Post by karinothing on Feb 13, 2013 20:25:12 GMT -5
Sure, we are looking for a minimum of three bedrooms, but if I could find something with 4 or 5 bedrooms that I could afford I would buy it.
Although I don't know what I would do with two extra bedrooms. I guess two guest rooms or one guest room an office? Not that I have need for an office BUT I suppose I could make need.
Yes, I would buy a 5br house. In fact, I did buy a 5br house once already.
I am house hunting again (in a new city) and I would think of a main floor in-law suite as a huge plus!
Our search is set to show 4+br houses, so your house would show up in our search either way. I would not discount it because of the 5th bedroom at all. I don't think most buyers would.
Hm.. we always had houses with 5 bedrooms growing up. My Parents had 4 kids and we each had a separate room. We never lived in that large of a house, but usually there were 2 bedrooms in the basement, the layout was not at all unusual. Basicallly normal 3 bedroom ranch style home with a full basement with 2 bedrooms.
We have a 3 bedroom house and have no children. I will be sad when we have to give up one of them to our child, lol. We use all 3.
I have 5 bedrooms... that's how it was listed. It's what we need, so we wouldn't have looked at a house marked as 4. We use them all as bedrooms and we are still a bedroom short. (3 LOs, 1 SS, 1 MIL). actually our playroom has a proper door and a closet, so I guess it could be marketed as 6 bedrooms, but that just.sounds excessive, even for 3k sq ft.
When we were last looking I got pissed at the number of houses that were listed as 4 bedrooms but were really 3 plus bonus or 3 + separate IL suite (above the garage--not accessible from inside the house). (we wasted so much time looking at them) I'd call it what it is a 5 bedoom house.
We were looking at 4+ houses, so I definitely would have looked at it. One extra bedroom isn't a big deal, IMO. If we were looking at 2+ then maybe not.
I would love 5 BRs - guest room, office, kids room, our room (since we plan on more kids).
But I agree with your agent here - I would sell the house as 4 bedrooms PLUS an inlaw suite ( if you can do that in the listing). People who don't "need" 5 bedrooms but wouldn't mind them probably won't search for 5 bedrooms. People who "need" 5 bedrooms might not like that setup.
When we looked at houses, we saw one that had 4 bedrooms, but the 4th was like you described - off the garage and kitchen, separate from the other bedrooms, with its own bathroom. It was a turn off for us. I didn't want three bedrooms and then a fourth on the other side of the house. Had I been looking for a bonus room, or an inlaw suite, or only 3 bedrooms, it would have been perfect. But we wanted 4 bedrooms.
I lived in a 5 BR growing up bc there were 4 kids and we each had our own room. My parents would not have bought a house like yours bc they wanted 5 bedrooms all on the same floor.
BUT, if I wanted 4 BRs, then your house sounds perfect. Guest suite, two kids rooms, den, master.
I would think 5 bedrooms would be ideal for a family with 2+ kids. Right now I have 3 bedrooms and no kids, and all bedrooms get used - one is an office and one is a guest room. Ideally if I had 2 kids I'd want what I have now, plus a bedroom for each kid.
As long as the square footage is listed, IDK why someone would think a 3000 sf house with 5 bedrooms is bigger than a 3000 sf house with 4 bedrooms. I also think you're fine if you list in the same price range as a 4 bedroom house.
That said, I would listen to your real estate agent. It doesn't sound like you trust them on much of anything - why are you paying this person? I would hope they know best in the market they work in.
This is what I'm wondering. Your agent should know which tactics work best in your area; if she's not someone you have confidence in, though, maybe it's time to find someone else?
In my case, 5 bedrooms would have seemed totally overwhelming (and expensive to heat), especially since it's just me and the dogs. I was looking at 3-bedroom houses, mostly, and ended up with 2 bedrooms and an office that's also a pass-through to the finished attic. I have more space if I need it, someday (I hope so!), but in the meantime the attic door is closed and I'm not rattling around in tons of empty space. My situation sounds really different from potential buyers of your home, though.