3 beds and 2 baths or 4 beds?

[avivabeaver]

i am looking to sort out a relatives house to sell. they tried to sell it a few years ago but no takers at all. they now need to sell to buy a flat due to mobility issues

it is currently a 4 bed. previous owners cut through an upstairs bedroom to tack another on the back. This leaves one the bedrooms smallish (think maybe 8 by 7) and with a small, rectangular window ( about 12 inches by 36) up next to the ceiling. The real problem is the bathroom. It is tiny and built into the eaves at the front of the house. I think that this is original. It originally had a bath, with lowering head room into the eaves , with a sink and toilet. They replaced this with a shower cubicle, which makes it look even smaller.

The house is in a lovely street, in a nice part of Herts, on a decent size plot. Ideal for families. Would it make more sense to make the smallest bedroom into a decent and proper bathroom and change it to a nice 3 bedroom semi with bathroom and seperate shower room? I think that this would push it up to the top of the price bracket for a 3 bedroom semi, rather than the bottom for a 4 bed.

Having to post and run but will check back later for views. Many thanks.

I think that is a good idea. It's got to be easier to sell a well laid out 3 bed than a tricky 4 bed.

I would rather have 3 good bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, than a squeezed in 4th bedroom.

I would however make sure that the cost of the work and jumping down into the 3 bed bracket works out. You might end up in the same financial position (or worse) than staying as it is in the low end of the 4 bed bracket.

yes - if it's an older person's house it might possibly be bit of a doer-upper anyway, if it's in a popular family area? If that's the case it might make sense to let whoever buys it do the work. You might lose a bit in the sale but save yourself loads of hassle and expense.

thanks for your responses.

it is most certainly a doer upper. The problem is last time it went on the market, there was no interest what so ever. One view, and people were never seen again- price lowered and still nothing.

it would be relatively simple to do an extra bathroom as it is directly next to the existing one so plumbing etc would be ok.

Has the market picked up in Herts? Wonder if it might be worth doing a basic paint job in the whole house, replace with cheap carpet and see what happens.

I'm in Herts, and I would say that it totally depends on location. Places near good schools round us seem to be snapped up really quickly. Also, houses near train stations for commuters into London. I'm sure the markets in St Albans and Hatfield, Stevenage and Knebworth are all different.

Around us, doer upers and those in pristine condition seem to go quickly, while those in the middle (average condition) tend to hang around. I've seen houses that need gutting going for not that much less than the neighbour's house that has already been done up. But this is in a desirable area.

There're a lot of cash buyers near us, who are waiting in rented for the ideal house to come on the market. Generally, it's the same few buyers and they are quite picky. If a good house comes on the market, it's usually sale agreed within the month. Otherwise, they seem to hang around. When one at the bottom of the chain goes under offer, you can then see the wave that goes up the chain around the village.

I'm not sure it'd be worth putting in carpet etc, if it needs a new kitchen and bathroom, say.

IMO I would either leave it as it is, clearly a dooer upper and focus on getting the marketing right. Or I would develop the full house.

I have bought a lot of houses and one of the things that makes me itchy when I'm buying a house is a half a job. I think why have they started work and then stopped? What did they come accross that made them give up? What are they trying to cover up?

Obviously there is often a very legitimate explination such as your situatuion, but that is what I think.

You could contact a builder and get prices and plans for the bathroom, well all work that could be done if you were going to develop, and include that in the sales bumf. Sometimes people can't see past whats there or are terrified of the cost. This might make it easier for those people to get their head around.

yes, a half done up one is really off putting. No -one wants to pay for beige carpet they're going to have to rip out anyway if the layout's duff. If it was me I think I'd do as oreo says. The market's different now anyway - in some popular areas it's really moving, especially family areas commutable to London. I think I'd have a go and market it as a doer upper and see what happens.

Its in Tring- if there are any local people that could give an insight?

I see where you are coming from about half doing up a house- but it is really dire at the moment-apart from new windows- its much worse inside rather than out- maybe that is the problem- people look from the kerb and think it looks ok and then are put off by the unexpectedly dire interior!

I don't know Tring. But if it is really dire, putting in new carpets and painting will just put people off, if they are going to have to do major work. The carpets and paint would just be ruined.

Did the estate agents market it as a refurbishment job? Lots of people are attracted to this, if the price is right.

I know Tring albeit I'm not sure how the market is there at the moment. If it's near the station though, a family sized doer upper should be snapped up as they tend to be few and far between. How was it priced previously? If priced as a 4 bed, how about re-launching it now priced as a 3 bed? If that's what you might be doing anyway after adding a bathroom, you might find you can sell on that basis but without doing the work (which people looking for a project won't necessarily appreciate anyway). People are likely to be pleasantly surprised by the space if viewing it as a 3 bed with en-suite/fourth bedroom potential, whereas viewing it as a 4 bed and realising the fairly cramped reality could really put people off.

Oreo and suburb both make good points. You have to show people the potential. Some people looking for a house that needs work can see through that, but not all. Having some costs might also help expand the number of people interested. It doesn't sound like a proper 4th bedroom either - the window's too high isn't it?

But maybe people would like to do their own bathroom planning. Re-doing the dividing wall as a dog leg rather than straight could work quite well - giving you a shower alcove in one for example?

No viewers suggest that people thought it was overpriced. Lots of people are looking for a do-er upper but the sums have to work.

I have spotted a do-er upper in our search area and its price is bonkers high. Yes it is a lot less than the next door house on sale but it would cost more and give me lots of stress/work to get it to an equivalent standard. I might as well buy the done up house and save myself a year or more of work.

I think offering it as a 3 bed do-er upper is probably the best bet. Also check rightmove to see where you are pitched compared to similar properties and/or view competitors.