Definition of Bedroom

[FLRealEstateValuator]

Are there any guidelines on whether a bedroom requires a closet or not? Particularly in Florida? Per owner, this 1962 house originally had 3 bedrooms, but one never had a closet. He turned one of the bedrooms with a closet into a living room extension. Now, only one bedroom has a closet. Public records doesn't include a bedroom count for this property at all. Current Florida building code defines a bedroom as having a closet, but couldn't that have been different in 1962? Can I call this a 2 bedroom home even though one of the bedrooms does not have a closet? On a previous appraisal, tax records listed a home as having 3 bedrooms even though one of them did not have a closet. A set state or national guideline on this would be nice, but as we know, nothing is simply black and white in our world. Thoughts?

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Current Florida building code defines a bedroom as having a closet, but couldn't that have been different in 1962?

The FNMA selling guide or the FHA 4000.1 documents can be downloaded as pdf files and searched (ctrl F) . I doubt either require a closet in the bedroom. And in 1962 I doubt the building codes were very stringent.

 

[glenn walker]

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 .

 

[CGinMN]

Consider that many 2 bedroom buyers use the 2nd bedroom as an office and guest bedroom, so a closet isn't all that important. Usually, the difference between a 1 and 2 bedroom is pretty significant so I think the market would probably consider that room a bedroom. Some might deduct a cost to cure to add a closet, but in a tight probably isn't justified.

 

[Meandering]

or just push a cot into the bathroom and call it the en suite (master) head of household bedroom.


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[J Grant]

no closet needed, a bedroom does need access to outside from a window or sliding glass doors

 

[glenn walker]

no closet needed, a bedroom does need access to outside from a window or sliding glass doors

Son- If we take the passenger side door off your truck its still a truck without a door- The same with a bedroom because if you have no closet its still a bedroom just one that does not have a closet . The review from hell that I was assigned was an-appraisal thats room count showed a Living room-Kitchen -2 bathrooms and three rooms labeled other ? The Underwriter is freaked out and says we cant make a loan on a home with no bedrooms. I figure I will cut to the chase so I call the borrower and ask her about-how many bedrooms does she have ?She responds with three bedrooms why ? I said just wondering.

I hang up and call the appraiser and she answer her phone. I asked her about the bedrooms and she says the home has no bedrooms because there are no built in closets I respond with so what are these room called now ? She says I dont know maybe storage rooms. Now I flip out and said well your photos show beds in all the rooms so where do you thing the occupants sleep ? She replies with I guess in those rooms but there still not bedrooms because they have no built in closets. Now I loose it and I am like who told you a bedroom was not a bedroom unless it had a closet. She says my mentor trained me that bedrooms had to have closets. After arguing with her for 15 minutes i said OK here is the deal label those rooms as bedrooms and if you want to note in the report they don't have closets thats fine. She says no I cannot do that the owners will have to install built in closets. That did it we ordered another appraisal from another appraiser and placed her on the do not use list.

 

[Elliott]

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.

 

[sputnam]

There are no 'rules' stating that a bedroom must have a closet. There is a requirement based on safety, that a bedroom must have a secondary means of entrance/exit... usually that is a window that is close enough to the floor and is big enough so you can crawl out of it if there's a fire.

In your particular market, a closet in the bedroom may be expected by Buyers. In that a case, there could be an impact on marketability if there is no closet.

 

[Overimprovement]

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.