4 bedrooms or 2 living areas?

What do you think adds more value? or if you can't be bothered reading below are we reducing the value of the home by adding a 4th bedroom?

We bought a 3bdr / 2 bathroom place over the weekend with a large family and formal dining area side by side and a formal lounge connecting it as well, forming an upside down "L" shape.

The house is a solid 60s? Double brick house which has been renovated over time. Has a terrible colour scheme and a kitchen that needs a match to it. (would have been very fashionable for a 10 minute period in the 90s...)

It needs a paint and a new kitchen however given the bedrooms are quite small and with the built ins even smaller, we are considering the following:

Converting the formal lounge into a large 4th bedroom with a walk in robe.

It would involve adding an internal wall (across the foyer), closing off a couple of entrances and all the electrical work etc. A part of this process would involve creating a new entrance to the kitchen and a new kitchen while we are at it.

Essential the house would be split into 2 with the 4 bedrooms and bathroom in the front half with A modern gallery style kitchen acting as an entrance to the other half comprising the living and family areas.

thoughts?

before you ask, its in an up an coming family suburb, with a lot of first home buyers and or investors.



floorplan1.gif
 
Nice one, grats on the purchase. Mind if I ask where abouts you bought?

It depends on the area a little bit. In some areas, 3 br are over supplied and 4's are undersupplied and in some others vice versa. Hopefully your PM understands the dynamics of the area you bought in as this affects both the amount you can rent it for and what it'll revalue for.

I'm not sure you'll be able to convert the formal lounge though - if you brick up the part between the front door to the kitchen, you'd have to then open up the kitchen bit at the bottom end, right? Depending on the values in the area, and whether you're doing it yourself, I'm not sure if the cost would be justified.
 
Nice one, grats on the purchase. Mind if I ask where abouts you bought?

It depends on the area a little bit. In some areas, 3 br are over supplied and 4's are undersupplied and in some others vice versa. Hopefully your PM understands the dynamics of the area you bought in as this affects both the amount you can rent it for and what it'll revalue for.

I'm not sure you'll be able to convert the formal lounge though - if you brick up the part between the front door to the kitchen, you'd have to then open up the kitchen bit at the bottom end, right? Depending on the values in the area, and whether you're doing it yourself, I'm not sure if the cost would be justified.

bought in Edwardstown (the link will still be up on RE). Edwardstown, daw park, st Mary's, Melrose Park area are all in the process of houses being bought, knocked down and subdivided. This block isn't big enough to be subdivided though :(

We'd be knocking out an entrance in the bottom part of the kitchen.

Wouldn't be doing any of the work myself (except painting).

Might be worth it if it was a PPOR perhaps? might be over capitalizing it otherwise.
 
For valuation an extra bedroom is likely to add more value
If you want to sell it then go with suburb average - if 3br house in area is expected to have a 2nd living you'd probably be better off keeping that layout
 
I'd also look at another option of combining bed 2 and 3 into master bedroom and putting access into that laundry bathroom as an ensuite.

And still using lounge as another 2 bedroom.

I don't really like the idea of a walk through kitchen but it is cheapest to leave it where it is. Otherwise I'd put it where the dining room is.

Are the internal walls brick or stud?
 
Extra alternative is wall off lhs of family room as master and convert laundry bathroom into ensuite.

Open up kitchen dining lounge into open plan area
 
thought about combining bed 2 & 3, but thought it would be better as a kept as is because if you didn't need that extra room it could be a study or a play room for those with 2 kids.

Internal walls are brick.
 
So the entry to the living areas will be through the kitchen, which from the plan does not look very big to begin with? It will become the only route between the different parts of the house?

This does not seem very desirable, and may affect future resale.
Marg.
 
4 bedrooms and 2 living areas

see attached plan

View attachment 14133

since you are going to redo kitchen anyway...thought this might be a cost effective solution

I vote you should definatelly go with the 4th bedroom for better resale in Edwardstown.

not a bad job there mate, would be cheaper to do it your way, would need to make 2 windows but that would be hard
 
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