You might want to transform your bonus room into a legal bedroom—adding a bedroom can increase the value of your house by a significant margin, after all. But there are a few things to consider before pulling the trigger on this: Bonus rooms typically don't count as rooms at all when it comes to tax appraisals.
How much value does a finished bonus room add? If the idea of additional living space wasn't incentive enough, a finished bonus room is also a worthwhile investment that can add between $10,000 and $30,000 to the value of your home.
A bonus room can be used as an extra bedroom in addition to the typical bedroom in a home. The standards for a bonus room to be used as a bedroom are the following: Minimum square footage: The bedroom must meet the minimum square footage requirement, typically 70-75 feet x 7 feet of ceiling height.
Converting a spare room into a functional bedroom can potentially boost your home's value, which will be affected by the quality of construction, materials, and finishes, so you may not recoup as much depending on how much money you put into it.
Converting an existing room to a bedroom costs an average of $15,000, but ranges between $6,000 and $50,000.
Below-grade living space is worth about half the value of above-grade living space. So, while a standard above-ground bedroom addition may add 15% to the resale value of a house,4 a below-ground bedroom of the same size and quality may only add around 7 to 8% to the resale value.
$15,000 – $105,000
Some common room addition sizes and costs include: A 10x10 room addition costs $12,500 to $25,000. This 100 square foot space is adequate for a child's bedroom, a home office, a craft room, or a storage area. A 12x12 room addition costs $18,000 to $36,000.
Residential housing in the US is classified by square footage and number of bedrooms. Removing a bedroom changes how buyer will compare your home with other homes with similar bedroom count and square footage. Typically your house will not compare favorably.
ROI on a bedroom addition is 53% to 75%, depending on the location of the addition, construction costs, and the quality of materials that go into the remodel.
Generally, it is agreed that bedrooms, living rooms, dens, kitchens, and dining rooms are counted as rooms. However, if the dining “room” is a space in a larger living room with a table chandelier, it may not count as a separate room.
Bonus rooms can easily be turned into a bedroom for a third roommate or a relative planning a long-term stay. A futon or day bed makes for a great space-saving seating area that can easily be turned into a sleeping spot for guests.
It is a common misconception that a bedroom must have a closet. However, the legal requirements for a bedroom primarily concern health and safety rather than storage space. While some local markets may require a closet to consider a room a bedroom, most states do not mandate built-in closets.
You can use a bonus room as a bedroom if you want, but you can't list it as a bedroom when you sell the house. In fact, a bonus room typically has exactly zero useful features (like an office's built-ins, or a potential home theater's in-wall sound wiring) because it's meant to be a blank slate.
Budgeting & Cost
The approximate cost of finishing the bonus room over your garage is approximately $35 per square foot. This is calculated from standard costs for all of the different finishing pieces, such as the insulation, flooring, and wiring.
In general, bonus rooms are not included in the count of habitable square footage since they don't qualify as bedrooms, but they can sometimes be eligible as part of the total square footage count. Again, check with your local regulations and codes to clarify how to count this adequately.
Real estate agents often recommend buying houses with no fewer than three bedrooms.
The rooms buyers most closely inspect (and judge) in a house are the kitchen and master bath. These are the interior spaces where the most value can be added during a sale, so they need to look their best.
Top Home Improvements to Boost Property Value
Revamping your kitchen with sleek new appliances, crisp countertops, and stylish cabinets can net a whopping 102% return on investment when you sell your home, the National Association of Realtors reveals.
Finishing a basement, attic, or garage is one of the more inexpensive ways to add a room to your home, as you won't need to add a foundation, roof, or structural elements. You'll still most likely need to pay for insulation, flooring, heating, cooling, ventilation, and any added electrical or plumbing systems.
In general, building up tends to be less costly than building out. When you factor in things like digging and pouring a new foundation, building out typically carries a higher price tag (though this isn't always true, and certainly depends on the size of the room and its purpose).
Bump-out additions (also known as micro additions) extend the size of an existing room in your home, often by just a few feet (although they can go up about 15 feet). Compared to other types of home additions, bump-outs are smaller in size, take less time to build, and are more affordable.