Would house I’m buying lose value if convert downstairs bedroom to utility

NQManchester

I don’t care if they’re calling it a 4 bedroom it’s a 3 bedroom really so as someone else has said I think it depends on whether you’re paying for a 3 or 4 bedroom now. 

I’d prefer a downstairs loo and utility room to an office but agree the full lay out could probably be improved downstairs. Apparently utility rooms are one of the most popular things to have at the moment…

NinjaTune

I'm a little confused.  Is the 2nd floorplan how it is now with a family area and office/bedroom?

If so, I'd make the 'family area' into the utility as the kitchen/diner is big enough as it is.  Adding the other room as a utility would make it disproportionate to the living area

An office/guest room on the ground floor won't be a waste of space under the current climate.  Even with a potential move back to office working I think the majority of companies will be happy with home-working for a portion of the week.  An additional guest room/study/playroom might be better imo.

As mentioned, a lack of a downstairs loo would be odd based on the available floorspace.  

Whatever works for you though

Redwino222

I hate random bedrooms downstairs, and as others have said even worse with no downstairs bathroom or even loo.  It’s not a bedroom and I don’t see it adding to the value by that much.

getmore4less

NinjaTune said:

I'm a little confused.  Is the 2nd floorplan how it is now with a family area and office/bedroom?

If so, I'd make the 'family area' into the utility as the kitchen/diner is big enough as it is.  Adding the other room as a utility would make it disproportionate to the living area

An office/guest room on the ground floor won't be a waste of space under the current climate.  Even with a potential move back to office working I think the majority of companies will be happy with home-working for a portion of the week.  An additional guest room/study/playroom might be better imo.

As mentioned, a lack of a downstairs loo would be odd based on the available floorspace.  

Whatever works for you though

Plumbing a lot easier if they keep it all on the kitchen side(the bathroom upstairs is over the kitchen)


room sizes

Lounge - 11'10'' x 11'9

Office/4th bedroom - 8'11'' x 8'11''

Kitchen area - 8'10'' x 8'0''

Dining/family area - 22'4'' x 10'2''

Bedroom - 12'4'' x 11'4''

Bedroom - 12'3'' x 9'2''

Bedroom - 7'8'' x 6'10''

getmore4less

Redwino222 said:

I hate random bedrooms downstairs, and as others have said even worse with no downstairs bathroom or even loo.  It’s not a bedroom and I don’t see it adding to the value by that much.

Looking at the pricing for the area it is at the bottom of what 4 beds go for, on at offers over
Priced more like the 3 beds there is a 3b semi on the same street similar asking as a reno project. 

This one is detached most of the alternatives in the 3/4 bed listing at this price point  are semi/terrace

leypt1

I personally wouldn't consider putting a utility room or bedroom in the family room as this would block access and views from the living space to the garden, which is probably a value-killer in itself?

DancingQueen93

Section62 said:

DancingQueen93 said:

First image is old floor plan, second with new “family room” extension added

The family area / dining area are corridor rooms, so no good as bedrooms.  The existing office/bedroom is the only space (other than the lounge) that could work as a ground floor bedroom.

I would restore the doorway from the hall to the kitchen area and partition that off from the dining room, using the ex-kitchen space for the shower/toilet/utility.  That would avoid the situation (when you are upstairs) of having to traipse all the way through the hallway/dining area/family area in order to access the second toilet/shower. Access from the hallway would also offer more privacy for toilet users than access from the family area (/open plan from the dining area).

I would then rearrange the dining area / family area as the kitchen/diner - leaving the office/bedroom as it currently is with the flexibility to use as a bedroom/office/family room as desired.

It would also be a waste to have the room with a window looking out onto the rear garden (presumably a nice view?) used for a purpose which requires privacy glass.

The drainage is likely to be close to the existing kitchen (but where is the upstairs bathroom?) - and as a detached property it is likely you would be able to extend the drainage system to serve any of the four external walls - although this would need to be confirmed.

Thanks everyone, some great points. Section62 this is a really good idea for layout and would make the most of all space available! Trouble is money for the moment as the current kitchen is quite new, having been remodelled recently, (we weren’t thinking of changing it anytime soon apart from painting/tiling) so ripping that out and moving that across into the dining area would be a huge amount of cost and work (adding water, drainage etc as they are all on the left side of house right now). But I agree that would be an ideal layout! Maybe sometime in the future we might be able to remodel downstairs fully to make the most of the space.

Section62

getmore4less said:

Plumbing a lot easier if they keep it all on the kitchen side(the bathroom upstairs is over the kitchen)

It is a consideration, but the OP should be careful not to constrain their thinking by trying to make false economies. The cost of extending water and drainage to the opposite side of the house could turn out to be trivial in comparison to the difference in property value between an optimal layout and a layout which is seriously compromised.

As they used to say - "If a job is worth doing...."

DancingQueen93 said:

Thanks everyone, some great points. Section62 this is a really good idea for layout and would make the most of all space available! Trouble is money for the moment as the current kitchen is quite new, having been remodelled recently, (we weren’t thinking of changing it anytime soon apart from painting/tiling) so ripping that out and moving that across into the dining area would be a huge amount of cost and work (adding water, drainage etc as they are all on the left side of house right now). But I agree that would be an ideal layout! Maybe sometime in the future we might be able to remodel downstairs fully to make the most of the space.

As above... try to avoid constraining your thinking until you've got a better feel for costs and your available budget.  E.g. changing the kitchen won't necessarily be a 'huge amount of cost' if it is possible to simply move the existing units rather than buying a whole new kitchen.  Or can you wait to do the remodelling until you've saved up a suitable budget?

The important thing when buying is to have the vision of what you want at the end, and then check to make sure there are no show-stopper issues.

On which point, having now seen the EA's pictures I'd say you need to think whether the chimney breast in the dining area (not shown on the floor plan) would prevent this area being used as the kitchen, and whether there is enough space on other walls to have the range of kitchen units you'd want. The alternative would involve removing the chimney breast (which could be a good idea anyway).

Also note the floor plans don't show the chimney breast in the rear bedroom, and I strongly suspect the larger bedroom at the front also contains a hidden chimney breast where the floor plan shows a continuous row of built-in wardrobes.