No bathroom upstairs ...

[666onmyhead]

So, my friend and I are discussing this.....

She has a picturesque cottage in a lovely village, with three upstairs bedrooms and one downstairs master suite ( both bath and shower in ensuite ) the main bathroom is at the bottom of the stairs. ( just has a freestanding bath, loo and basin )

There is a shower room at the other end of the house near to a gym area.

She's looking to put this cottage up for sale....

Should she :
A. Lose a bedroom to install a full bathroom upstairs?
B. Put a small loo and basin on the landing at top of stairs ( no room for a shower too, sadly )
C. Build an extension to add an ensuite and bathroom upstairs ( over an existing single level extension)
D. Just get drawings and planing for C but don't actually do it.
E. Add a shower to main bathroom ( there is room )
F. Just put it on the market as is .

It's a beautifully decorated and characterful home in a sort after village.

I really think anyone who views it will love it, but the lack of upstairs bathroom is a bit of a 'thing' for lots of people isn't it ?

What should she do, wise Mumsnetters.

Thanks for reading!

Most terraced house in my area all have bathrooms downstairs and none ever have difficulty in being sold.

It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest, but it may others

I used to have a downstairs bathroom and once you've got used to it it's really not a big deal. Yes coming down for a wee in the night is a pain especially if you have young kids. But aside from that it's really not an issue.

I could probably live with a downstairs bathroom if I really loved the rest of the house but no loo upstairs would make me think twice. The hassle of getting up in the night for a wee and having to trek downstairs would be an absolute pain. If she can put a loo and hand basin upstairs I think that would be good.

F - no point spending loads of money - which won’t be recouped. The buyer will do what they want with the property and they may be fine with it as it is.

I'd put a loo and basin at top of stairs if not too difficult or expensive but best ask an estate agent first on whether it's worth the bother.

Personally no loo upstairs bothers me but I see LOADS of houses selling around here with that setup, so obviously lots of people disagree.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I will pass them on!

I wouldn't buy a house without upstairs and downstairs loos. Or I would offer accordingly to cover the cost of alterations if I liked the house otherwise.

I have a downstairs bathroom and upstairs toilet. (It’s in the eaves of a dormer so very sloped)

It’s a lot easier for us as washing the dog and child from the garden when dirty is a lot easier and also it means we can have showers at later times which won’t wake up dd. Also means clothes go straight into the washing machine which is in there too.

The toilet is essential upstairs for toilet training so if the toilet wasn’t upstairs I would have rethought buying. It’s no problem just to shower downstairs but it is harder to get a toilet training toddler downstairs and through stair gates in time

B.

I used to have a downstairs only bathroom in a former house and installing a toilet on the landing made a heck of a difference.

Put it up for sale. Give it a few months. No luck put a toilet in and put it back up for sale. People buying it may have other plans to extend etc so I wouldn’t worry too much

Downstairs bathroom was on my list of no's for a house but we bought one anyway! Ours was a bottom of stairs - no further than along a coridor in a bigger house and very handy with kids.

Hi I think the small loo upstairs is a good compromise too. Maybe with added shower on main bathroom downstairs aswell. I dreamt of this house last night! Be funny if, after all of this, I end up buying it from my friend! It's the kind of place you'd buy as a holiday home if you had the spare cash .

666onmyhead - I can answer this for you!!! We sold our cottage with a similar layout to your friend's recently. Downstairs bathroom with bath, huge shower, loo and washbasin - redone about three years ago, and if I do say so myself, stunning!! Three bedrooms and a study upstairs - but we had installed a saniflo loo and washbasin screened off in a corner of one of the main bedrooms. We had loads of interest as our cottage was a 'one-off' and sold within a fortnight, £5k under asking. Ironically our buyer did say he was going to instal a shower next to the loo and washbasin. A beautiful cottage will sell itself - tell her not to fret - I would actually leave it as it is, and maybe just get the agents to mention how easy it would be to put in a loo, shower and washbasin. Our work for new bathroom and loo/washbasin upstairs was about £10k. (But the downstairs bathroom was huge and fully tiled, with the exception of a beautiful exposed stone wall.)

Sounds lovely Daphne !
I think she's going to put the small loo and basin on the landing, as she's also getting the place repainted before if goes on the market. So has some Desiree if upheaval going on anyway. So at least anyone up there can pee more easily.

• some degree

I see she has come to a decision which is great. I would never buy a house without an upstairs loo. I get up twice in the night for a wee which is a complete pita! It wouldn't have mattered how beautiful the house is. If I ever have to live anywhere with a downstairs loo only (very common where I live) I'll be investing in a chamber pot. I rent so I have to take whats available. She's doing the right thing

666onmyhead That sounds an excellent plan - I bet it will sell really quickly (provided it is priced right too). I always knew I would miss my luxury bathroom - and I do!! Although we now have the conventional layout of downstairs cloakroom, bathroom with bath/overhead shower and en-suite shower room!! But we're getting older and have been sensible to buy a modern house near amenities and our children with a smaller garden. You never get everything in one house, do you? Wish your friend all the best from me, keep us posted on her progress. It sounds a beautiful cottage that will be someone's dream home, as was ours. Sold with very little hassle to a lovely couple from the Home Counties - very happy that it went to someone who would love it like we did!!!

Only having a downstairs bathroom isn't ideal but not a deal breaker, but not having a shower in it would mean I'd reduce my offer to cover the cost of putting one in. I'd definitely go for B if possible, and again be basing my offer on doing that myself if I was considering buying it.

But the downstairs ensuite would be a deal breaker unless the rest of the house was amazing, I loathe ensuites and one in a downstairs room means that room can't be used as anything other than a bedroom without the expense and disruption of having it removed.