Do buyers prefer a bath or shower?

rosyw

I'd say try to pursuade OH to just "have a look" at a few bungalows? I always said I'd never have one, but have compromised on a chalet bungalow with downstairs bathroom, which has a bath & walk in shower, and an ensuitewith shower to the main bedroom upstairs, Best of both worlds, it definitely is NOT a retirement bungalow, but I have the option of using what is now the study as a downstairs bedroom should the need ever arise, and could quite happily live in the ground floor.

Errata

A simple solution to the problem of increasing difficulty in using a bath is to have a shower cubicle installed in the room next to the bathroom, giving easy access to the water supply and drain. It can easily be removed by a vendor who doesn't want it, but preserves the bath in the bathroom for those vendors who don't want a shower only house.

michelle2008

I live alone but would be put off by a house without a bath. I would worry one didn't fit in the bathroom and I would also be worried about resale. This market is very family focused. But you could speak to an estate agent - we are all just giving very personal reactions - a local estate agent can advise on the specifics of your local market.

Good luck - I know it's a tough decision!

franklee

If you are not moving soon why not put in whatever design of shower that's most easily reversible and then either reverse it later when it's marketed for sale or offer to reverse it for any buyers before completion to save them the hassle? At the very least get quotes for this so you know how much money you are talking about. Unless of course the real problem is one of you wants to move and the other doesn't?

Photograph the existing bathroom with bath to show any buyers that there was a bath present and that it really did fit

flora48

If you are not planning on moving in the foreseeable future then put a shower in. You need your house to be suitable for you. We need to live in the present not what may be in the future.

tbs624

As Franklee and Flora48 say.

When buying I prefer a property to have a bath but it wouldn't be a huge put off if the property met other relevant criteria.

HB58

Thanks guys,you have given me plenty to think about!

G_M

Walk in baths? We considered. NO!

Poor elderly person sitting in a slowly filling bath. Worse still, sitting there, getting cold, while it empties - you can't open the door till it's drained!

A shower with a shower seat.

elvis86

A lot of completely irrelevant angry-sounding "cater for yourself, not prospective buyers sometime in the future"-type responses, considering that the OP has explained that a house move is on the cards in the not-too-distant future..:cool:

Ultimately the OP needs to balance:

• Her needs now
• How imminent a move is
• How much money she is prepared to/can afford to lose by paying for changes to the bathroom and potentially taking a hit when she comes to sell

So if she decides that she'll move in a year, but she's finding the bath very difficult at the moment, she may decide that a year's comfort is worth £X to install a shower and potentially losing £Y when she sells. Only she can make that call.

RE buyers, I'm with (almost?) everyone else, I'd want both a bath and shower, seperate where possible, or a bath over a shower in a smaller bathroom. I wouldn't not buy if there was no bath/no shower, but I would have to factor in the cost of refitting the bathroom when making an offer.

HB58

G_M wrote: »

Walk in baths? We considered. NO!

Poor elderly person sitting in a slowly filling bath. Worse still, sitting there, getting cold, while it empties - you can't open the door till it's drained!

A shower with a shower seat.

I'm 53!

It is very difficult for me to sit, I would rather stand under a shower, the 'bath' element comes into play cos that is where the shower is

Mr H is listening and we are considering our options. We need to do a fair bit to get the house up together first anyway.