How much is a bedroom worth ?

[Fidgety31]

I am trying to buy a house which is 4 bedrooms . However now it looks like it might be officially a 3 bed as the paperwork for the lift conversion is not valid / missing .

My solicitor has suggested in order to purchase now I must sign a declaration saying the lift will only be used as storage : not a bedroom . Therefore I can also only sell the property in the future as a 3 bed .

How much if any would you ask off rhe asking price (offer was accepted on June so prices have dropped anyway )
Price currently £173k mid terrace

Was it advertised as a 4 bedroom, or 3 bedroom with loft?

Ask a local estate agent and the one selling it.

...or the price of getting a builder to finish the job and get all consents/permissions.

As a very rough guide take off 12 %
How many bathrooms does it have ?

Hi so it was advertised as four and is used as four - it’s just the paperwork that is missing

It has one bathroom but two toilets

Sadly these half jobs are a pain. To get sign off might need ripping the whole loft off and starting again, which would cost more than it not being there on the first place.

@Rollercoaster1920 the loft is fully finished and used a bedroom currently . But I wound be able to sell the house on as a four bed in the future so need to know how much reduction in price to ask for - if you have ideas it would be much appreciated

Technically without the paperwork, it’s a 3 bed and is being falsely advertised.

Would insurance be an issue too? Eg fire cover?

It will depend on many factors, but it will be a significant amount. Your best bet is to ask a couple of independent EAs for a valuation.

The big issue with the loft conversion is whether it complies with building regulations now. If you want to go ahead and buy it I would strongly recommend you have it inspected to see whether it complies with building regs. and if not, whether it is capable of being made to comply and still be a usable room.

Often unofficial conversions don't have sufficient head height clearance or the correct stairs to allow them to ever be a usable room for living accommodation purposes. If that is the case then you would be paying for a 4 bed but only getting a 3 bed.

Get it checked out, if it is capable of passing building regs. then you can ask for a reduction equivalent to the cost of obtaining retrospective consent (or you can ask the seller to obtain that consent before you buy and you pay the price agreed).

If it isn't capable of being made to comply then only pay what it is worth as a 3 bed.

If it is capable of being made to comply but at a cost ie new staircase, etc then you need to renegotiate to cover those costs plus redecorating etc.

None of us will know your local area values, for housing or building work. I've just reread your post and see you agreed £174k on the advertised 4 bed.
A loft extension near me would cost 60k, but I suspect that much of a discount wouldn't be agreed to by your vendor.

Exactly as said by @redastherose It may not be as simple as getting the paperwork. The loft may never be suitable to pass building regs as a permitted bedroom. It needs to be checked out by a surveyor.

If it’s bee signed off they will be able to get a copy of the paperwork, they just have to pay for the copies. If they can’t get a copy, then it’s hasn’t been passed.

Exactly what red said, if they don't have planning or building regs then I wouldn't want to touch it because it really tells you their stance on getting things done properly. This wouldn't just be the loft but any other work they have had done too.

Lofts need new joists as ceiling joists are not floor joists. There are loads of regs for loft conversions and the fact your solicitor is getting you to say you will only use it for storage shows that it can be unsafe.

It is a 3 bed so whatever the 3 bed equivalents are in your area. Getting retrospective planning or building regs will mean putting holes in walls, lifting up floors so there is damage to find out these things.

Anything is worth as much as you're willing to pay for it. Our previous house was advertised as a 3-bed as the loft was converted but the sellers were upfront that it didn't have building regs sign off so couldn't be classed as a 4th bedroom.
They were, however, using it as a bedroom and it was all properly done out and had velux windows. The only thing stopping it getting regs was that there was no possible way of installing stairs to the loft that met regs without ripping out half of the master bedroom. So it just had a loft ladder. Fine for us as it was an adult household.

You could try and knock money off if you think you were misled and it would effect your future re-sell amount. But if the house is being sold at approx. the same as similar 3 beds in the area then it may not be worth the hassle if you really want the house and you know that even if you sold it on as a 3-bed it wouldn't impact the re-sell value.

Buyers are able to read between the lines and even though we could see the house we were buying was officially a 3-bed, we were still very aware that it had this other huge extra room in the loft that we could use for office space and that was a major decision-making factor in us buying the house.

Round here two identical new builds are being sold (identical floor area, downstairs area, garden etc). One is 3 bed, the other is 2 bed. Floor space is identical because the 3 bed is the 2 bed with a partition. The price difference is 50k.

In general similar properties are 50k more for the extra bedroom in this area (Wiltshire)

Be very careful if you do go ahead not to use that room as a bedroom. House insurance companies have refused to pay out on fire or structural claims before where a non-compliant loft conversion is used as a bedroom and not declared to the insurance company. As in, they pay out nothing.

I think you have been mislead, I would pull out or get an expert in to determine what you would need o do to get it up to buildings regulation and get retrospective planning permission. My guess circa £25k