Loosing the downstairs loo

[HiveBee]

I’m honestly not sure if you would describe our house as a family home to be deadly honest with you it’s a 2 bed terraced, it’s lovely, it’s going to have a beautiful upstairs bathroom. If I was going to stay here forever I would lose the downstairs toilet and make that into an additional space in the kitchen.

I think the truth is though it’s just not quite big enough for me and therefore I will sell it in three or four years time are probably be to a couple of first-time buyers, works with maybe 1 small child or BTL.

Hence my dilemma do I keep the downstairs toilet ?

Why not ask a local estate agent? They will know the area and the market and your house way better than a bunch of randomers on the internet that don’t seem to understand building regs. It really depends on the age and demographic of your target market and if they’d rather a fancy kitchen or a downstairs loo, there’s no right or wrong.

We had the same problem with our first house. In the end we decided to leave the downstairs loo where it was and moved house instead. We came to the conclusion that we had outgrown the house and it just didn’t work for us anymore. There is no point spending money on a bigger kitchen it isn’t going to add value.

One of my friends was buying a house over 15 years ago. She bought her parents to view houses with her.
She found a 2 bed house in a ok area and her parents said having a downstairs toilet was good idea. They said it would appeal to a couple with a child at a later date if she wanted to rent or sell the house.
The toilet was used by guests, when she had to toilet train a toddler and it helped her rent out the house a while before she sold it.

I would not remove a downstairs toilet because when your selling it could help in the house sale and appeal to more buyer's.

You need your head examining if you think it is a good idea to take out the downstairs loo.

Get rid of it. I know 4 bed houses (in london) without a downstairs loo. A bigger kitchen space is far more valuable in a 2 bed

Two of my kids are looking to buy similar houses and a bigger brighter kitchen with a view onto the garden is their preference

You could refigure the toilet to create more space using a space saving loo or even a corner loo. You could use space saving doors too. Either semi sliding or bifold style. Generally I don't like these but you can get good quality ones.

We build a house once and had a basement room which we had a a large playroom. We put in the plumbing for a bathroom for future owners and highlighted this when we sold the house. You could get rid of the loo but make sure it's easy to reinstate.

Reconfigure*

@TootMootZoot I like that idea a lot I’m just not quite sure what I can do with the other side of the corner bit ? I could put in a huge window to brighten up the whole space but I don’t think I could put a sink in a washing machine down there maybe one or the other. And again is that changing my life

The other thing I did consider put it in that corner space with the loo configured as you’ve done it was a downstairs shower

Neither of the next-door neighbours have one they have an old outside Lou that that used for storage I’ll let them know they’re in need of psychiatric help 🙄

Too many doorways! Though you are losing one with the wall so that’s good. There are two doors at the dining room end of your kitchen, if you could lose one it would help with your kitchen layout. Can you make a doorway from the dining room into the hallway space and block the dining room / kitchen doorway.

Do you really need a third bedroom? Do you really need a downstairs shower? You seem to be blindly casting around for things to do to it because you really don't like it😃. I know that feeling well.
You could turn the toilet round as suggested then put a big window on the end wall so you can see down the garden and put a washing machine or dryer underneath it in a cupboard so it looks nice.
Then you could possibly turn the toilet into a wet room with a shower and take some space from one of the bigger bedrooms upstairs to make another small shower room and claim the bedroom back.
You used to have to have a lobby with 2 doors between a bathroom and a kitchen but building regs have been relaxed on that for many years now as long as you have got hand wash facilities.
I have lived in a 3 bed semi with one bathroom for nearly 40 years and only occasionally felt the need to have another one. Might have to rethink it now we are getting older.

I'd get rid. I think a lot of people are answering from the perspective of a four bed detached.

Not at all.

Both DH and I have IBS. There is no way on earth that we would live somewhere with only one loo.

Keep the loo.

Yes but equally at this stage of your homebuying journey are you going to buy a 2 bed terrace with no parking genuine question ?

No, but I still think that going down to one loo will reduce the size of your market when you want to sell.

Keep the downstairs toilet. I've lived a long time in a house without one, and it is a right nuisance at times.

Will the loo fit under your stairs? If so I'd move it there and extend the kitchen, and if the garden is nice I'd put big doors in and open it right up if you can

Most people like having a downstairs loo, great if you have visitors

@HiveBee

the picture of what it would look like, it looks nice 😊 I presume your toiket us currently where that window & sink is??? If I have that right, I can see the appeal. It's going to cost a lot more than £1000 to get to that completed stage. Have you costed it all?

ehy do you need to stay 3 more years? Why can't you look at moving now? it does sound like you need more space than your eee place (me too).

a grand to make it how you want it, yeah, but it's going to be a lot more to get it completely finished. I'd rather focus on the future & put that money into the moving house fund.

maybe talk to Estate Agents in your area & see if the slightly bigger kitchen or the second loo would appeal more to the majority of buyers in the area. It's not about (for you) getting more money, but it is (or should be) about a maximising your pool of buyers.

As s buyer I'd rather have a downstairs loo than a longer galley kitchen.

I was going to join the crowds of 'keep the loo', BUT, I think you should do as you plan and open up the kitchen to the garden.

1. it'll massively improve the kitchen space

2. your home is for you to live in and you are really clear you don't value the loo so you should make your house work for you.

Imagine if you took the loo out completely and left the space empty for a couple of comfy chairs or small sofas
and a large sliding door or bifold door along the end.

I'd love that if it was me.
It would be a lovely spot to sit and will make your kitchen light and airy.

Whatever you do there will be a compromise.

Id want to eat there personally and then it would allow a young family a grown up living room and the dining room for the kids whilst parents cook etc

We had a WC opening straight into the kitchen as the downstairs loo (built like that in 2006). Not ideal at all and we did not use it once as a toilet in a year so turned it into a utility room by removing the toilet and capping it off. That way we get to use the really useful space that suits us and can spend £100 on a new toilet and put it back in when we go to sell.

There are a few reasons as to why if I were you I’d do: Nothing.

1. You will sell in a few years. You will neither live here long enough nor have near enough time to either benefit from or recoup the money you’ll spend on all this faff.
2. A downstairs loo is very very valuable for re sale of small terraced houses. Think about who will be buying your 2 bed terrace: likely a first time buyer or a couple with intentions to have DC or with a DC or 2. Will they value a 2 bed terrace with or without 2 loos?

if I were you I would simply not spend vast amounts of money on a property I am looking to sell in 3 years or so. I would keep hold of that money.