Would you go for this?

Newlyboughthouse

Just wanting to get opinions before I possibly take the leap and shell out for a loft conversion. I have a terraced house. One double and one single bedroom. The bathroom is upstairs, which is unique for the street where the bathrooms are downstairs and you have to go through the kitchen.

I want a loft conversion, making it 2 double bedrooms and a larger bathroom.

Would you go for a house where the bedrooms are not on the same floor? Is that a big deal?

paddyrg

Not a big deal to me, although it may be less appealing if parents have small kids they'd want to be closer to - a small house would be of interest to that size family

penguingirl

It depends who you are competing with- it will definitely be better than 2 bed terraces (i.e. the ones on the same road). It is unlikely to be as good as 3 bed semis. It probably isn't what a family with more than 1 child would pick, but very few of us can buy a house without any compromise.

Are you going to have any storage space in the loft? That's one of the things that puts me of a loft conversion is that terraces often don't have much storage anyway, and if you lose the loft it is even less.

kinger101

The only slight inconvenience here is one bedroom would be on a different floor to the bathroom. I think that will put some people off. You might be able to squeeze a bathroom in, but in my opinion, it ain't a double unless it is at least 12' by 10'.

I don't think it will ever be worth as much as a standard 3 bed, as the downstairs footprint will still be that of a 2 bed, and loss of the loft space means a reduction in storage space. Always worth thinking about when you cost it; ask yourself whether it might just be better to move house.

Newlyboughthouse

penguingirl wrote: »

It depends who you are competing with- it will definitely be better than 2 bed terraces (i.e. the ones on the same road). It is unlikely to be as good as 3 bed semis. It probably isn't what a family with more than 1 child would pick, but very few of us can buy a house without any compromise.

Are you going to have any storage space in the loft? That's one of the things that puts me of a loft conversion is that terraces often don't have much storage anyway, and if you lose the loft it is even less.

Thanks. We have a cellar for storage so that's not a problem. Thing is, the other houses on my street are 2 bedroom too (doubles), but I think the major downfall is the fact their bathrooms are downstairs. Not sure if I had a family I would choose this area anyway. Close to town and so terraced is the norm in this part of town.

So mulit-level bedrooms not really an issue unless a family looking to buy?

G_M

My first flat was in a converted house. Ground floor was flat a).

My flat was on the second floor, with a small bedroom on the half-landing on the way up, then a huge bedroom in the attic, with bathroom on the half-landing between 2nd floor & attic.

Worked fine for me.

Also for the downstairs flat - no matter how noisy I was in the attic bedroom they never complained.... :whistle:

Mrs_Soup

As the parent of smallish children we prefer our bedrooms on the same floor. We actually have a loft conversion with bedroom and second bathroom and that is currently our spare room so that we are near the children. Would not have been wanting to trail up and down stairs for night feeds and whatnot.

kinger101

You could always sound out a few local Estate Agents. Another thing to ask given there are only two beds on the street is whether there's a ceiling price.

I suppose it's partly a matter of how much you would view the conversion as adapting the house to your needs, or whether you see it as an investment. You need to do more research if it's the latter.

jackomdj

As above it would depend upon the family dynamics.

However we have lived in a terrace where our bathroom was off the kitchen and our bedroom was a loft conversion - a long way to go for a wee at night. Our current house we are on the first floor, the children are on the second floor with their own toilet. We have lived here since our youngest was 4. We are lucky as they sort themselves out at night (have done since before we moved here), but we know people who still get up when their 8 year old needs the toilet at night.

Newlyboughthouse

kinger101 wrote: »

You could always sound out a few local Estate Agents. Another thing to ask given there are only two beds on the street is whether there's a ceiling price.

I suppose it's partly a matter of how much you would view the conversion as adapting the house to your needs, or whether you see it as an investment. You need to do more research if it's the latter.

It's an investment - I want to rent it out for a few years as a multi-let before selling it. I have some estate agents booked to come and value over the coming weeks so that should help the decision-making process too. I know house prices will fluctuate in years to come but still. It is actually the ceiling price that is my main concern! Decisions decisions!