Cara,
Olmsted county defines a bedroom as egress window+door+closet. When homes are listed incorrectly we ask the listing agent to make the correction. The house you viewed appears to be a 3 bedroom plus office. You can contact the MLS office (probably the Southeast Minnesota Association of REATLORS) to report the error.
Lois Marris

Cara, each city in the state has the ability to define or not define what is or is not a "legal" bedroom. The main concern with a lower level bedroom is egress. If the egress window is large enough for someone to get out of in case of a fire, then the chances are pretty good that room can be called a bedroom. Many cities do not require closets or a particular kind of door. Some have limits on how low the ceiling can be but others do not.

The doors could be easily changed and an amoire used instead of a closet, so my guess would be that the advertising is within the "norm" for that area. Sometimes the listing will have pictures or maybe notes that say "non-conforming" on them.

Cara,

The universal definition for a bedroom:

door+window+closet = bedroom

Hope this is helpful

Times and styles are changing and bedrooms may have an armoire which houses clothing instead of a closet. Think of the olden days or the South of France! We just had an appraiser's class on this and it was decided that a closet is no longer in the general description. Ceiling heights, egress window, door etc are still legal descriptions.

Hi, Cara - In our MLS area, a bedroom needs a closet, needs 2 possible exits - door and egress window, that is, one you could use to exit the premises. Closets could be a little more difficult to define since they can be of any size, etc. However, I'm with you and I would not count a closetless space as a a Bedroom. I have seen many homes with French doors; since these can be draped or otherwise covered, that would be OK. I don't think many would disagree with the idea that there should be a closet, but I don't think any litigation regarding false advertising would be pursued. The seller could be asked to cease and desist; if it is listed and advertised by a licensee in the state of MN, there realtor board could be contacted and they could be asked to cease and desist with a possible penalty if the advertising did not meet the standard of that Board.

Legal definitions often differ that real life definitions. If a bedroom can be used as a bedroom (even if needing minor modifications to do so) a lot of people will count it as one for advertising. The purpose is not to mislead you but to get greater exposure of people. For instance some people are looking for a 4 bedroom because they need 3 bedrooms plus an office, in that instance what you described would be perfect. I know that it may be frustrating if you are truly looking for 4 "real" bedrooms but try to look at it from the seller's side.

I think it is a "code" question and an interpretive one. Code is there must be a legal size window (don't remember the size) large enough for a fire fighter to get in and out for a possible rescue. There should be a closet and a door that makes it private. Even though a room cannot "legally" be called a bedroom, many people use them as such. When it's your house, if you want to use a room as a bedroom, nobody can tell you, you can't. It's just that for real estate descriptive purposes and safety issues, there are certain elements that we consider when calling a room a bedroom. Ceiling height can also play a factor. FHA has issues with calling rooms legal rooms if the ceiling is too low.

Each city has their own legal definition. City of Minnetonka does not require a closet, for example.

However, most consumers expect an egressable window, closet, door, walkable ceiling height (7'+), at least 9' x 9'.