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

Sally22_2

Hmm interesting, never really thought about this! I grew up in my parents house, lived there for 22 years and it only had one loo/bath and it was downstairs. Never really gave it a thought at the time but I dont remember it being a pain, unless someone was having a bath and you needed the loo!

Been living with my partners parents for just over 4 years, they have a downstairs loo but an upstairs bathroom which is pretty much exclusive to us as his parents have an en suite.

Moving into our new house, it has an upstairs bathroom/loo but also a downstairs loo, which I have decided is my preferred layout! At least that way you can have a bath or shower and not have to worry that your partners mates are gonna see you in your towel!

Callie22

We currently rent a house with a downstairs bathroom straight off the kitchen and I hate it - I certainly would never buy a house like that. I don't like the lack of privacy (you are generally able to hear pretty much everything going off in there ...) and I don't believe that it's hygienic to have a lavatory barely three feet away from the cooker. Also, my experience of these kinds of houses is that the bathrooms are usually 'afterthoughts' - put on much later or converted from old wash-houses or coal stores, so they aren't really part of the fabric of the house so they tend to be absolutely freezing and have a lot of damp issues.

There's also the issue that they are a long way from the bedroom, so it's a long trek for a midnight trip to the loo!

[Deleted User]

Having lived in all sort of houses, including upside down houses, I prefer to have a loo of some sort downstairs as well as upstairs.

I don't mind if the actual bathroom is upstairs or downstairs, it doesn't make a great deal of difference to a family. We have had the odd 'norovirus' invasion and it hasn't caused difficulties if u have a downstairs bathroom. The kids sleep on the sofa while they are recovering, rather than in the bedroom which means I don't have to run up and downstairs all day (did things this way when the kids were ill regardless of where the bathroom was).

However, having said that, I am currently living in a terraced house with a bathroom off the kitchen only (no upstairs loo) and I don't find it a terrible disadvantage at all. If you are at home bringing up children.., u are going to be spending most of your hours downstairs so having the loo/bathroom downstairs is a plus, not a minus. You're only upstairs when asleep. On the odd occasion u need the loo in the night, its only going to take a 90 seconds to walk down the stairs to find a downstairs bathroom. You'll be looking for a loo a lot more if at home during the day.., and u'll be downstairs the vast majority of the time so I'm not overly sure what the issue is when u look at the issue logically.

Old_Git

bryanb wrote: »

The only type I'd consider without upstairs facilities would be a bungalow.

funny I have just bought a 4 bed chalet bungalow ,the bathroom is downstairs and two bedrooms are upstairs .

Racml34

We've just bought a house where the only bathroom is downstairs. In our area this is very common and doesn't seem to put buyers off. They are Victorian houses with extensions added later for the bathroom. I wouldn't want to lose a third bedroom just for the convenience of getting to the loo quicker! We have two children and it really isn't a problem

BristolBob

We rejected any house that had a downstairs bathroom when we were looking.

cayennepepper

Would totally put me off, yes.

Mrs_Z

Callie22 wrote: »

We currently rent a house with a downstairs bathroom straight off the kitchen and I hate it - I certainly would never buy a house like that. I don't like the lack of privacy (you are generally able to hear pretty much everything going off in there ...) and I don't believe that it's hygienic to have a lavatory barely three feet away from the cooker. Also, my experience of these kinds of houses is that the bathrooms are usually 'afterthoughts' - put on much later or converted from old wash-houses or coal stores, so they aren't really part of the fabric of the house so they tend to be absolutely freezing and have a lot of damp issues.

There's also the issue that they are a long way from the bedroom, so it's a long trek for a midnight trip to the loo!

This is excatly what I fear. You have outlined all scenarios that ran through my mind. Thank you all for views. I don't think we'll put an offer on the house. The bedrooms are of good size but not big enough to squeeze in an on-suite. Not sure about the loft space. It truly is a lovely cottage but not for us. We currently have an upstairs toilet/bathroom and I find using it more often as I get older... equally I've never lived anywhere with a downstairs toilet so it was useful to get everyone's views. I do have experiences though staying in a place with an outdoor loo... fancy that in a mids of winter when it's dark, 1m of snow and -20'C!!! Eeek! (this is going back 35 years + though!)

Ms_Chocaholic

I've never lived in a house with a downstairs bathroom and wouldn't like to. It's the getting up in the middle of the night that would bother me. I would never consider a house with one.

katejo

My house previously had a ground floor bathroom but previous owners moved it upstairs . This means that my 3rd bedroom was reduced to a small lobby which is fine for a desk & laptop . My neighbours still have a ground floor bathroom beyond the kitchen . I prefer it my way though it would be good to have a proper 3rd bedroom .