Home renovation, what do you think? (houses, neighborhood, construction)

[JerseyBean]

So we have a 5 bed 2 bath house. Our Master Bedroom is in that of the upstairs/attic type room. No master bath. We have 3 beds upstairs and one full bath and 2 beds downstairs with one full bath.

We were thinking of utilizing our two downstairs bedrooms into one master bedroom with a master bath and decent size closet. And then adding a half bath downstairs. So in the end, we would have 3 bedrooms upstairs with one full bath and 1 master bed downstairs with master bath and another half bath downstairs.

Do you think this would increase my home value by undergoing this project? It would then be a 4 bed 2.5 bath house with the master bed on the first level and remaining beds on second level.

I am trying to decide if I should do it or not....any thoughts?

[BobKovacs]

Depends on what's in the area as comps. If you've got the only 5/2, and everyone else has 4/2.5's, you're probably at a disadvantage, since many people want the elaborate master bath more than they want/need 5 bedrooms. Also, do you have enough family/living/den spaces that someone wouldn't need to use the 5th bedroom as an office/den? It's tough to really comment fully without seeing the overall house layout and knowing what else is in the neighborhood.

[Irish Eyes]

I can tell you our experience looking at houses. We're hoping to start a family so that set up wouldn't work for us. We saw a lot of houses like that and, for us, it would just be too awkward to not have the rooms on the same floor. What is the rest of the neighborhood like? Who would typically be looking in your area? It seems like that would be nice for someone with older children.

[findinghope]

Originally Posted by Irish Eyes

I can tell you our experience looking at houses. We're hoping to start a family so that set up wouldn't work for us. We saw a lot of houses like that and, for us, it would just be too awkward to not have the rooms on the same floor. What is the rest of the neighborhood like? Who would typically be looking in your area? It seems like that would be nice for someone with older children.

this is true, we have a small child and want to be close to him at night, so we opted for a home with all the bedrooms on the same floor.
with that said, there are families who like having the master down and the others up.
my parents home is this way, and when we moved in pre teen yrs, it was greay having the upstairs to ourselves, while my parents had privacy downstairs. dont worry about resale--you will find a family perfect for your set up.
i say go for it and make yourself a beautiful retreat.

[findinghope]

another good thing about the setup you are looking to do: if you have guests, you can give them th master and gve them privacy, let them be near the kitchen nd they dont have to go upstairs in your "private area" of your home.

[tahiti]

i really think it depends on the cost. while i don't think you'll "add" value to the house, i don't think you'll lose either. it seems to be neutral to me.

if you'll get enjoyment out of it and plan on staying in your home a long time, *and* the price isn't out of the stratosphere, go for it. if you're doing it mainly for increased resale, i'm not entirely sure you'll see the profit. you've seen reasons above why some people wouldn't want this setup for them.

[JerseyBean]

All valid points. Homes in the area are mainly family homes with children. I have two children as well...

I live in an area with newer construction that we would be competing against and they all have master baths ect. But the older homes in the area, most likely dont have master baths. So it is a toss up.

Still have to ponder. I wouldn't do it strictly for resale value as we are unsure as to what we want to do as far as staying here or moving. But it would be for 'our own space' as well. But like the PP stated that with the 5 bed setup, someone could make the downstairs bedrooms into another den of sorts, like they said.

Thanks for all your advise!