4 bed with downstairs bath or 3 bed with upstairs bath??

tyllwyd

In our area, I've never seen a 4 bed house with a downstairs bathroom. There are some older terraced houses, where the choice is three beds upstairs with downstairs bathroom, or two beds with upstairs bathroom.

I'd think there is a real danger of spending all the money to do the conversion, and then finding that there is no market for the house afterwards, because a larger family who wanted 4 bedrooms would want more room downstairs, and wouldn't be willing to make the compromise on having a bathroom downstairs.

Edited to say - just read the post above, and obviously there are houses like that elsewhere! but I'd still be very wary of unbalancing the house.

quintwins

i could never inderstand this, why do you need a upstairs loo? after all most people spend most of there waking hours downstairs, and you pee when you go to bed so shouldn't need to run up and down, the only time it's a real issue is if your ill, or potty training, anyway persoanlly i'd prefer a downstairs loo and an extra bedroom

Owain_Moneysaver

Turning the downstairs loo into habitable space + loo is the easiest way, whether it's a study, or making the kitchen a kitchen-diner with access to the garden (which according to Sarah Beeny is what all families want, and she's got enough sprogs and a big enough house she must know what she's talking about).

If you've got the money and the house is suitable, look at loft conversion to a new master bedroom + en-suite.

Lilibee

quintwins wrote: »

i could never inderstand this, why do you need a upstairs loo? after all most people spend most of there waking hours downstairs, and you pee when you go to bed so shouldn't need to run up and down, the only time it's a real issue is if your ill, or potty training, anyway persoanlly i'd prefer a downstairs loo and an extra bedroom

For me, it's not so much the loo being downstairs that's the problem, more the shower. There's no way I'd want to be running up and downstairs in only a towel - and usually where there's a downstairs bathroom, it's been tacked on to the back of the house so you have to also walk through at least the kitchen, and possibly also the lounge/dining room, to get there. Not ideal if someone else is preparing food, or even just watching TV - I'm fairly sure they don't want to see me in a towel just about as much as I don't want them to see me.

Jenniefour

Not a good idea to convert an upstairs bathroom into a bedroom - I suspect it will detract from the value and who wants folks going up and down the stairs in the morning to get a shower? The only properties I've seen like this are two bedroom terraces - which are normally considered first rung for a couple who will then move on. The only way to add value of any significance to a property, as Doozergirl says, is to add habitable space i.e habitable square feet either by loft conversion or extension in the ground floor. And if property prices go down, as many are predicting even that might turn out to be money down the drain. Adding an ensuite - which you possibly have the space for - would be nice. But in this market it is very unlikely you would get your money back.

At present you have a house , from a layout and facilities point of view, e.g. downstairs loo, is what most people would want.

diable

Bathroom upstairs guest toilet downstairs.

If you rent then more bedrooms are preferable if you want to sell then sell it as it is as in E12 if you spend the money you wont get it back.

neverdespairgirl

As well as agreeing with the majority about the bathroom being better upstairs, there doesn't sound as if there will be enouhg living space downstairs for a 4 bed house, either.

diable

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

As well as agreeing with the majority about the bathroom being better upstairs, there doesn't sound as if there will be enouhg living space downstairs for a 4 bed house, either.

Explain the reasoning?

neverdespairgirl

A family or group needing 4 bedrooms probably wants more than a small kitchen and a "lounge / diner" downstairs. It's unbalanced.