Mudroom vs. small office/extra room - for rental OR resale

[Stacey Collins]

Hello! This is my first post and these forums have been invaluable as we embark on our first real estate project.

We are currently under contract on a single family home in Cumberland ME. We had originally thought to rent it, but we may look at possibly flipping it and putting that cash into a rental, since we will be able to increase the value pretty significantly for not too much.

On question we have is whether to convert a small, sunny extra room on the first floor into a mudroom. 

This is a small dormered cape, kit house circa 1938. First floor front entry into LR, with no closet at entry. There is a small coat closet about 12 feet away in the hall to the kitchen, you have to walk through LR to reach it. (There is also a back door a half-flight down from the kitchen, but it's far from the driveway and enters into the basement stairs.)

There is an extra 12'5" x 6'5" room on the driveway side of the house. A lovely little room with lots of windows. It was being used asa a first-floor bedroom by the elderly owner, and would be a great office or something. BUT it would also be pretty easy to put an entry door there (it's right off the driveway) and make a mudroom.

I imagine that whether we decide to rent or sell makes an impact on the decision... my gut says that renters can deal with not having a mudroom, but that buyers might really want one (I know I did in my house, had to add one!) But maybe I am wrong. Is that little bonus room more valuable as it is? For what it's worth, this is a small house with small, low-ceilinged bedrooms upstairs. It's never going to be a $400,000 house, but could be a $350-365k house with the proper upgrades and aesthetics. Currently 4br/1ba but we are adding a bath and laundry upstairs to make it 3br/2ba.

What do you folks think?

Thank you so much for your input!

[Ryan Kunzmann]

Seems like it would work well as a mudroom, especially since the existing entryway doesn't have any mudroom functionality at all. Is it carpeted now or does it have tile/laminate/hardwood? You definitely do not want carpet if it is going to be a mudroom. I would also consider removing the wall separating it from living room, since the mudroom has so many windows it could really brighten up the living area while also opening the floor plan.