What is a bedroom?

[mike spence]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

I've posted quite a bit about my situation, here's another one.

I have a house being taken for a highway project. They find a "comparable" house for sale, and it's list price is what I could spend on a replacement house.
The comparable is to have 4 bedrooms, among other things.
The comparable selected is a modular 1.5 story. These houses have hinged roofs that are folded down for transport. This means they never arrive with finished upper floors and it's up the owner to finish it, or not to.
In this house it wasn't finished. It has 3 walls around the stair opening in the middle of the room. That's all there is up there. It has painted subfloors and electric baseboard heaters, while the rest of the house has gas heat.
The realtor selling the house calls the upper floor a bedroom and family room! It's listed as a 4 bedroom house (there's 3 on the first floor). I talked to a realtor, he said it was a finished attic the second he saw it. He said "at least give me a closet". With painted subfloors it's hard to take it seriously anyway.
I'm arguing that it is a 3 bedroom house and that most realtors wouldn't call the second floor a bedroom. I believe everyone involved knows it is not a bedroom, but they are going to defend it to the end.

 

[quincy]

Um ... okay.

You should probably add this to one of your other threads. Standing on its own, it is not a legal question.

 

[mike spence]

Until we end up in court arguing about what is, or isn't, a bedroom

 

[quincy]

Until we end up in court arguing about what is, or isn't, a bedroom

You can look at Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code or the National Building Code to see what can be considered a bedroom. A window and heat and a means of access and egress are pretty standard requirements. Everything else can be argued.

 

[adjusterjack]

Until we end up in court arguing about what is, or isn't, a bedroom

Why would you end up in court arguing about what is, or isn't, a bedroom?

 

[mike spence]

Because the comparable is supposed to be 4 bedrooms, I'm saying this is 3. The next step would be a board of viewers, after that it goes to the courts. Not that I would anticipate that happening.

 

[quincy]

It really depends on the room. There are open loft-style bedrooms, bedrooms with no closets, bedrooms with sloped ceilings ...

Generally there is a height requirement for at least a portion of the room (7', I think). And X number of electrical outlets depending on square footage.

What shouldn't matter is the type of flooring. Or that the space is a converted attic.

There should be more than two comparables. With some houses, comparables are hard to find (for example, with historic homes in an area of newer construction). In those cases, you can go by current replacement price per square foot.

 

[mike spence]

It's hard to take a room seriously when it has a painted subfloor. It's also supposed to be "equal or better" housing

 

[quincy]

It's hard to take a room seriously when it has a painted subfloor.

Many old houses had the centers of the floors made of plywood and the edges were made from the expensive hardwood. The plywood was covered with large area rugs.

Are you having a realtor doing a market analysis or do you have an appraiser?

I read your other threads. Is it correct that the state is taking your house and you are looking for fair compensation?

 

[mike spence]

They just pick a house to be the "comparable".

 

[quincy]

They just pick a house to be the "comparable".

That is not right.

 

[mike spence]

I guess they pick three at first, but I get no information on them. We know the first house picked was "substantially more expensive" and was rejected in Harrisburg. This is the second one. I'm just asking for a REAL 4 bedroom house to be used.

 

[quincy]

I guess they pick three at first, but I get no information on them. We know the first house picked was "substantially more expensive" and was rejected in Harrisburg. This is the second one. I'm just asking for a REAL 4 bedroom house to be used.

With comparables, there are usually additions and subtractions made to the homes when determining value (e.g., add dollars for 2nd bath, subtract dollars for no garage).

Here is a link to the eminent domain laws in Pennsylvania:
https://law.justia.com/codes/pennsylvania/2017/title-26/I know in the Michigan cases where homes have been taken by the state, the homeowners generally were not given enough for their old homes to buy another home - many of the displaced homeowners did not qualify for new home loans.

 

[mike spence]

They don't use the comparable to determine values. It simply determines how much could be spend on a replacement home. So using a fake 4 bedroom house is screwing me.

 

[quincy]

They don't use the comparable to determine values. It simply determines how much could be spend on a replacement home. So using a fake 4 bedroom house is screwing me.

Well ... comparables are used to determine value.

Will your mother be staying in the same community?