Selling my house as 2 bed or 3 bed?

qwerty30

Good evening,
I'm planning on putting my house on the market at some point in the near future, and I have a few options to consider, any advice would be very welcome as this was my first home so I've never been a "seller" before!

When I bought it, house was marketed as a 2 bedroom house- although the smaller of these bedrooms actually gives access to an attic staircase and then a 3rd bedroom, which although it is the biggest of all the bedrooms, and it does surprisingly have normal headroom, was only listed as an office/study. I presumed this was because it doesn't actually have access of its own.

My question is, am I best to leave it as 2 bedroom, plus study (when in fact each of the 3 bedrooms comfortably take a double bed plus furniture). Or would you consider putting a stud partition wall, which would create a landing, and separate the attic stairs from the bedroom? This would leave the large attic room with its own access, the 2nd bedroom with its window and light as before, but this one would become a long-shaped single bedroom instead of a double. And the landing created by doing this would have no window.

I know it is probably ultimately a question of luck and finding a buyer, but which option would you go for, taking into account cost of building work involved (nothing structurally immense I know, but still a job to be paid for).

There is no precedent in my road, as it's a mixture of 1 and 2 bedroom terraced cottages, with only one other 3 bed as far as I know.

Thanks for any ideas!
Jo

Yorkie1

Is the attic a loft conversion? If so, is there a Building Regs completion certificate? That's the most common reason for a room not being described as a bedroom, and will govern what you can do. Or I have I misunderstood your description of the house?

sparklysaver

Most houses here are advertised as 2 bedroom "with a useful attic room"; wording which is fully understood by buyers and sellers to mean there's a 3rd bedroom but without Building Regs for the attic conversion so it can't legally be described as habitable.

If you can make minor adjustments so that the room can get a completion certificate and be marketed as a 3rd bedroom then I'd have thought that would add value, but it would all depend on how minor those adjustments needed to be. If it's all up to standard apart from the stairs discharging into another room, then adding a stud partition and putting up a fire door wouldn't be excessive. If the conversion wasn't completed to standards in the first place and you have to start adding insulation and fire protection and strengthening the joists then it's probably not worth it.

(course, if it's not a loft conversion at all, then please ignore all of this )

casper_g

If it's a loft conversion that was done way back in the mists of time, before the Building Regulations existed, then the lack of Building Regs approval is not an issue.

In my part of the country I see houses advertised as "2+1 bedrooms" if one of the bedrooms can't be independently accessed -- there are many Victorian terraces with doors to two bedrooms off the landing and a third upstairs room that's only accessible via one of the other bedrooms.

Mallotum_X

Was your house a new build when you bought it, sometimes they are marketed as 2+study to get round local council conditions.

Otherwise if its later then does it have regs. Have you had an agent round and if so whats his opinion. If the room is legal and you use it as a bedroom then i would market as a 3bed.

ReadingTim

Like caspar_g, round my part of the world the EA written description usually says 2+1 bedrooms - they're Victorian terraces with the third bedroom accessed via the 2nd. However, I think they show up on Rightmove as 3 bedrooms (unless the 3rd has been converted into a "family bathroom").

I'd suggest marketing as a 3 bedroom property if it's a simple tick-box choice, or a 2+1 if given the opportunity to be more specific. But check the written description makes it clear there are stairs involved to get to the 3rd bedroom, and ideally get a floorplan - a picure paints a thousand words etc.... !

As for creating a separate corridor / access to the 3rd bedroom, I wouldn't go that far - the new owners may prefer a larger 2nd bedroom over separate access to the 3rd, so tear down all your efforts. However, it would be worth finding out what permissions (if any) are necessary for this plan, and maybe even applying for them, so you can demonstrate the flexibility and potential to prospective buyers.