2 or 3 bedroom

[Ron Robin]

Closing on a REO on Tuesday. It is or was listed as a two bedroom/one bath for 56k, which is a good deal for the area it is in. Went look at the property and discoved it was a three bed one bath. That makes this a really good deal. They accepted 50k that made this and even better deal. All the Bedrooms have closets and windows. Wondering if anyone ever seen the bank and the listing agent make a mistake like this or maybe there is a reason it was not considered a three bedroom?

[Jason S.]

Happens all of the time. More bedrooms, less bedrooms, wrong county records, illegal property changes, you name it.

Be careful how you approach the city, sometimes you are opening a can of worms that cannot be shut.

1. City informs code enforcement, you find out you have an illegal addition, costs thousands to fix.

2. City informs public works you have an extra bedroom, they assess your home a public works user fee based on likely increased occupancy given the extra bedroom - that's a couple thousand in cities like Santa Ana, CA.

3. Extra bedroom changes plumbing rules, if home is on septic and they are not using strict fixture counts for sizing - new/expanded septic.

4. Extra bedroom is not permitted and yet is tied into existing structure - to permit costs thousands, to tear down costs thousands... fun stuff.

5. I could go on and on and on.

Good luck.