Garden extension

princeofpounds

I think some people are concentrating a bit too much on the OP's specific intentions rather than the general idea of an extra room.

A 3m long room is a notable addition. There are plenty of houses with bedrooms that size.

It is not that common in the UK to have bedrooms on the ground floor (although this is becoming more common and desired feature as the population ages).

However, a potential purchaser may not look at it as a bedroom, but as a study, or playroom, den or studio. Unless the house already has plenty of space for such activities then the space will be valuable, and people will pay for it.

The normal practice would be for the EA to market it as both a good three bed and/or a 4 bed with a less-usual layout to people with the right kind of budget. They will have an opinion on what is best, and which buyers may be interested to view it. Precisely what is expressed on the advert is not actually that important.

And the OP is going to need to get building control sign-off whether marketing as a bedroom or not.

phoebe1989seb

When we purchased our last house in 2011 it already had a 7m x 4m extension (built in 1980) that was originally intended as an annex for an elderly relative. It then comprised bed/sitting room, tiny galley kitchen, bathroom and hallway. The hallway was accessed off the original dining room in the main house which was Georgian, but not listed.

The house was marketed by the EA that sold to us as having six bedrooms, one of these being the downstairs bed/sitting room.

Not requiring an annex, we opened the space up and intended to use it as an additional sitting room. However, (having decided we would probably sell in the not too distant future) we thought it best to retain bath or shower facilities as a future owner may wish to utilise the space for elderly relative, teenager or even a master suite. With that in mind we moved the bathroom to the old annex kitchen and fitted a shower instead of a bath. It became ensuite to the newly opened up space.

We fitted french doors opening onto the garden and furnished the room with sofas, bookcases etc as suited our requirements, despite the house having a further three large reception areas.

Within a year of carrying out the work we chose to sell and most of the EAs we invited round to value the house thought the space available was great, but they were all reluctant to market the space as a potential bedroom (mainly because it was not dressed with bedroom furniture ) it so initially it was not advertised as such.

We were unhappy with this as it meant the house showed up in less RM searches and we had the details amended. Of all the viewers that saw the house - and it sold fairly quickly so there were only 5/6 - most liked the idea of a downstairs bedroom with ensuite facilities, especially those with teenage kids, but without exception they all said they would use it as living space. Our buyers intended to have it kitted out as a games room with table tennis etc for their three kids.

I think if you keep your options open - as we did by retaining bathing facilities - in the space it will appeal to a wider audience, but people will have their own ideas about how they want to use the space.

If it's an exercise in achieving a higher selling price this may work in some locations. Where we were based (Wiltshire) it might have drawn in more potential buyers but made no difference to the price imho......

Hoploz

I would say that a 4th bedroom off a dining room downstairs is no good at all.

However, a 3 bed house with decent office space with perhaps sofa bed could be seen as very useful indeed.

However, it all depends on the rest of the house - size and layout.

Families want a big kitchen diner, ideally with a bit of family sitting space as well. Then a separate lounge, and a playroom or office/study is a bonus. Minimum 3 beds for most families, with an option for occasional guests also.

How does that sound?