It is misleading to call a space used as a bedroom, something else. No matter whether counted or not. Call it what it is. Loft bedroom, and point out that it is not counted because....fill in blank...
A room can’t always be a bedroom. In fact, there are certain requirements expected for bedrooms that not many know of. Read to find out more.
listwithclever.com
Agree. Appraisals are not supposed to be misleading. That is one of the few things we have left to sell.
The above link is what all the building codes I have looked up state, and one thing they have in common in defining a bedroom is outdoor egress - a door or window to the outside. The majority of second-story loft spaces do not have a door or window to the outside. - at least not those were appraisers try to pass it off as a bedroom. the lack of outside degrees then precludes them from being a "legal" or code-compliant bedroom
That is why builders are careful in their floorplans to label rooms with a window as bedrooms; if a room does not have a window/outside degree, they do not call it a bedroom. Such a room on the first floor might be called a den or bonus room. If on the second floor and open to below , they might call it a loft, or a loft sleeping area, or a loft/bedroom.
How the market sees it - l buyers are not idiots; most of them grew up in"real" bedrooms, and they sure as heck know the difference between a bedroom with a window, typically with walls, and an open loft area without a window. If they are willing to buy a loft apartment or house a loft where it might be the only sleeping area, they know what it is and accept it. They may even pay a lot of money for the property. Many loft apartments are in hip urban areas and expensive. Some A-frame cabins in a rural area might be cheap. The valuation is market-driven.
If the apartment or house has one legal window bedroom downstairs and a loft upstairs used for sleeping, it is not 2 bedrooms - it is one bedroom plus a loft. No matter what the RE agents call a loft a bedroom in MLS, then explains that in the appraisal.
If a property has no legal bedroom, then state it has 0 bedrooms and explain that the upper loft is used for sleeping or as a bedroom by occupants. and that it is market-accepted. It is up to the lender to decide whether to lend on it.