Would you buy a flat with a windowless bedroom?

Silvertabby

It's not a bedroom - it's a walk in wardrobe.  Overall, could be a decent place for a couple who want his and hers bathrooms.

michael1234

Gentoo365 said:

I would ignore the estate agent and pay attention to the surveyor and common sense, and I suppose decency.

I wouldn't want to rent out a room with no window and regardless of the rules, laws, and demand for rental property now, things could change. 

I would keep looking.

This in spades. I'm also looking for another property. I find the EA's are happy to just make stuff up. I've had several proven falsehoods over just 3 viewings and 3 agents. In one case I had an EA tell me "....look, I give you my personal guarantee that X is Y....". False. And in another made up the details of a lease (ground rent increases) also proven incorrect and would have wasted time and money had I made an offer.

They're supposed to be regulated I thought but now I just treat them as a mostly friendly bunch of keyholders who know nothing about the property and will lie with a smile when asked to fill in the gaps.

lincroft1710

I wouldn't care what it was described as, I just wouldn't buy such a place unless the room was so small that it was obviously "well finished sensible storage space". I certainly wouldn't be paying 2 bed flat price

Ratkin007

The room would more than likely be prohibited from use as a bedroom with no window. HHSRS the housing health and safety rating system would be used. Lighting is one of the hazards.

RHemmings

I would only buy such a property if it was very cheap. But, if you want to rent it out, then perhaps you will have potential tenants who will only rent it if it is very cheap. Then you end up doing the same amount of work for less income. 

user1977

Can we see a listing and/or floorplan?

Be aware that some listings will count as a "bedroom" a space which isn't actually even a room in its own right - you get mezzanine level sleeping areas or screened-off-but-doorless spaces which are (in building regulation terms) just part of the larger space - so legal for habitation purposes, but not necessarily what everyone would count as a separate bedroom.

(this sort of thing for example, which is really just a big studio flat with separate-ish sleeping areas on the mezzanine level)

MACKEM99

Our bungalow has 2 normal bedrooms and one room we use as a study.  It has an entrance door obviously but the window only has only 2 very small openings at the top.  Does that mean we should be classified as 2 bedrooms not three?

ThorOdinson

Surveyor is correct, it is at best a cupboard.

Mildreds_Earrings

I watch these reality housewives shows (don't judge)! And one of the housewives was brought up in a house and her bedroom was a windowless room. The psychological effects it had upon her, still affects her today and she's a 50-something professional woman, independently wealthy in her own right. 

I wouldn't purchase a home with a windowless room and certainly wouldn't allow tenants to rent it, to use as a bedroom. The Local Authority wouldn't allow it anyway but think about the effects on the poor tenant (or even worse, child) who ends up in there.

BikingBud

mclopa said:

Hello
We've been looking for a flat to buy as an investment for rental income. We found a block that we like and there are a couple of possibles. One is a 2 bedroomed ground floor flat with ensuite - so 2 bathrooms. However, one of the 'bedrooms' has no windows. Our surveyor classified the flat as 1 bedroom with an extra (windowless) room. I have now read that fire regulations require bedrooms to have 2 methods of escape (ie door and window). The estate agent thinks there's no problem with renting (or selling) as a 2 bedroom property. I'm very uneasy. Anyone else been in a similar situation? If so then what did you do? And any opinions on what I should do?
Thanks

I would also consider very carefully the first sentence of your post. Buying a well positioned and prepared property might make financial sense, you need to do your numbers. 

BUT trusting an estate agent to suggest that it will turn a profit with severe limitations that might put many off may lead to long void periods.

Ask the EA, would you commit your own cash? Watch his eyes and fidgety fingers closely!