Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Would this be a deal breaker for you?

65 replies

Lostinthesauce · 28/06/2022 10:36

Hello Everyone,

I've found a lovely 4 bed house with 4 double rooms, study and a drive. It has a downstairs cloakroom but only one bathroom upstairs. Originally when I made my list of wants for a house, an en-suite was included. I've fallen in love with this house, but it's bothering me that there's only one bathroom. In terms of the possibility of extending the house to add on an ensuite, there's not really room to do so. Would it bother you to have only 1 bathroom in a 4 bed house? Would you buy a 4 bed house with only one bathroom?

I would appreciate your thoughts and comments, as I'm on the fence about it.

Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
Whopbamboom · 28/06/2022 10:41

If I was planning to stay in the house long term, It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

I have lived in 9 different homes throughout my life and my current house is the only one that's ever had an ensuite. I've never had an issue before.
Of those, only 2 of them have even had a second loo downstairs.

If it's a stop gap house and you plan to move again, yes it would be a deal breaker for me. The reason being that every time we've moved and sold a property the feedback has been along the lines of "lovely home, otherwise perfect, but no ensuite"

So it is a deal breaker for a lot of people.

eatsleepswimdive · 28/06/2022 10:43

would be a deal breaker for me. I wouldn't want 4 bed and 1 bath

MrszClaus · 28/06/2022 10:45

I wouldn't buy a 4 bed with one bathroom, it would be my dealbreaker. We have a four bed with an upstairs study so similar to what you described, but a downstairs toilet, two en-suites (master room and second biggest) and a family bathroom. For me (I know it's probably not the highest on other peoples priorities) but I never want to have to wait to use a bathroom - growing up with two sisters means I had a lot of that! - and I enjoy knowing if we have guests they've got a private bathroom they can use.

Is there any room to build an en-suite into one of the rooms? Either knock into the study or a smaller room?

Digimoor · 28/06/2022 10:46

Depends how many people are living there
You could convert 1 bedroom into an ensuite

minipie · 28/06/2022 10:46

So it has a second loo as well as the bathroom?

Hmm might be ok, depends how many of you there are, what age your kids etc.

For example with small kids that’s not really an issue as in general they bath in the evening, parents wash in the morning

With teens it would be much more of a problem!

Can you post a floorplan? Just in case en suite might be do able…

Fotze · 28/06/2022 10:49

I've fallen in love with this house

^From your OP, you've answered your own question.

RandomQuest · 28/06/2022 10:49

I’d want a second shower room at a minimum, doesn’t necessarily need to be an ensuite but when kids get older and there are 4 people wanting to shower of a morning then that’s a struggle if there’s only the 1 bathroom.

PineappleWilson · 28/06/2022 10:49

Is there any scope downstairs to convert the loo into a downstairs shower room?

Allicando · 28/06/2022 11:26

Depends on how many people live there. I have never had an ensuite so never missed one. My current house (Victorian) only has one bathroom, one toilet shared between me and two older teens. Never had a problem as the DC wake up later than me anyway.

BlueMongoose · 28/06/2022 11:38

When I was looking for houses I was factoring in the costs of removing any ensuites. If I have one decent bathroom with a loo and one additional loo, with or without a shower, that's enough. Ensuites take up a lot of space, I;d rather have th space. but we only have 3 adults in our house, and none of us are the trype that spend hours hogging the bathroom.

Original poster
Lostinthesauce · 28/06/2022 11:42

Whopbamboom · 28/06/2022 10:41

If I was planning to stay in the house long term, It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

I have lived in 9 different homes throughout my life and my current house is the only one that's ever had an ensuite. I've never had an issue before.
Of those, only 2 of them have even had a second loo downstairs.

If it's a stop gap house and you plan to move again, yes it would be a deal breaker for me. The reason being that every time we've moved and sold a property the feedback has been along the lines of "lovely home, otherwise perfect, but no ensuite"

So it is a deal breaker for a lot of people.

The thing is I'm not sure if it is a stop gap for me. It is somewhere I could see myself living long term, as it is in a nice area etc. I'm just on the fence about the bathroom and it meets most of my list of requirements. I know I won't get everything I would like, especially 4 double rooms is a tricky one to get.

Thanks for your advice though, much appreciated.

OP posts:
Sallypally0 · 28/06/2022 11:43

Take the lock off the bathroom and tell all residents they have 15 minutes maximum.

Job jobbed.

Original poster
Lostinthesauce · 28/06/2022 11:46

minipie · 28/06/2022 10:46

So it has a second loo as well as the bathroom?

Hmm might be ok, depends how many of you there are, what age your kids etc.

For example with small kids that’s not really an issue as in general they bath in the evening, parents wash in the morning

With teens it would be much more of a problem!

Can you post a floorplan? Just in case en suite might be do able…

@minipie At present I have one child, but I would like another. I worry about if a guest wants to visit etc. I would love to post a floor plan, but worry it could be very outing if the current owner is on mumsnet.

I've spoken to my partner about the additional ensuite and as he works in the building trade he's told me it could be doable for another room. But it wouldn't be for the master or second largest room. It would have to be for the room I'd want to be the guest room.

OP posts:
ExtremelyDedicated · 28/06/2022 11:46

Wouldn't bother me, we have two adults and two older teens sharing one bathroom and it's fine, we are all fairly quick in and out for showers and and no one does hair, make-up or similar in there.

Original poster
Lostinthesauce · 28/06/2022 11:47

PineappleWilson · 28/06/2022 10:49

Is there any scope downstairs to convert the loo into a downstairs shower room?

@PineappleWilson it's a small cloakroom so there isn't the scope for it. I did think of that, but thank you.

OP posts:
Original poster
Lostinthesauce · 28/06/2022 11:49

Sallypally0 · 28/06/2022 11:43

Take the lock off the bathroom and tell all residents they have 15 minutes maximum.

Job jobbed.

@Sallypally0 🤣🤣🤣 that made me chuckle

OP posts:
Original poster
Lostinthesauce · 28/06/2022 11:51

BlueMongoose · 28/06/2022 11:38

When I was looking for houses I was factoring in the costs of removing any ensuites. If I have one decent bathroom with a loo and one additional loo, with or without a shower, that's enough. Ensuites take up a lot of space, I;d rather have th space. but we only have 3 adults in our house, and none of us are the trype that spend hours hogging the bathroom.

@BlueMongoose this is it, the house has so much space and I know that not every other house does - or they have 2 box rooms or the one. I know I can't have everything, I'm wondering if I'm being greedy. I grew up in a house with two bathrooms, but there were 6 of us.

OP posts:
Dirtylittleroses · 28/06/2022 11:54

If it has two loos, one downstairs, which it seems it does, I’d be ok with this. Especially as you can shove a shower in one of the other rooms upstairs, and anyone can use if if you do not have guests,

HollowTalk · 28/06/2022 11:54

What size are the bedrooms?

steppemum · 28/06/2022 11:55

hmm.
We bought a 4 bed and one of my criteria was an ensuite.
Also a downstairs loo, but that is for slightly different reasons (lots of people come to our house and I didn't wnat them going upstairs)

We saw a lot of houses with really awful ensuites though, they were worse than no ensuite.

My parents moved into a 5 bed and converted the smallest room to an ensuite and a walk in wardrobe. The house feels much more balanced now.

Original poster
Lostinthesauce · 28/06/2022 11:55

MrszClaus · 28/06/2022 10:45

I wouldn't buy a 4 bed with one bathroom, it would be my dealbreaker. We have a four bed with an upstairs study so similar to what you described, but a downstairs toilet, two en-suites (master room and second biggest) and a family bathroom. For me (I know it's probably not the highest on other peoples priorities) but I never want to have to wait to use a bathroom - growing up with two sisters means I had a lot of that! - and I enjoy knowing if we have guests they've got a private bathroom they can use.

Is there any room to build an en-suite into one of the rooms? Either knock into the study or a smaller room?

@MrszClaus I grew up with three sisters and we never had those issues with bathrooms. I wonder if I'm trying to have it all. It was the first property I viewed and I haven't viewed any others, so I wonder if I'm being impatient.

There's scope to perhaps build onto a smaller room, but I wanted it for the master room. I'm just confused if I'm just over questioning everything now.

OP posts:
HappyHappyHermit · 28/06/2022 11:59

We moved house and no longer have an ensuite, I much prefer the feeling of the toilet not being so near to my bed. Even though we had a sort of dressing room between the bedroom and ensuite it just felt too invasive.

RitaFires · 28/06/2022 12:00

To me having two loos is the important part. I wouldn't mind waiting my turn to use the shower but when you gotta go, you gotta go.

Ensuites are standard in newer builds but one family bathroom upstairs is really usual in older houses. It wouldn't put me off once there's a downstairs loo.

MrszClaus · 28/06/2022 12:01

@Lostinthesauce your sisters were obviously better organised than us 😂 last minute showers / baths, moaning about needing a wee was the background of all morning routines for me!

If you've only viewed one property I'd definitely get out and see what else there is - we'd been looking for about a year when I we found ours.

If it's not ticking all of your boxes, you might as well keep an eye out and see if something else does - sometimes you've got to compromise on things, so is an en-suite one of those things you're happy to compromise on?

SollaSollew · 28/06/2022 12:06

There will always be a compromise @Lostinthesauce , if this house ticks all your other boxes and you've genuinely fallen in love with it I'd go for it. I grew up in a family of 5 and we all shared one bathroom, it didn't even occur to me to think it was a problem, we just all had to be considerate.

Also it could be ideal to have an ensuite to the guest room so when you don't have guests it can be effectively another bathroom and then when guests are visiting you have private facilities for them and the rest of you share. Without the layout of the upstairs it's hard to know but could the potential en-suite even be a jack and jill bathroom between two rooms?

Swipe left for the next trending thread