AIBU to market this as a 4 bedroom house?

[MommaDuck]

Keeping this really simple, with an awful diagram…sorry!
I originally moved in to a 3 bed house, decent size living room and dining room. Very small kitchen.

I have now done some Reno work.

I have my 4 boys who are all upstairs- all bedrooms have had double beds, computers, wardrobes etc- good sizes. One room now has bunk beds instead of a double for little ones.

My room is now what was the old living room. Big room 3.5x3.5 fits my super king bed and fitted wardrobes etc. Has a double window that faces front garden (blinds and bushes for privacy).

Extension… old kitchen now utility area and downstairs shower and toilet (this is for me as boys have upstairs bathroom).

End of hallway is a large L shape kitchen/diner with living area (this is the old dining room).

So new kitchen diner is 6x6m has a large island 3x1.8m and a dining table that seats 8, plus room for a sofa down at bifold doors. So definitely big enough to be a kitchen/diner in its own right without being a squeeze.

The new living area- knocked the wall through so all open plan into kitchen/diner. A large sofa sits all 6 of us comfortably. Log burner, TV etc. a living room in its own right as well.

Now, I know how much mumsnetters have had to say when it comes to 3 bed houses marketed as a 4 bed when the fourth bedroom is tiny, or no window, or small skylight or is downstairs etc. Whilst the bedroom is downstairs, it is plenty big where it was the old living room, so surely size wouldn’t play a factor?

Husband says can absolutely market as 4 bed, as now has downstairs bathroom and the living area and new front room is all a completely separate space- I am unsure.

I know estate agent will market as 4 bed as they want to maximise their sale etc.

My floorplan drawing is shit… apologies. However, would you be pissed off if you came to view this marketed as a four bed- presumably you’d have seen the floor plan first? I don’t want to waste peoples time or drag it out.

You are not being unreasonable - Market as 4 bed.
You are being unreasonable- market as a 3 bed don’t waste people’s valuable time.

It’s not what I would be interested in looking for a 4 bed house. Would defo market as a 3 bed with large study/2receptions rooms

I think let go of your attachment to thinking it’s a 4 bed and market it in the way that’s most likely to get it sold. That’s what you’re trying to do after all. You seem a bit insulted that people don’t think it’s 4.

for me it’s a 3. You could market as 3/4 but make it clear on the floor plan. I’d not consider viewing if looking for a 4.

Definitely a 4 bedroom. Houses I've been looking at like this estate agents are then saying could be used as a second living area, bedroom, study depending on your needs. It's either 4x bedroom and 2 x living area or 3x bedroom with 2 x living area. I don't think it really matters. Mine which is similar to yours but 2nd living area very much in kitchen, was marketed as 3 bedroom 2 living area. My other livingroom was very much a livingroom with fire place and a massive room.

It hasn’t just got a bed. We completely revamped it. It has built in wardrobes and it functions as a bedroom for us- so actually putting a bed in it does make it a bedroom, it’s our bedroom.

But I wanted to know if others would see it that way. Some do, some don’t.
the herbal consensus is market it as a 3 bed with a fourth room which can be a bedroom or living space and I like this idea. I think it’s works.

Yeah, our 4th bedroom is slightly smaller than that and is perfectly adequate as a bedroom. It has a single bed, chest of drawers, bookshelf and toy storage with floor space to play on.

Totally agree OP. @PoliticalPossum you've just "redefined" most homes in the UK.

This. So annoying when you get interested then realise the "4th bedroom" is the lounge.

I went to see a "5bed" which actually had 2 lovely large bedrooms on the top floor, there was a middle / front ground floor with a small kitchen, dining room and large lounge. The other 3 "bedrooms" on the lower / back ground floor. Obviously extra lounge, office, games room, could be fitted as a utility or the second/downstairs bathroom that was ptherwise missing. Anything else really than a bedroom. It was such a cheek to call it 5 bed.

Needless to say if did not sell and they kept dropping the price.

I've seen this sort of thing described as 3/4 bed tbh.

I am not insulted at all. I actually agree with marketing it as a 3 bed with a room which can be used as a bedroom or living room.
I was keen to see real life options not just my husbands or the EAs.
I am merely responding to peoples questions or statements when they’re incorrect to correct them, thereby giving all the information accurately so people can make an informed judgment, not one based on made up assumptions.

I think folks have some strong views, and some seem to take issue for some reason, on how properties are marketed. So I agree op, put 3/4 bed. 1/2 reception rooms.

i think the issue is the fitted wardrobes. People will maybe struggle to visualise if as a reception room. And as said, I can’t correlate your sixing with your image. The image of the sofa clearly doesn’t show a room 20 foot wide.

i agree with the others, I’d not want my bedroom downstairs at the front. Many people wouldn’t, although bungalows are all on ground floor., often they try to put the bedrooms at the back. However it’s fine for a guest room, or maybe for elderly relatives, maybe a young adult who wants independence in coming and going.

It’s a good sized versatile 3bed house with an invaluable downstairs bathroom. Not a 4 bedroom house which would have more space downstairs eg, separate lounge and dining room. I’m looking to buy at the moment and get annoyed with people counting a reception room as a bedroom. But you’ve made it work well for your family .

Just seen you've put in fitted wardrobes so for me that's the additional expense of ripping out and making good as a living room again.

I still think 3/4 bed is annoying.

Maybe, but it is too much noise for a lot of people. Especially if someone needs to wfh etc.

It's still a 3 bedroom house but if someone is seeking a 4 bedroom house because they want a separate study they might consider it. So you could market it as "3/4 bedrooms" as many other properties are where the house fals short of being a proper bedroom home and the right potential buyers will understand.

A proper 4 bedroom home has the same floor area om the ground floor as 4 bedrooms and a bathroom take on the upper floor. They naturally have more than one reception room. Designating part of the downstairs as "bedroom" doesn't upgrade a 3 bed to a 4 bed and the people who are looking for a proper 4 bed will just think you are wasting their time and your own. It's certainly worth more than a standard 3 bed though due to the extension.

We had a family murder mystery games night on the sofa Friday night with snacks on the footstool and we relaxed together all evening. It was lovely.
mom not disagreeing with you saying it’s a 3 bed, but we certainly all fit in there and I have two teens who are nearly 6ft and a 6.4ft husband. The space really isn’t an issue for us. It’s more about whether others would prefer a separate space.

When we sold our last house a viewer infuriated even our ‘seen it all’ agent by declaring our house a two bed. It was three doubles and a small single, but the smallest double was being used as a hobby room by the tenants we had at the time so no bed in it. The smallest room was very definitely a single, and our asking price reflected the fact that it wasn’t a four double bedroom house, but dismissing a smaller room as just a study really feels like taking it too far!

I think putting built in wardrobes in a downstairs reception room was very short sighted.

People wanting 4 bedrooms won't want this house.

People who want a downstairs office or 2nd reception room will.
But you've put wardrobes in there...

Our house is a similar set up, when we bought it it was marketed as a 4 bed. We use it as a 3 bed with 2 separate living spaces as we only need 3 beds. I would market it as 3/4 beds it in the description allow people to decide for themselves how they use the space. If you market it as a 3 bed you might be cutting off buys who it might actually be perfect for.

This is the worse diagram in history 🤣🤣🤣🤣 but this was our lower level

yellow being the front door then the first 2 rooms
1 was used as a double bedroom, the other side was the same side as double bedroom but we used it as our office. The smaller rooms off then was an en suite off the bedroom. Then a separate toilet and shower with door in to hallway not in to
office room
then the large back area is the kitchen island where the kitchen is and then the dining room table in the dining area all open plan the living room which was either open plan but has sliding doors to close it off.
then the back garden.
up stairs was 3 double bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
it was sold as a 4 bedroom 2 reception rooms/ living rooms.

Not really, it had to function for us whilst we lived here. That’s more important than worrying about the future buyers. It really would take my husband around an hour to rip it all out. It’s not a huge job.

My friend used her "living room as a 4th bedroom, they had an extension and another living space there and it was fine. You're open plan area is huge so more than enough to market as a 4 bed. Ultimately buyers will decide if it works for them but go for it as a 4 bed. Good luck it looks like a beautiful layout.

I don't think it's the ground floor that's necessarily the issue, more that a lot of people wouldn't want to be sleeping on a separate floor to their children.

It must be very tight though and not what many people would consider a proper living room. The sofa you’ve posted is a 4 seater (one cushion per bottom plus a footstool) so only has room to seat 4 comfortably without being squashed up. I have a similar sized sofa. Great if it works for you but many people would consider that way too small of a living room for 5 people and therefore the extra downstairs room definitely needed as a reception.

I would be cross. It’s a three bed with the sitting room currently used as a bedroom.

most people would use it as a sitting room.

Some people are struggling with my sizing and don’t get where I’m getting 20ft wide from…..
The room is L shape.

when you walk in you enter the kitchen which is 6x6m then the room off of it is 3.5x3.8. The total length of the longest wall is just under 10m.

The pictures might help explain.