Property valuation..!!?

Question

Currently i have a 3 bedroomed house with a downstairs bathroom. Im thinking of moving the bathroom upstairs thus losing a bedroom.

However i will create a bigger kitchen by doing this but will the value of my house go up or down?

AND..... would you suggest converting the loft into some sort of study/bedroom to claw back the third room?

Answer 1

If I understand your question correctly, you will be going from a 3 bedroom/1 Bath home to a 2 Bedroom/1 bath home. You need to consult a local realtor/appraiser. They can give you an estimated value of before and after. I am an appraiser, and I can only give you a guesstimate based on my local market; this is not a good investment. Instead of moving the bathroom, keep the old one and add the additional bathroom upstairs (assuming you do have bedrooms on both levels). Also, decreasing down to 2 bedrooms is usually not a good idea. For appraisals, generally there is no adjustment made between homes w/3 and 4 bedrooms, but there an adjustment made between homes w/2 and 3 due to market acceptance.

Answer 2

As an appraiser the more bedrooms the better. It would be different if you had an eight bedroom house and converted a bathroom to a bedroom it would not be a big deal but since you go from a 3 bedroom to a 2 bedroom you will be losing a much needed bedroom in today's market.

Answer 3

if you are moving the bathroom up stairs you will be getting rid of one bedroom thus devaluing your house. I would try to build on to the house ,if possible, and extend your kitchen out the back. You also could gain an extra bedroom or second bathroom over the kitchen extension. Here in Ireland when you build a new two story house you have to have a bathroom downstairs which is wheelchair accessible, regardless of whither you have a bedroom down or not. As for the loft ,it depends on what headroom you have up there.

Answer 4

I'm not an appraiser, but have been in the mortgage business for over 20 yrs...familiar enough with what affects value. And in my opinion, I would say YES, you are more likely to lose value.

A really good site to check is at www.zillow.com

You can actually do a "zestimate", detailing your upgrades or what not, on your actual home!

Answer 5

Property value might or might not change - that depends on the assessor. Often the assessments are just made on square footage and overall condition - if that's what your area uses, probably wouldn't change.

A two-bedroom house would probably be harder to sell, so having a third bedroom would be good.