Should I sell my house as a 2 or 3 bed?

[daisymill]

Morning all.
Would be grateful for any advice or experiences.
We bought a two bedroom terrace nearly ten years ago and ended up staying longer than we thought we would, we've since had two DC (now 4 and 6) and decided to split the large bedroom into two with a stud wall 4 years ago.
We have now come to a point to sell the house at the end of the year but can't decide between us if we should take the wall down before marketing the house (original building quotes 2.5k for this). With the wall up it leaves us with one small double and two single rooms, whereas with the wall removed it gives us a very large double and a small double. Will it sell better or worse either way?

What are your neighbouring houses like? Any the same? How small are all the rooms now? Space for wardrobes etc?

Can you draw a plan with sizes?

Do the split rooms.both have windows and separate doors etc or do you have to walk through one to get to the other?

How small are the singles? What is the target market in your area?

How big are the small rooms?

I'd also ask the EA for their advice on what to do - they've seen it all before.

Do the rooms all fit additional furniture nicely? If there is storage in the rooms and enough space to easily move around/ for the children to play I would say sell it as three. If there is not enough room to do this then I would reinstate just the two bedrooms.

Thanks all.
I will add the original floor plan and I've attempted to mark on the bedroom alterations, we added a very small bit of landing space, both rooms have their own radiator, door to enter and window. The smaller of the singles get a bed and some drawers, the lathers gets a bed, children's wardrobe and drawers.
I admit I don't know a great deal about the market but when looking at Rightmove the larger two beds seem to sell faster than the smaller three beds. None of our neighbours have the same alterations as far as I know.

I will ask an EA for advice too 😊

1. A lot of people won't look at a bed which you have to access via another bedroom. See what the EA thinks.

I'd remove and sell it as a 2 bed.
People looking for 3 beds don't want a 2 bed terrace with a good room divided into 2

I would remove

With that floor plan the downstairs is pretty small for a 3 bed, and the ‘double’ is tiny, ie wouldn’t fit our super king bed.

So as a buyer I would be looking for something like this only as a couple who want a decent main bedroom and spare bedroom/ office. Or with just one child and no home office needed.

Sell as a 2 bed. Entering a bedroom to enter another is not going to be attractive.

Did you check what building regulations would apply when you split the room?

I’m not sure how they apply for partitioning a room but they’re quite strict on fire regs now so the only exit being through another room might mean you need an extra fire alarm/special fire door/wide opening window to advertise as a 3 bed.

thanks, really helpful advice. Just to clarify you don't go through one room to get to another - we extended the landing slightly and there is two separate doors, one for each room

i can see the confusion from my rushed picture - this is better - doors where the X's are

I would keep it as 3 beds personally. We don’t all have super king / emperor size beds ffs. Your layout would have suited me when I had 2 children

Personally I would leave as it.

As long as you price it as a 2 bed and not a 3 bed.

There are probably other families out there with a 2 bed budget but with 2 small children and your house works for them.

Even a standard double bed is 135x190cm. A king is only 150x200cm. The current largest room will not leave you much space around a bed to move let alone for bedside tables / chest of drawers.

I would go two bed. It’s not really a family home. It’s only one bathroom and the downstairs is pretty small. Anyone who wants a three bed will think it’s too small.

I’d probably leave as is. The buyer can always take it down if they want to, but no point you going to the effort and spending the money now in case people do want it like that.

My ex lives in a house like this. Some people have done something similar to you and I think I would leave it as it is. While you may not get quite the same price as a full three bedroom there are plenty of families with a budget for a two bed house who would be delighted to get an extra room for their money.

I would leave it as it is and market it as a two/three bed house in the description and a two bedroom for Rightmove search option purposes.

Have the quote for reinstating back to a large room to hand for viewers, give a copy to the estate agent, and add the cost to the listing blurb. If you’re genuinely happy to live through the upheaval of reinstatement then let the estate agent know so they can advise buyers that you’ll do the work if needed.

It’s not about having a super king bed.
Even standard small double and single in the singles leaves very little space.

If it was spacious the Op wouldn’t need to live herself, and says they have outgrown. So yes it functions as a 3 bed, but I would think the majority will want to pay 2 bed price for it, and will use as a 2 bed.

I don’t think a king or super king is that unusual nowadays. We have had a super king since we lived in a small 1 bed flat in London, and it fit there fine. And was cheap as on offer. I wouldn’t want to go back to double now unless really restricted as Ds bed shares a lot, so for many it would be a factor.

I would happily buy it as it was though if suitable and take down the wall
myself if the price was right.

I'd leave it at the moment and market it with EA advice.

I'd be pricing as a 2 bed for sure but how the boxes are ticked on rightmove I'd take EA advice on.

There is quite possibly a bunch of buyers out there that a 2 bed price with this already done will really work.for them. And, although it's fewer buyers, your place is quite unique.

I lived in a house virtually identical to this (alone at first and then with my now DH). I'd put it back to a 2 bed as people looking for a 3 bed are likely to need more downstairs living space. If I was a single person or a couple I'd prefer 2 larger bedrooms than 3 small ones.

I think saying it’s not a family home is a privileged take tbh. With the cost of property many people will only be able to afford a terrace and I think this gives an option to those with two children of different sexes, I would keep as is.

Was it council approved? Or whatever other legal things are needed for it to be done 'officially'