Lack of 2nd loo affecting sale!

[WireCatWhore]

4 bed mid terrace.
1 bathroom.
5 of us in the house. Another loo has never been an issuer/crossed my mind.
Been here nearly 13 years.

Nowadays people expect downstairs loos & an en suite as well as a family bathroom.

I am doomed not to sell.

Would you buy a house with only 1 bathroom? cries

How easy would it be to put in a second toilet?

It would put me off a bit yes, in theory then that's 5 or 6 adults sharing 1 toilet which in is in the bathroom eek I'd be standing in a permanent queue for the loo.

I would expect a family house to have more than one bathroom/toilet.
Our 3 bed has an ensuite off master and a family/guest bathroom but i would ideally like a downstairs loo for guests as my grandmother is 81 and struggles with the stairs, also with a toddler, toilet training is not easy when you have to get upstairs to use the loo (we prefer normal toilet to potty as she treats it as a toy) plus guests would have to pass DD's room up 2 flights of stairs to use the toilet- not a massive deal but can see why some people would expect an extra loo for a 4 or 5 bed family home.

I wouldn't want just one loo, particularly if that loo was in a bathroom. It was pretty much a necessity when we were looking.

Yes an extra bathroom, ensuite is a very popular improvement. To be honest if you have an understairs cupboard or similar,I would intall another loo downstairs now and if there is an obvious/inexpensive way to create an en-suite then I would point it out on viewings to give some food for thought.

Our home is similar - 4 bed mid terrace - with family bathroom upstairs but there is a downstairs loo.

For me it's a huge issue, partly as I have close relatives who struggle with stairs and also as an emetophobe there has to be a separate toilet in case of sickness.

There are only 2 of us in the house so not as if a big family! My parents have downsized to a bungalow but are putting in a separate toilet within their revamp.

Don't forget that it is in building regs now for 3 bed houses to have a downstairs (or entry level) WC so it is more expected by buyers especially if they have also viewed newer properties.

Is there anyway to put one in at least?

I'd buy a house without a second loo. Wasn't on our requirements at all. In fact places that had created en-suites at the expense of extra space were quickly struck off. The only places we viewed with downstairs loos were new builds where they're a requirement. Seeing as they were about half the size of everywhere else a downstairs toilet wasn't really a selling point.

Can you put one in under the stairs?

We live in a one bed flat, yet we have an en suite and main bathroom ( one shower, one bath). So yes I would except in a 4 bed

The new buyers could put one in.
They would have to put it under the stairs or build a porch.
The houses in my bit of the street all only have an upstairs bathroom. 2 people had added an extra loo.

I didn't know it was building regs nowadays to have a downstairs loo!

This house was built in 1976.

I'm not going to get one installed tbh unless the house really doesn't sell after 6 months or so.

Another thing I forgot to add...well just remembered.

We are house hunting.

All these extra bathrooms seem to be at the expense of bedroom sizes!

The house we like has a family bathroom upstairs. It does have a downstairs loo. All the houses with en suites have had bedrooms that a too small!

I think in a 4 bed house most people would definitely want a d/s loo and an en suite.

You could always get plans and estimates rather than doing the work yourself.

Our house only had one loo, in the upstairs bathroom, when we bought it. It was fine when I was growing up (same house), as one of a family of 5. But nowadays - seems different.

We now have loo in the utility in the basement (we installed) and in first floor bathroom and in our bathroom in the converted loft.

Even having the loo in the cellar is a pain sometimes - am potty training dc3 and don't really want rushing down the stairs.

Potty trained all 3 of mine with just the upstairs loo.

I guess you don't miss what you don't have!

We are looking for a house and 2 bathrooms (or space and money to put one in) is on the essential list, I think they are fairly standard in 3+ bed houses now, even older ones.

We only have one loo, although it's separate from the bathroom. Ideally we'd put one in downstairs, but can't afford to at the mo. I think properties are priced accordingly, so it may be that it will affect your sale unless you drop your asking price. Which would cost you less - dropping the asking price, or putting in a loo?

I think for a four bedroomed house you'd definitely expect more than one loo.

(I have a one loo for each bum in the house rule )

I think it's certainly an asset to have a downstairs toilet - more so than an en-suite. I think you are right about what you've not had you've never missed, but equally that comes with, once you've had one, you'd never go back!

karbea's suggestion of getting plans/cost estimates is a good one. IME people think in terms of round thousands when looking at work which needs doing. If you can show that it wouldnt be too expensive then that might help people to see it as possible.

Also, clear out the understairs area so that the size of the space can be seen. People arent going to be able to visualise a downstairs loo if mentally they are trying to squeeze it in between the hoover and the national welly collection.

I think I'll sort out plans/estimate for downstairs loo.

Estate agent just called.

Parking is also putting people off.

Fuckers across the way have 4 cars. 3 hardly driven & none parked in or by their garage.

Bugger. Fuck.

That's very annoying. We were fuming when told that a disabled parking space outside our house would have to go through full planning permission when the guy opposite had had a huge mobile home on bricks out on the street for over five years taking up three parking spaces with absolutely no need for permission at all.

We would have liked an en-suite but compromises have to be made. We've just installed a shower downstairs in our utility room which is great, and something we were prepared to do. But so many houses here have downstairs loos (Victorian houses-loo under the stairs/back extensions) that the ones that didn't stood out. A costed estimate for installing one would have reconciled me slightly to the lack of one if I loved the house otherwise.

Really Stiffy?
But it wasn't roadworthy if on bricks/

I know. But he had big signs on his window saying that he was sick of being reported to the council, that he was appropriately taxed and there was no reason why it shouldn't be there. So I never got round to finding out if that was true.

God, that would have infuriated me.
I would have been onto the council in a second.
I always feel sorry for people living where their light and views are ruined by some idiot's caravan/campervan. So selfish.

I always meant to find out but there were always more pressing issues, and the council is a nightmare of misinformation anyway. Now we have a driveway. Bliss.

Slightly off topics, but regarding new builds, ridiculous lack of space to claim there is X amount of bedrooms/baths/ensuites on the spec. 4 bedrooms, yup - and only one big enough to sleep in usually