A 5 bedroom house for sale in St. Petersburg, FL is uncommon, because most of the city's older block homes were built with fewer bedrooms. Look for true bedrooms with a door, a window to the outside and central heating and cooling (a closet is a plus, not a Florida requirement), permits for any conversion, an updated roof and windows, two full baths, and enough covered parking and yard to match five bedrooms. Price it on living area, not room count.
This is the checklist we use when we evaluate a five-bedroom home, and it ends with how our listing at 7400 Locust St NE measures up.
Why are five-bedroom homes hard to find in St. Petersburg?
Because the city's housing stock was largely built as compact concrete block homes, and five true bedrooms usually only show up through a larger original floor plan, a permitted addition or a newer build. When one comes up, it tends to draw several types of buyers at once.
Be clear about what you are actually buying. In Florida a room does not need a closet to count as a bedroom; what matters is a door, a window to the outside, heating and cooling, and permits for any conversion. Ask how Pinellas County records count the rooms in any home you consider, because a "bedroom" that turns out to be an unpermitted enclosure is a different purchase. Five rooms that each work as a bedroom, plus living space that still feels like a home, is the target.
How do you tell a real bedroom from a converted space?
Walk the house with the county property record and the permit history in hand, and compare what you see with what is on paper. Here is what we look for room by room.
- A door and a window to the outside. Interior rooms with no exterior window are a red flag for both comfort and how the room will be counted. A closet is nice to have, but Florida does not require one for a bedroom, so judge the room by the door, the window and the conditioned air.
- Heating and cooling. A room served by a window unit or nothing at all may be a converted garage or porch. Check whether the central A/C reaches it.
- Permits for additions. Ask the City of St. Petersburg for the permit history on any addition, enclosure or conversion. Unpermitted work can affect insurance, appraisal and resale.
- Ceiling height and flooring changes. A step down, a lower ceiling or a different slab often marks where the original house ends and a conversion begins.
- Bath count. Five bedrooms with one bath is a hard sell for almost any use. Two full baths is the practical minimum; note where each sits relative to the bedrooms.
What can you do with five bedrooms?
Five bedrooms give you one home with multiple ways to make it work, and the best plan depends on whether you need the rooms for people, for projects or for income. This is how the same floor plan can be allocated.
| How you might use the house | Rooms used for sleeping | Rooms used for something else | What to think about |
|---|---|---|---|
| One household with room to spare | Three | Home office, gym or hobby room | Space to grow without moving again |
| Guests and projects | Two | Guest room, office, studio | A screened front porch and workshop extend the plan outdoors |
| Multi-generational living | Four | Shared den or office | Bath placement and privacy matter more than square footage |
| Owner plus roommates (house hack) | One for the owner, the rest rented | None | Verify permitted use, lease structure and insurance first |
| Full co-living rental | Five | None | Needs a management plan and a check with the City, County and an attorney |
A five-bedroom home does not lock you into one plan; you can move from one row to another as your goals change. multi-generational living homes in St. Petersburg FL
What does 7400 Locust St NE offer as a five-bedroom home?
7400 Locust St NE is a five-bedroom, two-bath concrete block home in Northeast St. Petersburg, FL 33702, built in 1972, with 1,824 sq ft of living area and 3,209 sq ft under roof. The single-story home was built as a three-bedroom; the former dining room and part of the living room were converted into two more bedrooms, an interior change that, to the seller's understanding, did not require a permit. The two added bedrooms have a door, a window to the outside and central heating and cooling, but no closet, which Florida does not require for a bedroom. The primary bedroom has its own private bath, and the second full bath serves the other four rooms. For an owner-occupant those two rooms are natural offices, a gym, a playroom or a bonus room; for an investor they are two more rentable rooms. Pull the county record and confirm with the City of St. Petersburg, as you would for any converted home. The big-ticket items are already done: a 2021 roof, 2023 impact windows, a 2024 A/C and water heater and an updated electrical panel.
What makes it work as a five-bedroom, rather than just a house with five doors, is the space around the bedrooms. An oversized 2-car garage and a separate 2-car carport give you four covered parking spaces, which matters when five rooms are occupied. A workshop shed takes the projects out of the house. The fenced yard on a 6,991 sq ft corner lot measuring 75 by 100 and a screened front porch facing the preserve and park across the street give everyone somewhere to go besides their room. Solid block construction. No HOA. It is offered at $499,995 against a stated opinion of value of $550,000, MLS TB8544117.
How should you price a five-bedroom house?
Price it on living area first, then adjust for what the extra rooms, parking and lot actually let you do. Room count alone will mislead you in both directions.
- Start with price per square foot of living area. At 7400 Locust St NE that is $274 per square foot on 1,824 sq ft. Compare it with recently sold block homes in 33702, not with the whole city.
- Look at under-roof area separately. Garage, carport and porch are real space you will use, but they are not priced like living area. what does under roof square footage mean
- Pull the tax record. The 2025 taxes at 7400 Locust St NE were $4,948; ask Pinellas County how the assessment may change after a sale.
- Get insurance quotes. A licensed insurance agent can quote homeowners and flood coverage before your inspection period ends. Roof and window dates drive this conversation.
- Run the income scenarios if you plan to rent any of it. The seller projects up to $4,400 per month as a traditional rental or up to $6,400 per month as co-living. Treat those as projections, verify rents yourself, and confirm permitted use with the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. renting rooms in a house in Florida
- Weigh the opinion of value. Ask for the comps behind any stated opinion of value and decide for yourself whether the gap between it and the list price is real.
What else should a five-bedroom buyer check?
Check the things that get stressed when five rooms are in use: parking, hot water, electrical capacity and the yard.
Count the covered and off-street parking spaces. Ask when the water heater and electrical panel were last replaced, because both carry a full house. Treat the yard and outbuildings as overflow for bikes, tools and gear, so the bedrooms stay bedrooms. Finally, confirm whether an HOA or deed restriction limits parking, rentals or outbuildings; a no-HOA street gives you flexibility, but you still verify what the City and County allow.
If a five-bedroom block home in Northeast St. Petersburg with four covered parking spaces and a workshop is on your list, ask us for the room-by-room floor plan, disclosures and comps.
Ask about 7400 Locust St NEFrequently asked questions
A: No. Five-bedroom homes are a small slice of the market because most of the city's block housing stock was built with fewer bedrooms.
A: Only if it was permitted and meets the requirements a bedroom must meet, and even then an appraiser and the county record may treat it differently. Ask the City of St. Petersburg for the permit history before you count it.
A: For most uses, yes, as long as they are placed well. Two full baths is the practical minimum for a five-bedroom home; how they sit relative to the bedrooms matters more than adding a third.
A: Possibly, but you need to verify permitted use with the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, check for any HOA or deed restrictions, and review lease structure and insurance with a local attorney and a licensed insurance agent before you plan on the income.