposes and the appraiser said that he could not consider our daughter's nursery a bedroom. It meets all of the requirements (that I can find); closet, window, over 70 square feet, you don't have to walk through it to get to another room, however it has a pocket door that opens (kind of) to the kitchen. He said bedrooms CANNOT open to the kitchen, so for valuation purposes, its a den.

Is this a hard and fast rule, or is it a personal preference? If it is, I'll gladly drywall up the pocket door, but I don't want to do it if I don't have to. He couldn't find any 2/1.5 (because there aren't any, since every house in our neighborhood is one of four designs) so we got hit with a pretty big value adjustment-not fun.

Oh, and I'm in GA and my house is a very typical 1950's brick ranch. The room in question was the knotted pine paneled room (which was typical of the era...or at least it was of whoever built the houses in my neighborhood). We removed the paneling and moved a wall to accomodate a staircase and built in bookshelves.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TxArmadillo]

He said bedrooms CANNOT open to the kitchen, so for valuation purposes, its a den.

<snip>

...my house is a very typical 1950's brick ranch. The room in question was the knotted pine paneled room (which was typical of the era...or at least it was of whoever built the houses in my neighborhood). We removed the paneling and moved a wall to accomodate a staircase and built in bookshelves.

There's no hard and fast rule. What you MAY have is functional obsolescence -- a bedroom off the kitchen, while normal in a 1950's home, is not common in most modern homes.

What differentiates a bedroom and a den is a bit more difficult. Most folks would suggest that a bedroom has the attributes you described in your OP. Likely, a den may not have a door or a closet -- but some do. It depends on how your market views the functionality and no one knows your market better than your local appraisers.

In my area, it is not uncommon for RE Agents to state in their MLS listing something similar to "the den can also be used as a bedroom". See how people can become confused by a statement such as that?

Again, your local market will have to determine which is most marketable - a den or an additional bedroom.

 

[Marty Boone]

Total BS, from the appraiser. Call or email the appraiser and explain that you are going to be listing the house and you would like to review any printed information that states bedrooms CANNOT open to the kitchen.

 

[SpartanAG]

The Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal, published by the Appraisal Institute defines a bedroom as:

“A room which an occupant can fit a conventional bed. Local zoning and health codes may also establish minimum requirements. For purposes of this standard, a bedroom should be at least 90 square feet with at least one bedroom in the dwelling of at least 120 square feet. To be defined as a bedroom, the space should have a standard size, single door, which provides a separation of spaces and allows for privacy within the room. A bedroom should have a closet and a window that provides an emergency exit, natural light, and ventilation. Bedrooms should have direct access to a bathroom, hallway, or other common living area. The intent of a room may also help to define the space in older dwellings. Such rooms, intended for use as a bedroom, as long as they meet the door and window criteria, may be defined by local custom.”

That being said, since I’m not familiar with your particular area or lender, I don’t know their guidelines or requirements for bedrooms. Hopefully someone with more specific knowledge than me will post.

 

[stiffaknee]

Thank you so much for your responses! I was hoping this was a simple it is or isnt scenario, but it sounds like there may be some gray area.

Marty Boone: The appraiser never wrote anything about bedrooms not opening to the kitchen, he just told us that "we could call the room anything we wanted, but for appraisal purposes, it was a den" and so the picture in the appraisal says "Den" next to it, instead of Bedroom 3.

SpartanAG: that definition helps, I looked up the GA building/housing code regulations and it said 70sqft per person, unless two people were occupying the room, in which case, 50sqft per person (or 100 sqft total). I could probably accept it if it were a size issue, but the appraiser never said it was because of the size, he said it was specifically because of the pocket door.

TXArmadillo: When we bought the house, it was in its original condition (from the knotted pine kitchen cabinets to the pepto pink bathroom tile) and we attempted to renovate it so that it had a more modern flow...the bedroom in question originally shared a wall with the kitchen, but we installed an L shaped stairway to allow interior access to the full basement (we originally thought we would finish the basement and then life happened!). We thought the pocket door would make the space more versatile (as a nursery, its really nice to have easy access to the kitchen...if a single guy bought it, he might like it as a man cave) but I think it might not have been that great of an idea.