En suite - increase value?

Rivernight

bearshare wrote: »

I would not buy a multi bedroom house without an en-suite.

People glibly say 'put one in', but it is not so simple. You have to consider how to get water piping (hot and cold) to the bathroom, and also how to get the waste away. The former could involve disruption to decoration (at least!) In existing bathroom, hallway, beroom etc. The latter could involve expensive groundworks to get a sewer pipe extended.

Or it could be a case of knocking a couple of holes in walls, and a stud partition.

A casual viewer would not know which, and probably would not want the risk.

The downstairs loo is directly underneath where the ensuite would go and is straightforward, I know this because other houses in our road with the same style house have put in ensuites. Basically the master bedroom at the front of the house and the second double bedroom have a recess which is a built-in cupboard. They have taken the two cupboard spaces from both rooms and some space from the Master bedroom to make the space.

borkid

kinger101 wrote: »

Teenagers? Morning?

:rotfl:

Jug of cold water worked with one and driving off and leaving them to get to school , a 2 mile walk, worked for the other. They were up and grunting and hating me in their teenage years. Best of friend now though.

Silvertabby

“ We’re a family of 5 with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom with toilet... why do people need 3 toilets nowadays? Don't get me wrong a 2nd bog would be nice but not essential
Originally posted by FtbDreaming ”

There's just the two of us - and we don't think that a bathroom/en-suite/downstairs cloakroom is too much.

Having two bathrooms makes having guests so much nicer - and as the cloakroom is accessed via the utility room/back door it's just perfect for when I'm gardening and (ahem) caught short.

I grew up as one of 5 with an outside loo, which is probably why I really appreciate what we have now!

pinkshoes

Would lowering the price get you an offer, or is it that there is just very little demand for a 4 bed detached that only has one bathroom?

If the former, just lower the price. If the latter, then install an en-suite.

(I wouldn’t buy a 4 bed detached with only 1 bathroom, nor would I want the hassle of having to put one in once I’d moved if I had a family.)

Hillbilly1

Rivernight wrote: »

We've contacted a tradesman and have a quote for an ensuite along with plans. We're not going to get it done but we are then going to factor it in to any potential offers we might receive. Maybe if we show we have done the groundwork it might be enough for someone to make a reasonable offer. Thanks for your opinions.

I think that’s a good compromise. You’re attracting peop,w that have probably never done nor wish to do DIY. If you can show recent quotes and plans then it’s easy for them to see if they’d do it,

But it depends how quickly you want to move, for many if current owners haven’t done an obvious bit of improvement it seems it’s too difficult.

Larac

I suspect the problem you are facing that new build 4 bed houses have en suite. Anything built in the 70's/80's will have one or have had one put in. Target audience for a 4 bed is a family and nowadays people will expect two bathrooms. If I was buying a 4 bed house - would I want to go through the hassle of putting one in - probably not and would look for another house.

Splatfoot

Someone i know has their house on the market at £800,000. With only one bathroom :shocked:They've renovated but haven't put in an ensuite . I find that a bit of an oversight. But maybe it's not important to everyone? Six/seven weeks on the market isn't that long. You might just get that person through the door who doesn't care. Until I had one, I wouldn't have cared either.

Slinky

Jobs involving plumbing can be offputting, particularly if people lack vision. We looked at somewhere that had a shower in a bedroom. Not in any sort of cupboard, literally a square shower cubicle in the bedroom. The rest of the house had been updated by the owners apart from this one room. The adjoining bathroom had no shower. The obvious thing was to knock through and incorporate the shower space into the bathroom, but the floor levels were very different, there were steps down into the bedroom so it was a fiddly job. Seeing that the house was owned at that time by a plumber, and he couldn't motivate himself to do it, viewers weren't keen to take this on. Eventually he took it off the market, sorted out the wierd shower arrangement and it sold when he remarketed it.

specialhat

Crashy_Time wrote: »

Today the problems that could affect sales are far far worse IMO. The lease probably did the trick in your case though?

I put it back on the market in late 2019 and found it far easier to sell. I did have one buyer pull out but had four new offers within three days and sold it for asking price.

Rivernight

Larac wrote: »

I suspect the problem you are facing that new build 4 bed houses have en suite. Anything built in the 70's/80's will have one or have had one put in. Target audience for a 4 bed is a family and nowadays people will expect two bathrooms. If I was buying a 4 bed house - would I want to go through the hassle of putting one in - probably not and would look for another house.

Yes, the house was built in the 80's.

We've lived in it since 1987 and then an ensuite wasn't common in 4 bedders. We've put in an extension, put in new windows and fascias in the last couple of years, still under warranty. I don't think it looks too dated. We've never been shy of DIY and would have put one in if we'd needed it. I had three children and it was never a problem but I guess expectations are different now. For us, we didn't want to take any space out of the master bedroom to put in an ensuite.