New to Real Estate · Chambersburg pa · Member since 2019 · 6 posts · 2 votes
What are your thoughts on walk-through bedroom houses as a long time rental property as young investor they are very common in my area and would make a good long term rental by number, What are the pros and cons .
Unless it is a crazy good deal I would pass on it. This is a prime example of functional obsolescence. It will limit the number of people who are interested in your property and you may end up having to rent it to lower quality tenants and / or below market rent.
If you can get a property with a more modern floorplan at a similar price I would go for that. If not, just be sure you are not running your numbers with market rent.
I have a unit that has a a 10x12 room with a window but no closet that you walk through to get to the master. Legally it is not a bedroom because it has no closet, but the previous owner (and even the listing agent when I bought it) advertised it as a bedroom, which is incorrect. We advertised it as a "bonus room/ office" and I think that helped attract the right applicants (they were not expecting a 3 bedroom apartment and then arriving to find out it was only 2 beds with an awkward bonus room).
Unless it is a crazy good deal I would pass on it. This is a prime example of functional obsolescence. It will limit the number of people who are interested in your property and you may end up having to rent it to lower quality tenants and / or below market rent.
If you can get a property with a more modern floorplan at a similar price I would go for that. If not, just be sure you are not running your numbers with market rent.
I have a unit that has a a 10x12 room with a window but no closet that you walk through to get to the master. Legally it is not a bedroom because it has no closet, but the previous owner (and even the listing agent when I bought it) advertised it as a bedroom, which is incorrect. We advertised it as a "bonus room/ office" and I think that helped attract the right applicants (they were not expecting a 3 bedroom apartment and then arriving to find out it was only 2 beds with an awkward bonus room).
@Dozar Real - I agree, a unit like this will not rent for the price of the additional bedroom. However with that said, can you take square footage from somewhere else to create a hallway or create another entrance into the bedroom? If so, you might be able to make a unit which functionally does not make sense into a normal 2 or 3 bedroom unit. With some creativity and some carpentry work (usually not that expensive), you can create value by turning a non-optimal unit into one that maximizes the square footage. I hope this helps!
@Dozar Real - I agree, a unit like this will not rent for the price of the additional bedroom. However with that said, can you take square footage from somewhere else to create a hallway or create another entrance into the bedroom? If so, you might be able to make a unit which functionally does not make sense into a normal 2 or 3 bedroom unit. With some creativity and some carpentry work (usually not that expensive), you can create value by turning a non-optimal unit into one that maximizes the square footage. I hope this helps!
I agree that a walkthrough bedroom will usually not be counted as a bedroom by the renters OR most people needed in the buying process.
I will say though, if you take a look objectively you might easily find a way to adjust the floor plan with just adding a wall or door. I would take one slightly smaller bedroom v a walk through bedroom.
That however is not the most common but I have found a few ways to change them.