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Buying or Selling a Home/House with One-less bedroom

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Expert: - 11/7/2010


Question
Hello Connie,

I am making an offer on a house that the MLS ad lists for 3 bedrooms but in reality has only 2 bedrooms.  Apparently the seller joined 2 bedrooms together to make the master bedroom larger.  The strange thing is, the disclosure statement does not list any such work at all.  Should I be concerned with the fact the house is listed for 3 bedrooms and the house only has 2 bedrooms and that the work was not listed on the disclosure statement?  I'm curious if this should impact my offer price (by asking less than the list price) and if down the road, would there be any legal issues I could be dealing with if I were to purchase this property?  Any advice you could provide me I would highly appreciate.

Thanks kindly for your help!

Answer
Hey, Mark.

Absolutely you should be concerned. A house with more bedrooms typically costs more than one with fewer bedrooms, and you also need to be concerned about permitting issues. If the proper permits were not pulled and the work inspected and signed off on, there could be significant penalties and fines involved. Best case is you can get an "as built" permit, but those usually are quite inconvenient if the work is completed. You might have to open up some walls so that the inspectors can see plumbing and electrical work. Worst case is that the jurisdiction could require you to "remodel" the home back to its original construction.

Check with your local building department and hire the best real estate agent and home inspector that you can find.

Hope that helps.

Russel

Buying or Selling a Home

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Russel Ray

Expertise

Through home inspections, I provide an education about real estate. I'm one of those rare home inspectors who has been involved in real estate in many different capacities: as a Realtor (in Texas), as a property investor/flipper, as a teacher, and as a marketing expert (for Realtors and home inspectors). I believe that my experience as a Realtor and property investor provides me with a different viewpoint about home inspections in that I work for my Clients, but when there are other people involved in helping my Clients, then I firmly believe in helping them, too. That includes Realtors (both the seller's and the buyer's), repair professionals (e.g., plumbers, electricians, etc.). If I can get all the players (seller, seller's Realtor, buyer, buyer's Realtor, and repair professionals) playing in the same sandbox together to accomplish goals as a TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More), then I believe I have succeeded in my job as a home inspector. My profession is, in my opinion, much more than simply documenting the condition of a property and then take the money and run. I am also a rare breed in that I don't believe that one inspection fits the needs of all Clients, and I have led the industry in understanding that fact. For example, the goals of a property investor are far different than the goals of someone buying a property to live in. The goals of a seller (a pre-listing inspection) are far different than the goals of a buyer (a pre-purchase inspection). To that end, I offer 14 different types of inspections, e.g., STANDARD, LIST, RENTER, BASIC, MAINTENANCE, SPOT, and more. I believe in giving the benefit of the doubt to all professionals in whatever industry they represent until they prove me wrong.

Experience

Over 42 years in all aspects of real estate--building homes, renovating homes, inspecting homes, Realtor.

Organizations
National Association of Certified Home Inspector, Better Business Bureau of San Diego

Education/Credentials
Graduate of Texas A&M University; College Station, Texas

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