Replace 2nd Kitchen with a 4th bedroom?

9 years ago

We bought a house with a mother in law apartment in the basement to use as a rental. It has a second entrance and can be closed off from the upstairs, but the laundry is shared. We have a growing family and live in a very family-friendly area. My husband would like to replace the kitchen with a bedroom (currently we have two upstairs bedrooms, one downstairs - one bathroom on each floor). The downstairs kitchen has a few updates but is generally original to the 1950s home. We're looking on advice for which would be best for resell value: an extra kitchen or an extra bedroom? We'd love some extra insight! Thank you!

Featured Answer

jck910

9 years ago

It will no longer be an in-law apartment without the kitchen. You would need a realtor to tell you the value of apartment vs bedroom in your area

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Comments (6)

Judy Mishkin
9 years ago
also, accessory apartments are increasingly not allowed in some areas.. yours would be grandfathered in. if you wouldnt be allowed to rebuild it, that would be a loss in value. you might consider what is the minimum you could leave to still maintain its status as a separate living space and leave that much. call your town hall as well as a realtor.
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T. J.
9 years ago
As the above comments state, call your city for regulations and talk to a realtor. Also, if you want a fun family area below, having a kitchen would be awesome. What I would recommend is rearranging it, so that it only takes up that back wall. It will come across more like a bar, but you'll have all the functioning components to make it a full kitchen.

Side note, your kids will move out eventually and you may like the additional income of a rental down the road. Or, like myself, one of your kids will move home for a period of time and they will have a completely separate apartment.
N LC
9 years ago
Agree with posters above, your city's laws will have impact on prospective value.

And I like the solution proposed: keep small half kitchen on one wall if you can. The gas line and plumbing are not on same wall so it may not be super cheap to have a nice clean bar option but it would be nice. If you only have 2 kids then the fourth bedroom can be the guest room/studio and it could be fine to leave a half kitchen there.

I also have a walk out basement and I would love to have a half kitchen there to make it a better entertainment space for messy parties ..
N LC
9 years ago
And also: again if by growing family you mean 2 kids or more you are going to need that second bathroom for your own family soon, so the odds of you renting anything is obviously zero until your kids are out of the house. I would invest to make that space as usable as possible for you right now, converting that unused kitchen into a fourth bedroom/studio seems very smart to me
jmbrinker
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks. I appreciate getting different points of view. We will definitely talk with our retailer. I love having the ease of a kitchen there for guests and get togethers, so we'll have to look at various options. Thanks again!