3 bedrooms is a perfectly reasonable resale candidate in most markets. 3 bedrooms and a master with a really nice en suite should be an excellent candidate.

Thanks for the feedback. I have spoken to a handful of agent friends who work in the area - there really is no consensus. Some are more old school and think number of bedrooms trumps all, while others are more in line with my thinking that my target buyer is the newlywed or newborn crowd. I could *technically* still list the house as four bedrooms as that basement bonus room has a closet and is adjacent to a bathroom. I also thought about just converting that into a master suite, but I think that adds a ton of livable space as a second living room for a relatively small house and 5 bedrooms would be overkill. The whole thing has raised another question - is having a large master with a big bathroom/closet going to be important to my target buyer? Sure, it would be nice, but there are two bathrooms upstairs right next to each other and I don’t see it being much of an inconvenience for a married couple.

to keep your costs down try to figure out a plan that has the bathroom adjacent to the current water rooms - ie convert the master closet into the master bath (needs to be larger than current closet footprint) Have you thought about converting the den and laundry room into the master addition (widen the left wall) and opening the wall from the master to the kitchen for the den- open the master closet walls and make into a butler pantry walkway

LisaMac- JuneKnow knows. What is that saying about throwing good money after bad? Not that your house is bad of course, it is perfectly fine as is, but just not for your current needs. It would be great for another family at a different stage of life. Do you think you can just hold on and do a serious search for a one-story home? Would you be willing to look outside your immediate neighborhood to find it? How aggressive would you be to look? If I were in your shoes now, I would drive around every single weekend and if you see a ranch house that looks to be the size you want, slip under the door and in the mail box index cards you had printed that says something like, "My husband and I really like your house! If you are thinking of selling your home, please contact us, we are interested in purchasing it to live in, please contact us. Sally and Joe Blow, Phone, email." Then you may get contacted by the owner or the real estate agent as these people decide to sell, or if they pass away. You can also contact a real estate agent that specializes in the geographic area you want and tell him/her that you need a one story home and specify the other things you need, e.g another full bathroom and bedroom not right next to the master but not at the other end of the house that will allow you to dress without awakening your husband. Or whatever it is that you want. For sure, you are not the only couple with different schedules, you may find what you are looking for. The other thing is, assuming you are willing to sell your house and buy another house that is all on one floor. Are you willing to compromise to get that one-floor house, such as less bedrooms? Even if grandchildren sleep over, you can use bunk beds, kids love those. Even bunk beds with trundle beds. If your husband needs a workshop you can have one added to the back yard with a big shed with electricity added to it unless you find that miracle of a three car garage. So you can do a three bedroom house instead of a 4. it is something to think about, because it seems the pros here have told you that you can't achieve the re-model you want with the money you have to spend on it. (One thing you should know, just because someone doesn't have PRO next to their name doesn't mean they aren't a professional. Some people prefer to be anonymous.)