Hi Jill,

By now you have seen this bedroom question is a gray area. My suggestion is to sit down with your Realtor and show him/her the answers you have gotten to your question. Go over the responses and then decide what's the best avenue for you in marketing your home.

I would suppose that if the city of Keene calls the house a 3 bedroom on the tax card, then that is what it is. And because the tax card is usually a document reviewed in the transaction by the buyer, it would be smart to use that information in the listing. On the other hand, if the tax card says you have 4 bedrooms and you really have 3, tell the Assessor and get an adjustment--you've been paying too much tax.

If you are located in an area of the city that does not have town water and sewer--meaning that you have a septic system, then the ability of the septic to process water will determine how many bedrooms you can legally have. Usually the state of NH determines that there would be a maximum of 2 people per bedroom, and each person would average 60 gallons of water a day for all uses, washing, toilet, dishwasher etc.

A septic that can handle 360 gallons a day would be required for a 3 bedroom home. ( 6 people x 60 gallons). Sometimes the data on a septic is not available--but generally something is known and is recorded on the field tax card at the city hall. It doesn't matter that you use one room as an office and there are only 2 people living in the home...this is how the state does it. (See no closets involved).

Good luck with your sale.

Dane Hahn

Jill,

I can tell you that the MLS does not have guidelines for this. It is up to the Realtor to verify the ingfo they put in to the system. Your realtor is probably trying to protect from making a statement that a buyer could come back at you for. One way to get on solid ground for the number of bedrooms is to get the tax card from the town and use that as a starting point. (How many does it say it has) Then ask the town if they have any guidelines, I would think they don't. the last thing to check is with a local Appraiser and ask them if they have any guidelines for bedrooms.

Chances are igh that for a home of that age, a closet is not required. The appraiser part is kind of important because if a buyer gets it appraised and they only count 2 bedroom then it may lower the appraisal value.

Sorry but there are just no hard and fast rules regarding this. But again, your realtor is probably trying to keep you from getting in trouble should a buyer feel slighted at a later date. One way to protect you is to disclose in writing that one bedroom does not have a closet and have any potential buyer acknowledge this fact in writing. Then they can not come back later and claim they did not know.

Good luck

Jill,

Generally speaking an area of the home to be considered a bedroom needs:

1. a door
2. closet
3. window

It's doubtful that adding a piece of furniture that would accomodate the storage of clothing would change the room features to meet the definition of a bedroom.

There is no handbook or legal eaze that tells what is and isnt. you should contact the Department of Assessment, Voice: (603) 352-2125. ask them what your property is assesed at for bedrooms. now as far as the realtor they can use a judgement call on saying it is a 3 bedroom. how about goint out and buying a wardrober closet, put in in the room and include with the sale. poof.... 3 bedrooms..... if your agent doesnt agree to do what is best for your sale, find a new agent, ask for a release. good luck with your sale Jill

As stated before, check with the town to see what they have the building listed as. You can also ask them for their guidelines. Some towns do not require a closet for the room to be considered a bedroom.

If you are talking about a single family home on a septic system then you need to consider the design of the septic system. Example, you may have four rooms that have closets and look like a bedroom but if the septic was designed for 3 bedrooms then the home is a 3 bedroom home. In the past few years many builders built 3 bedroom homes and a 4th room that they called an "office" (wink wink or you could use as a bedroom wink wink) But the septic was for 3 bedrooms. Thats a 3 bedroom home.

Check with the town

Dear Jill.
There are a couple of things you need to check:
Buildings, even old ones, have to be built to code at the time of construction. I suggest check with the government body in your area that covers "building and safety". I could not find anything online, so perhaps your area is serviced by the county in which you reside.

Next, there will be permit for the property which will state what was approved. Let's say it was a two bedroom, one bath.

Now, if you make any changes to the property, they will need to conform to the current building codes.
Normally a bedroom is defined as a room at least 8' x 8' x 8' that has a door and a window and a closet.

If there is a difference between what is permitted and what is actually there that fact needs to be disclosed.

Hope that this is helpful.

Jill, there is no handbook on this. Traditionally a bedroom has a closet. If you ripped it out, refer to what the town has your home classified as in the assessment.

good luck!