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.

Haha. It was a great space for him as his mates would all hang out there and never need to come into the other living space. They had their own loo and shower as well. It’ll be marketed as flexible living though when it eventually goes on the market but it will still be staged as a bedroom as he still uses it when he’s home.

It's a small living area for people wanting a 4 bed house. I wouldn't class it as a 4 bed.

Sorry but by making kitchen/living space all open plan you've lost the second reception room people expect in a four bed house
To me you've still pinched a bedroom from what should be a reception room.

Bear in mind, a lot of "proper" 4 bed houses were based on 4 rooms downstairs mirroring the 4 upstairs.

If you market as a 4 bed you will be competing against houses who have knocked the kitchen & dining room into a large open plan space, then have a further large separate living room and a separate study or playroom.

Your house will compete better against 3 bed houses which will typically have kitchen/dining room (often now knocked together) then a separate living room.

Depends on the area, I suppose. It wouldn’t in the areas I’ve lived in. Doesn’t rightmove have a 3/4 bed function? I feel like I’ve seen that in the past. May as well put 4 bed so you don’t inadvertently lock out those looking for 4 bed. Most people search by area and price so I don’t think it’s too big of a deal.

In a world where many kids are shut off in their bedrooms or on computers, we certainly value all being together.
I’m cooking, kids are at the island doing their homework, we’re all talking about our day- it’s perfect for us!

See I think with only one large downstairs room kids are more likely to be shut away in the bedrooms as there’s no quiet space to homework downstairs whilst someone else watches TV/plays a loud game or even watch something different on the TV and this would be a deal breaker for me. Everyone can all be together when necessary and also really enjoy the benefits of a separate room, by marketing the house as a 3 bed it would be perfect.

It’s not that I don’t like the open space, I think it’s lovely and really well done and our own is similar, but we also have a large separate living room and there’s absolutely no way I’d be marketing it as an extra bedroom!

Given you've got a downstairs shower room there is a bit more justification for claiming its 4 bedrooms but the shower room isn't en suite.

I would market it as 3/4 bedrooms and make it clear that it's a 3 bed house with an additional reception room which could be used as a study or bedroom.

We used to live in a 4 bedroomed house with a large second reception room. Over the years it was used as a playroom, a guest bedroom and a study. When we came to sell it the EA talked about marketing it as a 5 bedroomed house but it really wasn't.

Include a floor plan in your listing and call it 4 bedrooms and I'm happy

Of course it can be a real bedroom. Rooms in your house can be whatever the hell you make them. They are yours. If it was big enough, you could put a comfy chair in the bathroom and use it as a reading room if that took your fancy. It's 100% the OP's bedroom. The open living space has worked, as the only shared family space, for her family for all the time they've lived there. There can be no disputing that.

But this about sales. The sale of a family home. Not the sale of flats. And when selling, you sell to the market. The vast majority of the market will not view this as a four bedroom house. It is very clearly, in terms of most people's buying wants, a 3 bed house with a second reception room. The majority of people who want a 4 bed, will be pissed off when they click on this. While many people, especially those with 0 1 or 2 children (the majority of UK households) would be content with 3 bedrooms but really prioritise a second reception. But they would be likely to avoid viewing a house marketed as a 4 bed as they'll suspect that the seller will be unrealistic in their expectations.

While there are absolutely people who would be happy with the OP's set up and even prioritise it due to having a family member who can't manage stairs. Only aiming to appeal to that small market is a terrible sales tactic, especially when it actively puts off and annoys a larger amount of the potential market. For sales purposes, this is a 3 bed family home with second reception area, currently used as a 4th bedroom.

I really don't understand why houses are sold by number of bedrooms instead of square meters in this country. It makes no sense to cram in a bunch of tiny bedrooms and sell for more. This house has a great layout for families that want more downstairs space. With people having fewer children it is a style I would love and good for downsizers that want to entertain family too. Market it as 3/4 then people can make up their own minds.

It's a 3 bedroom house. Otherwise stick a bed in the kitchen and advertise is as a 5 bed.

It's a 3 bed.

You can pretend it's 4. But everyone viewing it will see it as a 3 bed and you are making it harder to sell.

This is such a good idea, thank you! I’ll buy another double bed tonight for the kitchen!

People are getting stressed about how to define ‘four bedroom house’

You seem to be disagreeing with me for some reason, but I've said the same thing and by the end of your post you conclude what I said in my first par.

We've rejected several houses because they aren't really 5 beds especially if there's a kitchen diner with open plan sitting area to us that wouldn't be of any use as we want individual reception rooms, currently DP uses the old dining room and I use the lounge during the day and in the evening we both use the lounge.

I was disagreeing with your opening statement that it can't be true that you can't change the use of the room. Because when a developer redevelops the whole building into flats, they are then selling to a different market. It's not about what you can and can't do. Or what people will and won't accept. It's about sales and marketing. Marketing to the family home market is completely different to marketing to the converted flats market.

But I went on to acknowledge that. I was merely pointing out that there are cases where putting a bed in a reception room does indeed make it a bedroom, but then clearly said that in this case: 'However I agree that here the 3-4 bedroom solution makes sense, and if you have to pin it down, then 3-bed is the fairest option.' Weird to explain it all as if I didn't just make the point already.

Market it as 4.

It wouldn’t meet my needs as 4, but a friend of mine who is looking currently has older children and needs 4 beds. Her search criteria is restricted to 4 so this wouldn’t have come up. She just made an offer on a very similar house. She wouldn’t even have seen it listed if it was on as 3 bed.