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Original poster

is it worth paying £15k for downstairs loo (resale issue)!

28 replies

TrulyFrumptious · 05/06/2015 16:18

Hello everyone - we live in a large 4 bedroom house that you really would expect to have a cloakroom downstairs TBH.

We intend to move in a couple of years time. Current value of house is somewhere between £700,000 and £800,000 - although I'm comparing to other houses in the area which presumably DO have downstairs cloaks. We've had a quote for £15k to put in a downstairs cloakroom off the utility room - quite a lot of money because it would involve an actual extension (no where else to put it).

Would we be better off not bothering, or would it pay dividends to invest in having this done? I know lots of people wouldn't even view a house with no downstairs facilities!

OP posts:
AngelinaCongleton · 05/06/2015 16:22

can you make the utility smaller and build a toilet within that

SunnySomer · 05/06/2015 16:23

Personally I think it's only worth making changes that you don't mind making a loss on (ie ones that you want for yourself).
We don't have any downstairs loo and managed to toilet train a child without... If you've managed without so far, I wouldn't spend 15k in the hope it will attract more buyers.

PoppyBlossom · 05/06/2015 16:24

Absolutely no other space? The utility, under the stairs?

SunnySomer · 05/06/2015 16:25

Actually following Angelina's post - do you need a utility room? Couldn't you just convert that and have the washing machine in the kitchen?

momb · 05/06/2015 16:27

Actually I would do it.
If your house is worth 750K you are looking at a 2% investment for something which is a sale block for some people.
I wouldn't buy a house without a downstairs loo. Nothing to do with potty training any more, more to do with the trail of kids/teenager's friends and trying to keep them all downstairs.

Original poster
TrulyFrumptious · 05/06/2015 16:43

thanks for replies!
There is no other place to put a toilet - understairs is no go, I don't want to lose the study, and I definitely don't want to lose the utility.

Wasn't thinking of toilet training children TBH, more a case of general convenience like momb says - I also hate having to send people upstairs if they need the loo -

momb you sound like you know what you're talking about with references to percentages and sale blocks!

would doing this work make the house worth more or just make it sell faster?

OP posts:
IvyWall · 05/06/2015 17:00

I'd do it

momb · 05/06/2015 17:11

Please don't think I know what I'm talking about; it was purely from my own perspective and I am absolutely not an estate agent!
I just thought that I wouldn't buy a house without one and given that first offers are usually up to 10% below asking price, 2% seems a small investment for something which may stop some people even looking.

0ddsocks · 05/06/2015 17:16

We have just bought a 4 bed after watching lots of houses on the market for ages, and for us with 2 kids we wouldn't even consider a house without a downstairs loo

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 05/06/2015 21:46

If I was spending that amount on a house then I'd expect a downstairs loo.

It's not just children who might find it useful. My parents are in their 70s and my dad hasn't been able to manage stairs for quite a few years. If we didn't have a downstairs loo then he couldn't come and visit.

vulgarwretch · 05/06/2015 21:50

What do you do in your utility room? Couldn't you convert it to a loo and have the washing machine in there? Our washer & dryer are in a bathroom.

Viviennemary · 05/06/2015 21:56

It does seem a lot to pay for a loo. However, if you can afford it and it will be more convenient then go for it. But if it's just to bump up your house price when you come to sell I don't think I'd bother for the time being. But I do agree with people who say that if they were spending that much on a house then they would expect a downstairs loo.

YonicScrewdriver · 05/06/2015 22:01

I have a couple of friends who have a loo in their utility room/a washing machine in their loo, depending how you look at it. Works fine.

MmeLindor · 05/06/2015 22:08

I wouldn't even consider a house without a downstairs loo, for several reasons.

  1. When we had little kids, downstairs loo was much easier than going upstairs while potty training.
  1. With guests - don't like them to traipse through the entire house
  1. I've just badly sprained my ankle, and can't walk far. It really made me appreciate having a downstairs loo, cause the first few days the stairs were really difficult.

I've got loo/utility - built in cupboard with washing machine and dryer stacked. If you can't do that, then I'd do the extension.

shakemysilliesout · 05/06/2015 22:12

I think you should have a loo in with your utilities if u love uour study. But I'd rather lose the study than have an extension.

PlainHunting · 06/06/2015 09:47

I wouldn't even consider viewing a house without a downstairs loo.

Spickle · 06/06/2015 09:52

I also wouldn't consider a house without a downstairs loo, or the potential to have one built. My mum and in-laws can't manage the stairs anymore so wouldn't be able to visit in that case.

As a compromise for re-sale issue, could you get the plans passed for the extension, so that at least potential purchasers can easily see that it is doable if this is a deal breaker to them. The EA particulars can include the fact that plans have been passed for a ground floor bathroom. And it won't cost you £15k.

BeaufortBelle · 06/06/2015 10:01

I think you need to rejig the utility. I had a loo at the end of the utility at my old house. Stud wall, door, basin, bog. If you can't do that remove a cupboard and put the loo in the utility.

I wouldn't build an extension just for downstairs loo - chances are new people might put a whopper of an extension on anyway and it will all be part of that. Is it the sort of house that needs that sort of work to provide a modern, open plan kitchen/living area?

Difficult to say if £700k to £800k means your house MUST have a downstairs loo without knowing where in the country it is. if you are in the North I'd expect the works for that; if you just outside London I would hope I could fit a loo in under the stairs.

I wouldn't contemplate a house that didn't have the capacity for a downstairs loo to be installed though and I would knock the cost of installation off your asking price unless your house was competitively priced. To go through the hassle though I'd expect some other redeeming features such as lovely road, west facing garden, convertible garage, choice of outstanding schools, etc. I never ask for much.

Walnutpie · 06/06/2015 10:21

I couldn't care less about a downstairs loo. And there are lots of people like me. Actually I don't want an extra loo to clean, and particularly not one that, because it's so convenient, gets used by visitors and workmen etc. no, Thankyou.

Apatite1 · 06/06/2015 10:25

I wouldn't consider a house without a downstairs loo. We have disabled relatives who can't manage the stairs.

AuntOlive · 06/06/2015 10:36

15k sounds a lot for small extension.

Can you get other quotes?

It sounds like a large property, could you not pinch a bit of space from another room anywhere on ground floor? If plumbing is tricky you can have macerated loo which can use normal size plumbing pipes.

I think downstairs loo would be expected/ welcomed, especially in larger properties.

bilbodog · 06/06/2015 10:48

I agree with everyone else that there must be some way you could get the loo in the utility room? Sounds like a lot of hassle to build an extension just for it. In terms of onward selling I would say that if you sell very soon after you have done it you probably wont get any extra for the house because of it but if everyone else in the area has one and you don't it will help you sell more quickly. Can you post a floorplan of your house so we can all have a look in case we can come up with another idea?

ToBeeOrNot · 06/06/2015 10:51

I don't think you'd get the value of the extension back in the sale price, so I wouldn't look to do it just to sell.

You say you don't want to sacrifice the study, but another purchaser might appreciate getting a slightly cheaper house and would be prepared to sacrifice the study.

When we looked at houses we saw a lot where there had been work done specifically to sell and it put us off tbh. Thinking the vendors would be trying to recoup the costs but it having no value to us because it wasn't what we wanted/liked.

PrincessOfChina · 06/06/2015 11:55

If it's costing that much I would have it made as a wet room and have a shower in there too.

Or I would just have a toilet installed in the utility.

YonicScrewdriver · 06/06/2015 11:59

Me too Princess