Change bathroom before selling or not?

[Penguinpandarabbit]

We moved out of our house which is close to London and have already moved to a different area. We want to sell (or failing that rent out) our old house. It's a Victorian house, value around £650k.

Rest of house will be in good condition, replacing flooring and doing some painting, really nice kitchen and living area. Bathroom is small and there's just one. It's a white suite with light green/grey swirly tiles which I hate and to me look dated but they are tiles you don't notice that much.

I think we need to replace bathroom and DH doesn't. I am happy to find a cheaper solution but not if it will make house not sell. We can compromise on price but want to sell. Houses like ours in good condition seem to be selling but couple of houses on market requiring renovation seem to be sticking, however, they also appear way overpriced too and one is modern, one the location isn't great and is 2 bed.

Issues with current bathroom are no shower over bath, bath panel is broken, tiles are dated though fairly non-descript, there is mold on tiles and underneath shower screen which doesn't come off easily. This is due to poor ventilation. Bathroom is small so even done up its not going to be the selling point of the house. Flooring is old vinyl. Toilet is new. Suite is white but bath is jacuzzi bath, the jacuzzi bit doesn't work and the silver button silver is coming off. Not sure when suite was installed - between 10 and 20 years ago. EA hasn't been round but said to DH not just to leave the bathroom and do everything else either do everything in house or nothing. We are doing everything else but DH has translated this to the EA agrees with me that we don't need to do the bathroom when actually I think EA thinks we do.

Any views / ideas on how to do this? Thanks very much. DH has agreed we need to get mold off but that's all we've agreed on - I am not sure its possible.

Why don't you get it on the market first and see what interest you get? If you don't get any reasonable offers or the feedback includes sorting the bathroom then look at getting it done?

If you did replace it would the cost be covered by an increase in valuation?

Thanks very much. I think we would get our money back and would be easier to sell, think DH doesn't want to spend the money though - we are running down savings with two properties. He says he is going to try and get mould / mildew off though I tried and it won't come off grouting. One option is to regrout and put new sealant in and clean tiles.

DH is on about painting tiles but not convinced on that. If he can get the currant tiles looking perfect then we can keep them I guess. He has now agreed we need new bath, shower over it and sink and flooring and will see how he gets on with his cleaning. 😂 He rarely cleans and his last cleaning attempt was with vinegar which cleaned nothing and place stank for days.

He is also planning on getting EA opinion and also got friend whose a plumber who can come round. I would half just like to put it on the market though and EA is keen and good time of year so is an option.

I don't think you've got anything to lose getting it straight on the market, you may get an acceptable offer without needing to do very much work, win!

I sold my house last year, admittedly it was nowhere near in value to yours, I thought it needed new carpets and new internal doors to make it saleable but I was advised by several estate agents not to bother. They even advised against cleaning the carpets.

You'd be surprised what some buyers will miss if they fall in love with the house!

Oh, and grout pens are a quick cheat to cover mould

Thanks very much.

I would love to just put it on - fed up with it now. I had a flat before and 3 EA told me not to bother with work - took over a year to sell so I still have nightmares from that Though possibly if it had been priced lower it would have sold - I went with middle of 3. Now I've worked out you are better to go with the low valuations and get people interested. Could well be if we price it right someone will do bathroom. I would have done but then I took on a complete renovation job with a 2 and 3 year old so not the sanest of buyers

In some way makes sense to leave bathroom as room next to it - what EA calls the fourth bedroom but isn't big enough to swing a cat could be added to it to make a bigger bathroom.

Just looked into grout pens - looks worth a try. This one from Sainsburys says you should always read the label before consuming the product. Do people really consume grout pens?

www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/gb/groceries/unibond-grout-reviver-pen-triple-protect-7ml-127111218-p?langId=44&gclid=COfFobnU-OACFQuUGwodu8IEmw&storeId=10151&krypto=kK5fcLNX43w%2FYsAqCj5auOgEoPicoXQbRpvLIKR4MaYXKXVRrPBFgfbg%2F9Vf3BnjXtDryuF2vy49bP%2FLdc7mp02%2F%2BB0tb7dXdemrcLG0cWaL5%2BMbdMZ%2FB9PnJ2tBXwp%2BEAd1Im9737zrXGsrKuOfYMTwTpJK0VOp2ahssYS1G5K%2FR%2BZ1eL%2BE%2BliELxmOOb8wftxHDkcFc4%2BX%2B63pAq6HCOseTj%2BUWUHhEMiurlZeF99yUhuPdCEPa%2Bx5xFsRzKBw3UnsB5V0UxAcsPFfsag9mQhGDmm7glCK%2Bca%2F9RqOJGw%3D&ddkey=https%3Agb%2Fgroceries%2Funibond-grout-reviver-pen-triple-protect-7ml-127111218-p

Haha I can categorically say that I haven't consumed a grout pen. There is no accounting for stupid sometimes though!

Price it sensibly and I'm sure it'll sell without needing major work. Plus whatever you do may not to be everyone else's taste, so a buyer could just come along and want to change it all anyway.

But also my advice could be a load of rubbish! I hope you manage to sort it either way though.

Thanks very much. Think we might well try that or we will never finish or finish in September when its a rubbish time to put on market.

Just ordered some grout cleaner and pen etc but will only consume after reading label! Always fancied a grout pen for tea.

Why would anyone buy your house if someone else is selling with a lovely bathroom? If bathrooms are shabby, it makes me think the owners have not looked after the property. The EA won’t photograph it and that will look suspicious on the web advertising. You will have to expect a reduction in price when someone sees it needs work. Or they won’t bother looking at all. It also seems you are really 3 beds but I guess you want to advertise as 4. That’s another problem to a buyer if there is only one bathroom, 3 bedrooms and a storage room which should be a bathroom extension. But the buyer has to do the hard work and lose the 4th bedroom. Doesn't sound like a great selling point to me.

I don't mind whether we sell as 3 or 4 beds - will leave that to EA. The 4th bedroom does fit a single bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers in and previous owners used as a bedroom as they had 3 kids.

The houses with the better bathrooms were on for £700k and sold fairly quickly so quite a price difference - we would go on around £625k as is - the £700k ones are very similar but one big bathroom and one ensuite, we are better in other parts like kitchen and living rooms and top bedroom. Think it depends how many kids you have what you would do - if I had 3 I would put 3rd child in 4th bedroom and add ensuite upstairs or bathroom downstairs. With 2 I might leave as is or extend. I think its more likely to sell with bathroom done.

4th bedroom is around 11 foot by 6 foot. We had it set up as a bedroom but only the cat slept there. I think its too small but DD said some friends had even smaller rooms.

Surely just looking at the numbers shoes it's worth doing the bathroom before you put the house on the market? You're not going to be able to get £700k without an ensuite but an ensuite alone doesn't equate to £75k. Replace the bathroom.

When we sold our last house we'd had the bathroom replaced about a year before. As the kitchen really needed replacing too (in fact the buyers knocked through to the dining room) it would have been harder to shift with both needing work.

Shows not shoes

We've sold in October and November in the past - there's less competition ime, but a well presented house priced correctly will still sell.

Thanks - yes I think we would get more than our money back - the price difference is as others at £700k have 2 bathrooms - one large and one small ensuite and we just have one small which needs replacing but the price difference is a lot less than £75k. EA hasn't been inside our house yet so will need to get his views those are just my guesses on values.

EA was outside our house the other day and DH asked him - we bought via him - he tends to price low but get things sold quickly. He said would need to look inside but said the house next door (its a semi) sold for £630k 3 years ago. He said market is still good in our area though not sure -I checked and prices were falling but new figures are now out showing prices are rising over last 3 months and last 12 months. Next door now at £700k. However, next door was perfect when sold. EA said ours is bigger than next door but think its same size. We have single storey extension at rear, they have two storey half width.

EA said they have people looking for work to do and people wanting perfect and do nothing or do everything. We are doing things like putting in replacement flooring where worn pretty much everywhere thanks cat! repainting where needed, tidying up garden.

We bought our house two years ago and the bathrooms were ghastly. We factored that in to our offer and had them, and downstairs look, done to our taste. I am glad the previous owner didn't change them to be honest, as judging by the decor in the rest of the house we probably wouldn't have liked them.

Fix the bath panel, clean the tiles, regrout if necessary, change the bath tap and put the showerhead up on the wall, fit a shower curtain around the bath and change the vinyl.

11 foot by 6 foot? Of course that's a bedroom. Especially a 4th bedroom. It would make a great study or be fine for a child's bedroom.

I think you should do exactly what forgiveness says. If you do the bathroom, use tiles that look expensive, not Wickes value ones. I hate it when people refurbish very cheaply to sell.

It's very possible that location, school catchment and/or your lovely kitchen will sell the house anyway.

Thanks very much. The bedroom has a chimney breast in it so in places is 5 foot wide but it could be used as a single bedroom and families with 3 kids and a not unlimited budget may well prefer that to a big bathroom. About 40% of families have 3 kids and almost all the houses sell to families.

I think renovating it is a sensible option to consider if can get tiles and grouting back to perfect. I have bought some industrial strength cleaner which may kill DH which hopefully will make them back to what they should be. They wouldn't be my choice in tiles but they are quite bland. I also like doing bathrooms and kitchens and having them the way I want them. There are quite a few selling points - period, 0.25 miles to tube which is 30 mins from Canary Wharf and City, good private and state schools, on one of the best streets, views going several miles into London, 0.2 miles from Waitrose and 0.1 miles from forest and playground, large kitchen which is well done, living room is very large with Victorian fireplace and bay window.

Don't forget that the extra £1000s you could make if there is nothing that needs doing in your house when it sells translate to relatively little for the EA in terms of commission so they'll probably just want to market it as soon as possible. If you want to maximise what you make out of it then do the work.

That's my thinking Wow but DH seems to believe EA more than me. DH said EA was almost stalking him to put house on market so he is keen. Though a bit worried market could turn soon in a big way, depends what happens with Brexit. Atm its flat in that area and OK for sales but you do see a fair few reducing.

DH hates spending money but will normally go along with what I want in the end. Trouble is I vary myself from it would be better to I just want it sold asap and will reduce price.

Don't do it OP. My sister insisted that we needed to change the bathroom in my Dad's house before selling it. We replaced the suite, but didn't get a higher offer for the house because of it. Went past the house a few months after it sold, saw the bathroom suite in the skip outside!

My mum's neighbour put in a new kitchen and bathroom before they sold their house. New neighbours replaced them both as they weren't to their taste.

If I were you I'd put it on the market and see how it goes. Get feedback from viewings from the estate agent, and if lots of people are put off by the bathroom, then consider changing it.

Thanks very much. That must have been very frustrating to see it in a skip and its wasteful too.

If I do it I am keeping it fairly neutral and traditional Victorian which is in keeping with rest of house and its age but still possible someone else won't like it so will chuck it out.

I replaced a carpet which our buyers promptly took up - I really didn't care as it did the job and made the house more saleable.

I would put it on and see what happens. Why spend £5k if you dont have to?

OP, my view would be that if you wouldn't be embarrassed to have guests use the bathroom suite as is, then it doesn't need fixing. Sort the mould as best as you can and fix the bath panel.

I agree with the statements above that some people love to change and fix things and others want to do nothing. There will be a buyer for your property! It sounds lovely from the description.

We bought not too long ago - decor not to our taste as quite classical and dated. But nothing that would offend. We have spent our time on rest of property and left bathroom alone as there is nothing offensive about it. Currently at bottom of list to fix.

I'd go to market and if you don't like what you hear in the first 2 weeks, put plan b into action. Nothing says that you need to sell first time round.