Single family rental property layout advice

Single family rental property layout advice

Member since 2024 · 1 post · 0 votes

Hey, I'm new here too bigger pockets. I've been listening to the podcast for quite some time and figured it was time.I reach out and ask for some advice. I have a 1bed,1bath single family home that I am currently renovating. I'll be keeping this as a long term rental property. My question is, the house is just a little over a 1000 square feet. I want to convert the garage into a bedroom. As it is realistically too small for a garage anyway. If I split it into two bedrooms, both bedrooms would be roughly 82 sqft. With small closets for each. I will be able to convert the old laundry room into another bathroom. As well, this would ultimately give me a three bed two bath. I'm just curious if 82 square feet is too small for a bedroom. Code only requires 70sqft, but that seems very small.  Would you guys roll with 2 bedrooms At 82sqft a piece, or just make it one large bedroom.

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  • Ryan SpathBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Boise, ID · Member since 2017 · 592 posts · 381 votes
    1y

    @Dalton Prows 

    Hey, welcome to BiggerPockets — glad you jumped in! Sounds like you're making great progress on your first rental.

    About your question: while building code typically requires a minimum of 70 sqft for a bedroom, what really matters is what’s typical and expected in your market. I'd highly recommend researching local rental listings (especially ones near your property's size and location) to see how big bedrooms usually are.

    In some markets, smaller bedrooms are totally normal and renters won't mind, especially if you're offering three total bedrooms and two baths. In others, tenants might expect larger rooms and could see the small size as a downside.

    If your market leans toward valuing functionality and higher bedroom count (like for families or roommates), two smaller bedrooms might rent better.
    If space and comfort are bigger selling points, one larger bedroom could make more sense.

    Bottom line: let the local market guide you — and great job thinking this through before pulling the trigger!

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