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Hi. I have a small bathroom and a dilemma. This needs to be remodeled bc it's from the 50s with olive bathtub and pink tiles on the wall. I am remodeling bathroom and kitchen to sell the house.
Given the fact the house is small, but located in an excellent school district I think my potential buyers would be young couple with small children or professional couple with no kids. My contractor says I should get rid of the tub and put in a fancy shower. If I take the tub out would I lose people with small kids?The house has only other powder room (it is 1300sq ft) and 1 1/2 baths, this being the master bathroom.
While both of those look nice, they both look a little too expensive for you to be spending money on simply to sell the house. (This of course comes without knowing anything in regards to pricing in your area)
I would not spend that kind of money on a bathroom I was not going to use but I would not change the bathroom just because I was selling the house either.
You may like those styles but the buyer may not.
Personally I would not purchase a home with the colors used in the second photo and the first one is iffy at best for me.
My thought is that even if no one in the home currently uses a bathtub, every house needs at least one tub, primarily for the reason you mentioned. The first photo is really nice, a tub with frameless gliding shower doors. There are also some adults who want or need a tub for themselves.
When it comes to resale- you want to garner as big a potential group as possible. Eliminating the only tub in the house would be foolish. And remodeling to "just sell" is a slippery slope- as previously mentioned; what you ultimately do may please YOU but not that large group of potential buyers.
If you want to "spruce it up" for selling- reglaze the tub white, paint the tile on the wall, then paint the rest of the walls a coordinating color and call it a day. At least this route will get you a 100% return on your money. What you're proposing will yield about 78%-85%.
You don't have a dilemma- what you have/don't have is a good RE agent.
When it comes to resale- you want to garner as big a potential group as possible. Eliminating the only tub in the house would be foolish. And remodeling to "just sell" is a slippery slope- as previously mentioned; what you ultimately do may please YOU but not that large group of potential buyers.
If you want to "spruce it up" for selling- reglaze the tub white, paint the tile on the wall, then paint the rest of the walls a coordinating color and call it a day. At least this route will get you a 100% return on your money. What you're proposing will yield about 78%-85%.
You don't have a dilemma- what you have/don't have is a good RE agent.
Bingo. Quick changes for resale are about bang-for-your-buck, NOT purely about how much the house can sell for.
Simply put: Let's say your house as-is would sell for $50, but you think it could sell for $65 with the kind of bathrooms you pictured. But it costs $12 to do the bathroom renovation. So now you think you can sell your house for $65 but spent $12 on it. You only stand to clear $3 beyond the current condition IF it sells where you think it would and you also just spent $12. Now, maybe there is a simple fix. Re-glazing, or just replacing the tub, doing some minor painting etc. It may not look nearly as nice as a fully renovated bathroom, but maybe it only costs you $5 and with this small change you may sell the house for $55 to $60. Sure it's not $65, but you aren't tying up a ton of your money and your NET outcome may be the same or better.
Obviously that is an over-simplified example, but too often I see people spend $15k on a kitchen update, to only break even (or worse fall short), but they were fixated on the asking price, not the true net of the sale.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Kids or not, you may be surprised to see how many people will pass up a home with no tub. Even adults like a relaxing soak once in a while, and may need a tub after a strenuous day to help with muscular aches. The best situation for selling is a tub and stall shower but without the room I would at least keep a tub. I would suggest getting advice from a realtor, rather than a contractor on this issue.
Thanks. I got a realtor with 30 years of experience in the neighborhood and I'll meet her on Sat. Of course I'll follow whatever advice she has for me nut I was just wandering what people thought about bathtub or not bathtub.
You confirmed my thoughts. Bathtub it is.
I wish I didn't have a tub, to me the second scenario would fit my needs as of today, but young families do need one, and when my boys were young we did....
other than having children for the use of the tub, not many adults really ever have time to soak in a tub, so that I wouldn't worry about. I haven't soaked in a tub in 20 years. Id like to once and a while, but to me it is too much of a bother, so i just never do.
personally, i would never re model anything to re sell, I rather the price reflect it. There is no way you would know, or are supposed to know what the next family will need. to me it would be an unwanted expense and bother.
I say, clean everything, (obviously)......then list.
see what your realtor says, as everyones location calls for something different.
Apparently you don't watch enough HGTV - never thought I'd say that! Kids need tubs.
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