Would a downstairs loo/bathroom put you off buying a house?

NervousHomeowner

It would put me off, yes. We currently rent a property with a downstairs bathroom and it is honestly one of the reasons we're moving! It gets really cold all the time and is also a pain to get to in the middle of the night. Ours is also directly off the kitchen, which is less than ideal!

It would especially bother me if I was paying a large amount of money for a property. If I was paying a premium price for a house, I'd expect it to have an upstairs bathroom.

I'm sure there are lots of people who wouldn't mind it, but it would be a deal breaker for me.

Werdnal

We have a downstairs bathroom and toilet, none upstairs and its never been a problem to us at all. When we moved here in 1993, the "bathroom" was in a single block lean-to extension on the back of the house with a corrugated asbestos roof, and no heating. Had to empty the bath of woodlice before using, and hot water system only gave 6 inches of water - if you let it run more than that it turned to brown sludge! Previous occupants had live here until well into their 70's with that arrangement - mind you, they didn't have a bathroom at all until 1977!

Obviously we have modernised, but there is no room in loft of header tanks, and we are on spring water which would need to be pumped upstairs anyway, so no other option for us.

If the house is otherwise ideal, it would never be a "breaker" for us!

cattie

I'd only ever consider a downstairs bathroom if there was a wc upstairs, but even then, the house would have to be pretty special for me to want to buy it.

You'll find a lot of people just won't consider a house without an upstairs bathroom.

DaftyDuck

Angelicdevil wrote: »

Could you imagine the chaos if one or all occupants got norovirus :eek:

I'd really rather not :eek:


I've often owned houses with downstairs-only bathrooms, usually because the house was too old/cute for major alterations to be made for an upstairs bathroom.

I did manage to sell each of them at a healthy profit - but I had managed to squeeze an en-suite for master bedroom in... small, but perfectly formed. In only one case did the en-suite not have a loo.

ReadingTim

I don't really have a problem with my downstairs bathroom and toilet, as I tend to use it more during the day when I'm downstairs rather than at night when I'm upstairs.

However, the trek down the stairs in the middle of the night isn't for everyone, so they could always get one of these...

LondonDreamer

I'm going to go against the trend here and say that I've lived in two properties where the bathroom was downstairs and it never bothered me. It's very rare we need to get up in the middle of the night. But I would also say that looking to buy now, I look for either a bathroom already upstairs or the ability to move it there. This is more so there is extra space downstairs than anything else, since the bathroom is quite often at the back of the house and is a waste of a lovely garden view! If I found an otherwise perfect house that I loved, I doubt a downstairs bathroom would put me off.

If you found the bathroom did bother you, is there any scope to extend out or up into the loft so you wouldn't lose the third bedroom and what would the rough cost of it be? Could you partition one of the larger bedrooms to squeeze in a small bathroom or ensuite, as already suggested by another poster? If neither of these is possible, what would the selling price be if it was reduced down to a 2 bed? If you're comfortable with any of those options and love the house, I'd say go for it.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'm another one that wouldn't be bothered by a downstairs bathroom. In fact, to me it would make life easier when it comes to directing visitors to the loo (knowing that they wouldn't have to go upstairs to get there).

I'm just making the best of the fact that my bathroom is upstairs now that I'm selling it and emphasising that fact as being an advantage of my house - ie because a lot of these houses have downstairs ones and I know a lot of other people don't like it.

elsien

Having lived in houses with a downstairs bathroom, although it didn't bother me at the time, when I was house hunting I was looking for upstairs if possible.
Having said that, it does depend on what else is available in your price range. The trade off for me was the more substantial Victorian terrace with downstairs bathroom which I preferred to newer, smaller with upstairs bathrooms and paper thin walls.
Eventually I found one with an upstairs bathroom, but its very unusual for where I live, I just got lucky. So it depends what your other options are and what your personal trade off is.

Seabee42

Currently my house is under offer (fingers crossed). I was not overly optimistic of a quick sale (took a week) as two houses nearby (both look really nice but have downstairs bathrooms mine is upstairs) have been on the market for nearly a year.

moneyistooshorttomention

Yep....a house near me with a downstairs bathroom had also been on the market for about a year and I figure that was one of the reasons for that (the other reason being it was overpriced even by upstairs bathroom standards).