Would you add a 4th bedroom

[Dennis Robinson]

i currently have a rental that is 1,600 sq feet,  3 bed, 2 bath.  I am considering adding a 4th bedroom in the place of a front living room.  The front living room was a permitted addition before I purchased and is approx 300 sq feet.  There is a smaller family room toward the back of the house that is original.  I understand I can probably get an extra couple hundred dollars a month if I add it, but will it be worth the cost?  Would the large front room possibly keep tenants there longer if left the way it is?  Maybe create a master suite? It's a middle (to lower) income area in southern California.

[Dennis Robinson]

Originally posted by @Jonathan Greene:

I don't agree that turning a living room into a bedroom will get you any extra money and I definitely wouldn't try to comp it out like that. If you take away the bigger living room and add a bedroom, you decrease the value of the actual living space. If it's a smaller living room, it could add value, but is it off the kitchen or tied to that. The question is why does this house need a 4th bedroom? Is it only because you think you will get more rent? The square footage is the same and tenants can use the room as a bedroom if they wanted to anyway, but you are also increasing the potential wear + tear by adding another bedroom for added tenants.

 Those are great points, and concerns that I have as well.  Thank you