What Is A Bedroom Now Per FHA 4000.1

[Wayne Henry]

I took the FHA 4000.1 update class with McKissock and one issue had me scratching my head.

v. Bedrooms according to instructor a bedroom needs window, door but not a closet (I scratched my head on this one) Page 442

Does anyone know if this policy changed? I thought a room had to have a window, privacy entrance and closet to be categorized as a bedroom. Did the definition of a bedroom change or was it always a no closet required. Is this only FHA or is a closet not necessary for Fannie Mae as well. Any reference links would be appreciated.

 

[Meandering]

There was a time when the only "closet" in a house was the space under the stairs.

FHA is applicable to all ages of construction, which as you know house design and layout preferences change every few decades or so.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

A bedroom has never had to have a closet. Real estate agents believe different.

 

[Non Sequitur]

Does anyone know if this policy changed?

No policy change.

I thought a room had to have a window, privacy entrance and closet to be categorized as a bedroom. Did the definition of a bedroom change or was it always a no closet required.

There is no universally accepted definition for bedroom. But if closets were requirements most of New Orleans (and most homes older than 75 years) wouldn't have bedrooms.

Is this only FHA or is a closet not necessary for Fannie Mae as well. Any reference links would be appreciated.

Fannie doesn't have a standard definition either, so don't hold your breath for a link with that will settle the debate once and for all.

Two blog articles discussing bedrooms:


http://activerain.com/blogsview/2399141/what-is-a-bedroom-


http://sacramentoappraisalblog.com/...ements-for-a-room-to-be-considered-a-bedroom/

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

The house I was born in had 2 rooms and a path. The "Closet" was called a wardrobe. My bro. & I slept in the kitchen. My parents in the living room. The "Kitchen" had a "Hoosier" cabinet with built in flour mill. It's still setting in our old poultry barn, too rusty to salvage. We had a Leonard refrigerator and a gas stove. Some of our neighbors still cooked over wood stoves.

 

[The Bob]

A bedroom has never had to have a closet. Real estate agents believe different.

I was doing an appraisal in an older area of town, early 1900's houses, and ran a cross this comp that just seemed low. I called the agent and she said the appraisal got cut $20k for being a 2br vs 3br because the 3rd room didn't have a closet. One of the other comps was within the same block and identical, sold as 3br. Both comps were updated. I felt like apologizing for the idiot appraiser.

Btw, there is absolutely no basis for a $20k adjustment for 2br vs 3br in this market.

 

[glenn walker]

Many homes built in my area did not have closets until after WW-2 and built in closets were not common in home built in the 1800-1930 period. People used amours ( furniture you hung your clothes in ) when you moved you took it with you. FHA has never required closets BUT it just became a common misconception that appraisers repeated so much they believed it. I had one appraiser call and ask what to do with a home that had no bedrooms but after discussing the issue she said it had three bedrooms but no closets and so she was not counting them as bedrooms * I asked her what are you going to call them ? she did not know. The lender fired her and the buyer and seller threatened to sue her. I took over the assignment and guess what it had three original bedrooms built in 1915 BUT no closets . It was not an issue for me, the lender or FHA.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

The closet requirement never was, but even if it were, it's much less important than it might have been in the past. If you see the way most people dress, you'd come to the conclusion that their clothes don't require closets: they're not ironed nor are they dry cleaned, and their storage between wears doesn't require hanging. A chifferobe or even a chest of drawers is probably adequate for everything except one's funeral suit.

The "requirement" of a closet is still part of the folklore, though.

 

[Meandering]

Actually,

Had an issue a few years back with new construction that had 3 bedrooms with closets, one room that could have been a bedroom, but had no closet and was 14 x 16 big enough to have a closet, so when I questioned why there was no closet, I found out:
The septic was only approved for 3 bedrooms,
The township required a closet for counting the room as a bedroom.

Hence, they did not build four bedrooms, They built 3 bedrooms with an upstairs den to meet the township septic requirements.

Be aware of your local ordinances regarding bedrooms.

.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

Health department/septic requirements have the same effect here. Realtors will note the health department number of bedrooms approved, and note the existence of additional bedrooms in their comments. I don't know that the HD does anything other than evaluate the capacity of the soils in establishing tank capacity, field line and reserve area requirements