Houses with downstairs bathrooms

katejo

I also notice the lack of floorplan. My terraced house previously had a downstairs bathroom but it was moved upstairs well before I bought. The 3rd bedroom was reduced in size to allow for the bathroom and the kitchen was extended to use up the space on the ground floor. I wouldn't go for one which didn't allow this.

System

Wouldn't bother me at all, but then I grew up in one of these (fairly common layout for terraced houses in the SE in my experience; not sure about elsewhere in the country). I've never really understood why people find it so odd, to be honest!

bouicca21

It's pretty common for terraced older houses to be like this - they were built without bathrooms, so when a bathroom became a must they were put in the cheapest way without sacrificing a bedrom.

Personally I wouldn't touch it. But then I'm old and I couldn't face getting up in the night and having to negotiate stairs ...

I have friends who brought up a family in a 2 bed house even smaller (and more expensive) than that and who never seemed bothered about the downstairs bathroom. But hey ho when a inheritance arrived the first thing they did was to build an extension (end terrace) and put an upstairs bathroom in.

GoodnessGraciousMe

marksoton wrote: »

Not in Dartford no!

Unfortunately, thats all I can afford within zones 1 - 6 in/close enough to London. Oh the joy!

GoodnessGraciousMe

Mossfarr wrote: »

£240,000 for that - you've got to be kidding.
An equivalent house in my area (North West) would be around £100K, and that would have three bedrooms - or two with a large upstairs bathroom!

The joys of a single buyer wanting to buy within commutable distance to central London.

RAS

Would there ever be scope to extend above the existing kitchen or bathroom, even if only to install an ensuite shower room?

missbiggles1

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Lived in one for nearly forty years, no problem as you spend more time downstairs than up.

Just sold it, buyers didn't mind either.

Most people spend 7/9 hours every day upstairs - unless you're retired or unemployed you don't spend anything like that downstairs.

LisaLou1982

There a lot of property like that around the east midlands too. Lots of old terraces and also quite a lot of the 1950s ex council stock which have a downstairs bathroom.

Personally i wouldnt buy one, however, my reasoning behind that is more to do with the fact that i can afford not to have to IYSWIM. If my budget restricted me to a property with a downstairs bathroom then i wouldnt have an issue with it.

I doubt you would have a problem with resale. It is what it is, and a buyers budget is what it is. Property will always sell at the right price.

ReadingTim

RAS wrote: »

Would there ever be scope to extend above the existing kitchen or bathroom, even if only to install an ensuite shower room?

A wet room might be the best compromise - you'd need a loo, basin and shower as a minimum, and it would have to be an ensuite, rather than the main bathroom, unless you want people tramping through a bedroom to use us.

Problem is that there are thousands of '2 up 2 down' terraces like these with downstairs bathrooms. People buying them generally know what they're buying and either like them, or can't afford the upstairs bathroom alternative. Therefore any additions would probably cost more to add than they'd recoup in the selling price, so you'd really only be doing it for your own benefit, rather than future saleability - regardless of a preference for an upstairs bathroom, I doubt many people would pay more for it, if the house was otherwise the same.

I also note how many places have downstairs toilets in addition to their upstairs bathrooms - seems numerous trips up the stairs during the day are more onerous than the occasional one down the stairs at night....

LisaLou1982

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Most people spend 7/9 hours every day upstairs - unless you're retired or unemployed you don't spend anything like that downstairs.

I think SDW was referring to the time awake as opposed to asleep Miss Biggles!