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I have a 3 bedroom high ranch which has 3 bathrooms. 1 full, 1 3/4, and powder room off family room which is on another level..
My dilemma is this.. We're going to be selling. The full bath complete with deep bathtub and double sinks is shared by the two bedrooms. It's a decent size with plenty of room.
However, In the master bedroom there is a very small bathroom with toilet, one sink and shower stall.. It's very small but not uncomfortable or too tight. As a matter of fact when I look up articles on what to do with a small bathroom.. the bathrooms they show are always much larger than my rinky dink 'master'.. Lol. bath..
so, my question is would buyers rather have one huge bath shared by 3 bedrooms, in other words should I combine them and add a walk in shower in addition to the tub or should we keep the little bathroom in the master and just update it a bit. It needs updating anyway.
We can't really expand the master bath because then we'd be losing valuable closet space in the master bedroom.
Thanks, and looking forward to any input provided.
Last edited by elliedeee; 06-12-2017 at 09:43 AM..
....would buyers rather have one huge bath shared by 3 bedrooms
should we keep the little bathroom in the master and just update it a bit. It needs updating anyway.
Unless there is some pressing need to rebuild the bathrooms... leave it all the way it is.
As to "updating" (whatever that is supposed to mean)... I'll say no as well.
Buyers of basic starter homes like yours will either accept them as is the same as you did
or they'll remodel the property to suit themselves. There's no percentage in trying to guess
which type will make an offer let alone spending for more than clean & paint level work.
Unless there is some pressing need to rebuild the bathrooms... leave it all the way it is.
As to "updating" (whatever that is supposed to mean)... I'll say no as well.
Buyers of basic starter homes like yours will either accept them as is the same as you did
or they'll remodel the property to suit themselves. There's no percentage in trying to guess
which type will make an offer let alone spending for more than clean & paint level work.
Thanks for your opinion. You're probably right about any new buyer remodeling it to suit themselves. We did it when we bought. The baths don't really need major updating.. just paint and new towel holders.. I was mainly concerned about having a small bath in the master, or taking it out.
I'm curious about your use of the word basic starter home. I wish it was, I'd stay here but it's not unfortunately. It's in a high priced neighborhood in New York. I've got almost 3,000 square feet of house, garage, work out room and pretty large property with an inground pool. I'm not going to get those first time home buyers because they usually can't afford it. Houses around here sell in the 700k mark.
The OP is facing a situation that is NOT UNCOMMON at all in higher priced areas -- the sorts of things that were once "standard" in their area are now badly out of step with the TRENDS shown on TV shows and in magazines. To make matters worse many younger buyers are coming out of SUPER NICE condos or rentals. Heck, some may even had COLLEGE DORMS that were all tricked out with private baths and other things that a few years ago only were part of LUXURy developments!
To attempt to combine the master bath with the other bath serving the bedrooms is TERRIBLE IDEA THAT WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY not appeal to any buyers. It would be SUPER RISKY TO DO THAT! I would strongly recommend against any such change. Fact is even though the house might compare to others around $700k it is very likely there are wide range of homes that have been updated in various ways including expansion. It is also very likely that some homes in such an area have been TORN DOWN and that too results in very different mix of potential buyers.
This is very much a situation where the OP has to be extremely smart to make the existing home look as good as possible to as many buyers as possible -- that means make sure the place is SPOTLESSLY CLEAN, do any sort of little "repairs" that make anything long "worn", water the lawn and freshen up the flowers so that the place has great CURB APPEAL and then PRICE IT TO APPEAL to smart buyers. Do not do anything that would make the home overly personalized -- you have no idea if the buyer has tiny kids that will need mom and dad to help them learn how to use the toilet or teenagers that would DIE at the thought of sharing the same sink and toilet as mom & dad or maybe a childless couple that is going to redo the whole house or a builder that has all kinds of expansion plans...
The specific changes that other may have made with a similar "high ranch" are probably not worth worrying about -- the fact is any place that has STEPS is not going to appeal to the same sort of buyer that wants / need a single story home. In a weird way the "high ranch" is the hardest house to really predict who the buyer will be as there are some folks who see this as fun sort of "retro" project while others of about the same age that maybe grew up in a part of the country where such homes were not common has no clue as how to best use the space.
There are also lots of good ways to minimize any other concerns that MIGHT come up with this sort of home including going the extra mile to be sure that any part of the home that is below grade is as LIGHT AND BRIGHT as possible with no worries about seepage or mustiness. That would typically include the GARAGE that it often on the lower level and one of the areas that might "show its age" if has not been well maintained. In upscale areas it might make sense to put a bit of effort into making sure the garages looks like the kind of place a successful young family can feel good about parking luxury imported vehicles and not just a place for a leaky lawnmower...
Similarly if there is a deck that would benefit from some sprucing up the investment of time / money that it takes to make this a FEATURE instead of a worry is far more valuable than trying to turn the small bath meant as nice accommodation for mom & dad in a different era is a smarter use of resources than fruitless effort to cram a "spa bath" into a home that nobody should expect such a thing...
Chet, first of all thank you for understanding. This home was built in the 80s. We've been here since '99 and when we first moved in my kids didn't even have access to buses to get them to school. We were out in the 'country' part.. Now it's all built up and house prices are outrageous. When my knees were good I loved living here, but now as I age I can't take running up and down the stairs anymore.. which is what concerns me about selling. The younger buyers probably don't have enough down payment for a house like this, and the older ones who can afford it probably don't want stairs either.
Fortunately the main living area's are very large and mostly open to each other which I think judging from HGtv is what's popular now. There's original hardwood flooring in every room and we recently had that sanded and stained. We had a new kitchen put in as we still had the original which was showing it's age to put it mildly. We have a full finished dry basement.. The garage.. heh.. we can't even get our SUV in there.
It's also a legal 2 family with an apartment on the side so I'm hoping our home may appeal to someone who needs that added income, or as a mother/daughter type home. Our family room and the apartment is just separated by a wall that we actually took down so we could use the apartment kitchen while we redid the upper floors. It's still open.. Not sure whether to close it back up or not unless buyer wants us to.
We can do curb appeal..
Deck.. ugh.. Most of our 170ft. wide yard is layered deck. But, we'll work on that.
The front of our house is a nice brownish brick color but the sides and back are those asbesto's things.. The color is what I jokingly refer to as baby poo mustard color. It's ugly..
Do you think we should we repaint the house? I don't think it's ever been painted.
You joke that you can't get your SUV in the garage but in all honestly putting effort into cleaning that out and getting ready to move is the cheapest and most effective way to start down the path of seriously taking on the challenge of really selling -- it will pay off with a MUCH faster sale and easier move when you close. Buyers are spoked by anything that looks like a hoarder...
I doubt any home built in the 1980s has asbestos siding, if it does that would probably be worth replacing pronto. More likely it is a variant on the Masonite style siding, might be worth getting estimates to have that removed and replaced with appropriate vapor barrier, exterior grade plywood, exterior foam insulation and vinyl siding. That assumes that builders would not be interesting in tearing down or expanding your home...
Depending on how much of the back / sides are visible maybe a simple paint job in more up-to-date shades is worth it, color trends are tricky if you have brick that is going to determine what matches vs what clashes/
Given that you have a legal two family home it would make sense for your to investigate how strong the rental market is in your area and maybe put the home back into a configuration where a rental unit is viable option.
Final suggestion - sign up with Redfin or similar service to get notifications when homes in your area come on the market and/or sell -- that is among the best ways to get a good sense for what is selling and how long it takes for homes in your area to find buyers. The general sense is that IF buyers are making offers in 30 days or less that is sign of strong demand but if the kinds of houses that are most popular are dramatically different than your (either older and more charming OR newer and more updated) that means you'll need to work extra hard to maximize the appeal your has.
You joke that you can't get your SUV in the garage but in all honestly putting effort into cleaning that out and getting ready to move is the cheapest and most effective way to start down the path of seriously taking on the challenge of really selling -- it will pay off with a MUCH faster sale and easier move when you close. Buyers are spoked by anything that looks like a hoarder...
I doubt any home built in the 1980s has asbestos siding, if it does that would probably be worth replacing pronto. More likely it is a variant on the Masonite style siding, might be worth getting estimates to have that removed and replaced with appropriate vapor barrier, exterior grade plywood, exterior foam insulation and vinyl siding. That assumes that builders would not be interesting in tearing down or expanding your home...
Depending on how much of the back / sides are visible maybe a simple paint job in more up-to-date shades is worth it, color trends are tricky if you have brick that is going to determine what matches vs what clashes/
Given that you have a legal two family home it would make sense for your to investigate how strong the rental market is in your area and maybe put the home back into a configuration where a rental unit is viable option.
Final suggestion - sign up with Redfin or similar service to get notifications when homes in your area come on the market and/or sell -- that is among the best ways to get a good sense for what is selling and how long it takes for homes in your area to find buyers. The general sense is that IF buyers are making offers in 30 days or less that is sign of strong demand but if the kinds of houses that are most popular are dramatically different than your (either older and more charming OR newer and more updated) that means you'll need to work extra hard to maximize the appeal your has.
Okay, maybe the siding isn't asbestos, but I couldn't think of the correct terminology for what those things are. Shakes? I don't know..
The garage is more of a workshop, work bench, filled with tools.. I'll have to get after hubby for that.
I did sign up on Redfin, Zillow and other places for when a similar home, or any home in my area comes on the market and so far there are 2... both priced much higher than I would expect. I'm keeping an eye on them though.
Thanks for all your suggestions! The deck is going to be the most expensive but it's really got to get done anyway whether I sell or stay.
and thank you mods or whomever for fixing the rep button.
You'd be surprised how many high priced homes do not have luxurious bathrooms. I think a master bath is important. You don't want to be trying to sell a 3 bedroom one bath (with a powder room) house. Small master bath is better than no master bath.
If the master bath is a worry to you, if wouldn't cost much to put in a stone tile floor and upgraded fixtures to dress it up just a little. You are only putting tile into a small space.
You'd be surprised how many high priced homes do not have luxurious bathrooms. I think a master bath is important. You don't want to be trying to sell a 3 bedroom one bath (with a powder room) house. Small master bath is better than no master bath.
If the master bath is a worry to you, if wouldn't cost much to put in a stone tile floor and upgraded fixtures to dress it up just a little. You are only putting tile into a small space.
Thanks.. We have to redo that bathroom anyway because there's a small leak behind the shower so we'll update it then. I sort of thought it was better to have a bathroom in the master bedroom anyway but I just wanted to double check.
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