You may want to check out what it costs to add an "egress window" to that guest bedroom, get it inspected as a legal bedroom, and then be able to sell your home as a 3 bedroom home instead of a 2 bedroom with a potential bedroom. It will come up in a lot more buyer searches if listed as a 3 bedroom as the largest percentage of buyers are looking for 3 bedroom 2 bath homes. I hope this helps.
Terry Pietron, GRI, ePro
Century 21 Glacier Gateway
738 9th St W
Columbia Falls, MT 59912

(406) 892-6585 Office
(406) 270-7894 Cell Phone
(406) 892-6588 Office Fax
tpietron@hotmail.com

Hi Kalispell Home Seller, you are right to be concerned. Montana courts are pretty buyer friendly and misrepresentation, intentional or not, is not in your best interests. If I were you, I would have a talk with my agent.

Hello Kalispell,

The City of Kalispell, Building Department WEB link is http://www.kalispell.com/building/sfr.cfm. It does appear that Kalispell has assumed the responsibilities of the "Authority Having Jurisdiction" (AHJ) for all building and building codes matters. Kalispell has adopted the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC). You can view a free online copy of the 2006 IRC at http://www.ecodes.biz/product.cfm?category_id=119. The IRC requires that all basements and sleeping rooms have a minimum of one egress opening out to the exterior of the home. When a sleeping room is located in a basement this adjoining basement spaces are not required to have the egress opening if the sleeping area has one. If you look on the Kalispell WEB site above they do spell out the requirements of the emergency opening and have very good diagrams, etc.

The building codes were created to provide the minimum criteria for new construction, renovations, etc. The applicability of the codes also depends on if they were in force when your home was built or remodeled to include that basement sleeping area. Additionally the Kalispell AHJ can make even stricter requirements specifying that any home with your situation be made to comply with emergency egress (life safety) requirements even if built prior to the codes being adopted. What I would advise is to call the Kalispell building department and speak with them whether your home would require that emergency egress opening, if not already there. The last thing you want is to have a buyer's Inspector come out and write it up as an issue just to potentially cost a sale. When you speak to the AHJ obtain either a specific reference or have the AHJ inspect the home and provide a certification that you meet all requirements.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me and good luck on the sale of your home.

Emmanuel J. Scanlan
PS Inspection & Property Services LLC http://www.psinspection.com
214-418-4366 (cell)
TREC License # 7593
International Code Council, Residential Combination Inspector #5247015-R5 (Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing and Building)
Certified Level I Thermographer (ASNT-TC1A Standards)
Texas Residential Construction Commission, Third Party Warranty Inspector #1593
Texas Residential Construction Commission, Inspector, County Inspection Program
Texas Department Of Insurance, VIP Inspector # 08507061016
Hayman Residential Engineering Services, Field Technician
CMC Energy - Certified Energy Auditor

Knowledge is power, but sharing knowledge brings peace!!

It depends on your local requirements. The thread attached to the link below has some info basically applying to Chicago,but I am still betting you need two points of egress for it to fit the rules as a bedroom.

http://www.trulia.com/voices/Remodel_and_Renovate/what_are_t…