How much have I devalued my house? I want to move!!

[Crumbsinthecarpet]

We moved into a house 3 years ago and I'm hoping to move in the next 2 years (before DS goes to school) but we have had to convert our smallest bedroom into a bathroom, going from 3 to 2 bed, and I want an idea of how much the house will be worth without getting a full valuation! ( Don't want pressure from estate agents just yet)

How can I get an idea how much it's worth?

We now have 2 massive double bedrooms, a good sized bathroom upstairs (it was a box room barely big enough for a bed, for perspective, but makes a decent size bathroom) ok living room and a big kitchen diner with a walk in pantry where we knocked through the kitchen to the old bathroom, which was less than 1m wide by 4m long.

If I could go back I wouldn't have bought the house to be honest as we had no end of problems with dodgy work and damp in the miniscule bathroom,we were first time buyers so definitely got taken for a ride! Anyway, happy with the house now but I'd like DS and DD to have their own bedrooms if possible and want to know what budget to look at for next house!

Sorry for blathering on!

What sort of house is it, area is it in? Is there a downstairs loo?

Look on Rightmove at listings and sold house prices in your area.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.onthemarket.com/content/revealed-the-cost-of-upsizing-from-a-two-bedroom-to-a-three-bedroom-house/amp/

Lot £££ but that is with London prices skewing the data? Can you change op was there no other bathroom?

Also if you like the house otherwise, how about a loft conversion, or even dividing one of the large double rooms into two? Depending on how much stamp duty and fees you'd be paying to move, it might be worth extending instead.

Also you can get a valuation from zoopla online - you have to ‘own’ the house so find address then claim it’s yours. Then you make an changed you’ve made to the house and then it creates a guide of what price range you’d expect.

I'd say most buyers prefer large bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs so if anything you have added to the value - especially if what was the 3rd bedroom couldn't have fitted a bed in anyway

I doubt that the bathroom is going to be your biggest issue to be honest. I would keep an eye on two beds selling in your area over the next few months to get an idea of what it might be worth.

Downstairs bathrooms are unpopular anyway.

I lived in a 2 up 2 down terrace: next door had 3 beds upstairs and a downstairs bathroom. I had upstairs bath and two beds, both in market at the same time: mine sold first, same price.

I got a valuation for getting a new fixed rate on my ltv mortgage, estate agent knew what it was for so no pressure to sell

Can you consider an attic conversion to get the third bedroom back? If you decide to sell, you could always have a draft costing prepared so a potent buyer could see what it would cost to do the work.

The general rule of thumb is £20k per bedroom. But of course that is so depended on area and size/useability of the bedroom before which sounds poor.

At the end of the day a house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, so if you find buyers who like you would prefer this set up, you're on to a win.

Was it originally a council house? I ask because what you’ve done is the modernisation that’s was done to hundreds of thousands of council houses in the 80’s and 90’s (moving the bathroom from
Off the kitchen in to the 3rd bedroom, or a portion of the largest bedroom)

Have a look on Rightmove at 2 bed houses of a similar age/type in your area and there’s your answer.

My road is full of either 2 beds, 1 upstairs bathroom or 3 beds, 1 downstairs bathroom. The 3 beds are roughly valued 20k more. That said there are other factors, so those with a garage (which round here are outbuilding ones that will fit a small car) also value higher than those without. Not sure if 20k would be representative of everywhere or the percentage - here that's 5-8%)

You might not have devalued it, a lot of people would look at the house you describe and plan the work you have done.

You really have 2.5 bedrooms and a downstairs bathroom with small kitchen. Now you have 2 bedrooms, upstairs bathroom and decent kitchen.

I know which one I prefer!

My road is either 2 beds with a bathroom upstairs or 3 beds with the bathroom downstairs. This has very little effect on the price. May be 5k.

The way the houses are, you can't extend (access issues).

It's will be different for different areas though. Can rightmove sold prices guide you in any way?

It's hard I went from 4 bed to 3 plus upstairs bathroom. Surprise twins mean I'm looking at dividing a bedroom into two. I got a quote for just under a grand but there is a window on each side already.

If it was a typical Victorian terrace with a downstairs bathroom at the back of the kitchen then I wouldn’t expect you’ve devalued the house at all.

3 bedroom houses suit families and families don’t want a cold downstairs bathroom.

I agree with what others have said. It does depend on your area, and yes the 'valuation' you get from an agent may well be different because of going from a three bed to a two bed, but I would think that would be a technicality really as a revamped and improved two bed with large bedrooms and new bathroom plus useful downstairs upgrade would be more desirable to buyers than a 2.5 bed with the issues you described and the work to do.
If it were me, I would look at the 'value' of the 2.5 bed and factor in the work needed into any offer, whereas not the justification to do that if all done and nicely finished. Ultimately you have likely added value to your particular house, but going on the market will be the test.

I got 5 valuations for my house back in February, due to impending divorce. I was honest about the reasons for the valuations and I've had no pressure from any of them, just a couple of follow up courtesy emails.

Just go for it!

I got a valuation done by Purple Bricks and made it clear it was just for my curiosity and I didn't intend to sell for many years. The estate agent didn't pressure me at all and even advised me not to sell for years. He didn't contact me at all afterwards other than to send the valuation report.

Just get it valued by 2 or 3 estate agents and once they've told you what it's worth, tell them you are uncertain whether you wish to sell at the moment. I wouldn't tell them that in advance in case they over value to tempt you to put it on the market.

I think it depends on whether that is a popular/common conversion in your area - could be that lots of houses around there have done something similar so it's not going to be that different to the rest of the market in that respect.

Is there a similar house in your area up for sale at the moment that you could check on Rightmove?

You probably haven't affected the value by much, if at all. A lot of people would see the boxroom as guest room/office rather than a permanent bedroom except for a very young child so the original layout probably wouldn't have been seen as ideal for a family with two DC anyway.

Plus downstairs bathroom is seen as a negative by almost anyone and buyers would be mentally costing in moving it upstairs.

Look at local sold prices for spacious 2 beds and compare them with cramped 3 beds with downstairs bathrooms if there are any to see the difference.

Unless you overpaid when you bought, you should be able to move to a 3 bed, especially if you can be flexible about area. I'd look for somewhere near your workplaces if possible, plus suitable schools and other amenities, to cut time and cost of day to day travel.

We live in an area with lots of miners cottages. Most have downstairs bathrooms with 2 large and 1 smaller bedroom upstairs.

Some Houses have been converted to 2 large bedroom, decent bathroom upstairs and the downstairs bathroom converted to utility room with a toilet.

When we were looking to buy, the price was far more dependent on the condition of the rest of the house, kitchen, bathroom and if there was a garage/ good garden etc.

You may not have devalued it at all, but may not get your money back from the work.

Did the same back in the early 2000s. Sold 2 years later and made £15k. In the Midlands.

But this was during the boom so I'm not sure if our renovations made any difference.