Nice holiday home only one bathroom

[Meandmypoodle]

I know this sounds a bit precious and a first world problem but we are looking at buying a holiday home close to my DS and have found a lovely flat with amazing view etc but it only has one bathroom we currently have two. It's got three large double bedrooms and lovely big rooms but despite our best efforts due to the configuration of windows etc we cant see how you could put even another loo in let alone another bathroom (my DH is an architect so has really has tried all configurations). Would this put you off? I think it's because it's large enough to sleep 6 people that we're hesitating. I should add we're not looking at renting it out to others but we might invite friends to stay with us occasionally.

Surely for a holiday home, this isn't an issue? How often will this be a real issue?

I'm sorry I can't empathise with this problem - its a HOLIDAY home.

It would be an issue for me if you were ever going to use it at full capacity. Even with 4 occupants I'd rather have 2 toilets. Potentially 6 occupants and one shower sounds a nightmare.

Three years ago I moved into a new house that had two bathrooms/toilets. Until that point every single house I had lived in (for almost 30 years of adult life) had only one bathroom/toilet. It's perfectly normal. The last house I lived before this one had four bedrooms and one toilet in the bathroom. It was rented and so we couldn't make alterations. You're incredibly privileged to be buying a second home and if everything else is OK with it I wouldn't worry.

It’s a no from me. It’s supposed to be amenity, so why not choose one that’s as perfect as your budget allows!

We go every three to four weeks so I'm not sure it's less of an issue than in our own home and also why is it less of an issue in a holiday home especially as we more likely to have friends to stay there than in our first home. Longer term, hopefully we may go more and even alternate a month here and month there or even spend three months there say in the summer.
We're middle aged and of course when we were children most people only had one bathrooms even in quite large houses, en-suites were rarely seen but I guess this has become the norm now for many and we've just got used to it.

It wouldn't if just family but yes it would if sharing with friends. How often would this happen? If 80% of the time just you guys then ok.
Is it near a beach? Will people be having extra showers if so? Are you a bit fussy about hygiene and cleanliness - having other people use your soap and hairs in the shower...and convenience? Are you ok with going to the toilet and flushing it in the middle of the night? These are the kinds of things that might bother me. A friend ended a holiday early because when renting a house with one toilet with her in laws as you could hear everything going on in the bathroom and it put her right off.
Bathrooms don't need windows if ventilation is dealt with - are you sure you cant fit an extra one and just cut down the bedroom size?

1 bathroom is the norm, surely?

Im not fussy about hygiene (far from it ), we're pretty chilled TBH. Im not sure why I'm bothering about it as others are saying isn't one bathroom the norm? Actually for us it isn't in the last 20ish years we've only lived for 6 months with one bathroom (we we're rehoused by the insurance company whilst essential work was done on our house) and it nearly drove me nuts but then both DC's were at home, and some people (yes I'm looking at you DS2) spend hours in the bathroom I don't. For example I currently apply the very small amount of make up I wear in the living room mirror because up until recently thats where the best light was which is essential as you get older. We've just installed a new bathroom with brilliant lighting but it's habit now. It's another loo rather than bathroom that I feel is needed or if the loo was operate from the rest of the bathroom I wouldn't be so bothered. Trust me my DH has looked at every possible configuration (as I suspect have the current owners) you cannot get another loo in.

separate not operate.

I wouldn’t. If you want to invite friends, extended family etc surely it’s not comfortable to have only 1 bathroom. Personally I would prefer having an ensuite and a guest bathroom/toilet.

The problem is that although my pelvic floor is surprisingly good when I do need the loo I really need to go! I would really struggle to wait 10-15 mins, I'm not bothered if DH is in the bathroom if I was desperate I would just go, if it was the DCs Id ask them to get a move on. But if you have friends etc and they are having a shower its a slightly different story you cant really bang on the door and say hurry up.

I wouldn't buy it. I'm a bit puzzled by your husbands assurance that you can't put another toilet in. But he's the architect, not me 🤣

It's supposed to be a relaxing retreat & it won't feel like that if you have 6 adults sharing one bathroom. Especially if it's friends, not family.

I'd rather buy a different property.

Thanks for all your help and I except and respect everyones opinions I appreciate I sound privileged and that we are lucky and in a very fortunate position. Putting it in writing has really helped I've decide two loos or a separate loo to the rest of the bathroom at the very least I feel is essential.

The flat is listed and has huge floor to ceiling windows, that are virtually forming the whole wall, the positioning of the doorways would make it virtually impossible to put even another loo without it looking really odd; you'd have to go though an ensuite first to get to a bedroom if that makes sense.

It would depend on how many other boxes it ticked. I always make a checklist of non-negotiables and then a wishlist before I look for a property. If more than one bathroom was an essential for you then this property isn't the one.

We found it an issue sharing a holiday home last year with 4 people and 1 bathroom/toilet, just because we alll wanted to leave together each day, and everyone wanted the loo before going out.

That said, we often only have one loo in a holiday home and it isn't always an issue, but for some reason it was on that holiday.

All houses have a compromise. I imagine that one bathroom makes this one significantly cheaper than others of the same size/ location/ views/ parking etc. For me Id rather compromise on bathroom than on price /space / location/ parking / etc.

Even with friends I’d not have an issue with “I’m just going for a shower, does anyone want to use the bathroom first?”.

Put dressing gowns in guest rooms so people will get dressed in bedrooms after a shower.
Put dressing tables and good mirrors in bedrooms if make-up is likely to be a delay.
If people are only using the toilet and showering, then you’d not have to wait long to wee!

Get a grip! If you're sharing with friends you just say "does anyone need the loo before i have a shower?" This is what we did for years when we had guests staying with us. If you're not sufficiently comfortable with your guests to do this - why would they be staying with you in the first place?

Some people on this forum seem completely detached from the real world where normal people just tell their kids to get a move on if they're spending too long in the (only) shower. I can't get my head round the modern obsession with lots of bathrooms and en suites. In reality we spend a tiny proportion of our day in the bathroom/loo.

Owning holiday homes is controversial, as I'm sure you're aware.
www.theguardian.com/society/2016/may/31/uk-readers-on-the-problem-of-second-homes

Im not mad on starting the second home debate but I think like most things there are two sides to this. We live in a very popular tourist village in an AONB many homes here are 400+ years old and listed as are most of the others in the surrounding villages, its very pretty and it is a wealthy area. Up the road road from us we have a well known and very expensive starting price £1.5 million holiday village you can buy one and live in it 11 months of the year and in our village we have our fair share of holiday homes /second homes. We have a thriving community the holiday makers whether they are staying in holiday homes/second homes/exclusive holiday village bring money onto our economy. Our population is small 1500 but we have shops; a butchers bakers and candlestick makers, a GP dentist hairdresser, primary school etc. much of this is due to the fact that tourists/people on holiday keep it alive they use the local butcher, the florist provides flowers for the exclusive holiday homes, the small local supermarket is open 6am to 10pm during lock down I would regularly see large brand new Range Rovers with Kennington and Chelsea parking permits on using our local shop, you didn't have to think to hard to know where they were living.
We are not planning on using it 2 weeks of the year and renting it out the rest of the time, we travel there regularly and instead of Airbnb or a hotel we want somewhere we can truly relax and enjoy in fact if we had a home there we will go more often use the local amenities shop in the local shops etc. Long term who knows we may move there we are keeping an open mind.We are cash buyers what else do you do with your money? Interest rates are low so you get nothing either financially or personally from stuffing it in the bank, yup there's the US stock market long term a good bet, or we could invest in art, stamps gold or even wine but a second home not only enables us to see our DS but also get pleasure from the location and contribute something back to the local economy.
In reality life is rarely black and white there is no perfect solution that works for all.

With our money, it’s invested in stocks anc share Isas! We have substantial investments and it doesn’t need to be invested in property. Only invest spare money in property that you won’t need to get hold of.

On that basis , we have a holiday home but we run it as a business. You need to decide if this is purely for you or whether you are letting it out commercially. Heart or head?!

We have an en suite for every bedroom. We are frequently told by our agents that this is now a sought after spec. Gone are the days when people pay top dollar for houses with a worse spec than their own houses. You also need to consider if you are only letting to families because groups of couples won’t want this arrangement. They really won’t.

If it’s just for you, I guess it matters far less. However if it’s just for you, why 3 bedrooms and the ability to sleep 6? You need to think how you are configuring beds and who would sleep in each room.

I do know people accept old cottages with one bathroom but increasingly people want a spare loo at least. It’s a great shame there can be no reconfiguration of the accommodation but I think you have to weigh up if this is just for your enjoyment and isn’t a commercial undertaking. If it’s your business, don’t buy it.

We are cash buyers what else do you do with your money? I know it's so tricky

Meanwhile back in the real world DH and I have been recently grappling with the prospect of both of us being made redundant.

The holiday home debate will always rage and the impact varies from place to place. I live in a location with 80% holiday homes. The social impact on the community (trying to keep the school open etc) is huge.

@Guymere I think the agents are right a couple of friends got rid of holiday cottages because they were old and only has one bathroom however beautiful the view was, or how quaint the village, they were told a similar thing people want "high spec" in a holiday home now a day.
We want 3 bedrooms so that my other son and his partner can join us if they wish and my son and his partner who lives fairly near by would also be able to join us and stay over night if he wished. In the future there may be grand children who knows? My SIL and her partner may also occasionally join us. Probably 65% of the time it would be us on our own.
We are not planning on renting commercially.
The area we are looking at is stunning we're friendly easy going and hospitable and would like friends to join us if they wished, some have done the same thing for us in the past.
Any way we've decided against it we'll keep looking eventually something will turn up that grabs my attention and ticks nearly all our boxes.
We are not investing in property in terms of making money we are purchasing a property to improve the quality of our lives a different type of investment . The area is different to ours in terms of scenery, landscape etc its very close to the sea we currently are most definitely not close to the sea, my husband and I are able to pursue our chosen hobbies in a totally different environment we get to see our family more often we'll happily admit it its a heart over head decision.

If it’s primarily just for you and the occasional other couple I would turn the 3rd bedroom into a bathroom so it’s a generous 2 bed, 2 bath. I’m no expert but I would imagine it would be much more appealing as a rental with that layout too. Up to 6 people to 1 bathroom would make it virtually impossible for everyone to have a hot shower and out of the flat in time to have a day out.