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?

Obviously go by what the EA suggest but I would market as a 2- bed with a note that currently is a 3-bed. When people look at the floor plan they might see it as a bonus, especially one-child family/WFH situation.

Keep it as 3 but make sure measurements are clear
EA couple put in details it was originally 1 big room but spilt creating 2 rooms could be reverted back to one big room easily

Unless it's parents with baby in one half and baby /toddler in the internal half - I'd be happy with that so that he doesn't escape! Or maybe people want one half as a study or cloffice

I'd also say keep it as it is. Because....

• Anyone who wants it back to 2 has a very easy job to do that themselves vs putting it back to 2 and then anyone wanting 3 has a bigger job to do it again
• Even if you market it as a 2-bed, lots of people would like having the third smallest as an office or different-use room

Thanks all, really helpful! I'm going to chat to an estate agent and make a plan from there

Sometimes you can list it as 2/3 bed in the particulars. I think if it's a proper stud wall and separate doors I might list it as 3 but price it as 2. People on a budget might find it's exactly what they need, or it might be good as a student let if you're in a suitable area.

I would market it as a three bed and see what feedback you get. Many people will want the third room as an study. You could always ask the estate agent to put a note on the description saying "current vendors have put in a partition wall to create three bedrooms, this could easily be converted back"

On what planet did it become common to have more than 1 bathroom in a 3 bed house. That has never been an expectation.

You can tell the people out of touch with reality, small houses like this are common for millions of families.

You do not need planning permission to add an internal stud wall splitting a room.

Both have windows and their own access from a common point so can legally be classed as bedrooms.

I think it’s pretty common to have 2 bathrooms in a 3 bed house.
Growing up we only had one downstairs like this house in a small cottage ( original 2 up 2 down type place, with 3rd bed added and kitchen in 50s)
But I remember going to most other peoples houses they had a bathroom upstairs and a small extra toilet and sink downstairs, so 2 toilets in standard 3 bed. Not 2 full bathrooms, but definitely 2 toilets. in 80/90s

I'd market it a a two-bed, but leave the partition in. So the particulars would read something like, "The larger bedroom is currently partitioned, allowing it to be used as two bedrooms."

What’s the market like in your area? If there’s lots of squeezed young families I would leave as is, we bought a two bed with the second room divided (one door so not as nicely done as yours) and it was a big selling point to us and other families who could only afford 2 beds but had or were planning to have more than 1 child.

If it’s a posher area and you’re more likely to be selling to wealthier child free couples or single people who want a decent bedroom and a spare room/office, then I’d put it back to 2.

Slightly OT but how can it cost 2.5k to take a stud wall down? I'd get more quotes if you do decide to remove it.

I would talk to your estate agent and ask for advice. I am not sure I would want to spend £2.5k to remove the stud wall until you have tested the market. I do agree that I would prefer 2 bigger bedrooms rather than 3 small ones but there are plenty of people who need 3 bedrooms and don’t have the choice financially of bigger rooms. When we got a family member’s 4 bedroom house valued at probate which had 2 tiny box rooms, 1 large double and 1 large single, we were told to market it as a 4 bedroom houses as lots of people needed more bedrooms no matter how small the rooms were.

I'd imagine it's also to make good the ceiling, walls, floor - paint, plastering, carpet etc.

I think that most families want two toilets. Maybe not a full on second bathroom but most family houses have a downstairs loo. It would be a non-negotiable for me buying a family home.

I would have bitten your hand off for this house before we found ours, OP. We were looking to do exactly this for exactly the same reason and if the work had already been done we would have been ecstatic. If you're in the SE or London, someone out there will definitely want a 3 bed for the price of a 2 bed.

Agreed! As soon as I read the post title I could predict the tone of the replies: it's simply TINY! How could you consider a 3 bed with only one bathroom.... etc etc.

Sensible advice.