Would you buy a house with no bath ?? Shower only?

Question

I am doing some work on my house to sell it. My bathroom is tiny, only has room (very squeezed in) for a cast iron bath (this is smaller than the average bath size) with shower ober, sink & toilet. When you open bathroom door it hits the toilet!! I need to replace the bath as the enamel is all chipped and stained (asked about re-enamelling but its too far gone!) so I was thinking of having a double shower put in its place. This though would leave the bathroom with no bath. Do you think it would put potential buyers off buying a house with no bath ????

Answer 1

I've just spent 6 months living in a house with no bath. It's horrible. Sometimes when you have aches you just want to soak.
There is no way I'd buy a house without a bath.

Answer 2

I'd look at rearranging the bathroom altogether - and keeping a bath in there. With Saniflo fittings you can place a loo virtually anywhere now - it is no longer necessary to have it on the outside wall where the pipe goes down. Having a folding door, as another responder suggested, is also a very good idea to give you a sense of space. A house I sold a while back didn't have a shower - an estate agent claimed this was a negative - in fact it made no difference as a shower unit can easily be fixed over a bath. I would not look at a place without a bath. (Shower only suggests a property that is tiny - not a good selling point in my view.)

Answer 3

The last time we had a bath was in an hotel on the Isle of Man some 20 years ago!
Hate the thought of sitting and soaking in dirty water and it uses a lot of water and possibly fuel to heat the water; the grandchildren have been showered since they graduated from baby baths.
Mind you the bath is useful - for storing packed suitcases before going on holiday, otherwise it's just something else to clean and from which to remove spiders!
We would happily buy a house with a decent shower than a bath and pokey shower model

Answer 4

Wondered about the same thing when we did our bathroom up. We hardly ever use the bath - always shower - so it wouldn't put us off, but I have a feeling you would lose potential buyers if you did not have one. There is quite a lot of space-saving bathroom furniture these days which is specifically designed for smaller rooms (e.g. we put a corner toilet in ours) - have a look on the web. Maybe you could put a small but deep jacuzzi bath in or something?

Answer 5

It would put me off to be honest. I was in the same dilema recently but opted for the shower over the bath again as I like a soak occasionally, especially in the winter or if I have aches and pains. A large shower would be appealing to elderly folk though who have difficulty stepping over the bath.

Think about your plans for the house - if you plan to stay there for a good number of years and perfer a good shower to one over a bath then do it otherwise just replace the bath.

If someone is really serious about buying your house it shouldnt put them off as it should be easy enough to re-install a bath.

Answer 6

Perhaps It would put some people off, I prefer a bath to a shower and so do most of my family, Is there no way you can fit both in.?? or maybe have bath with a shower inside it and a nice glass screen to make it look the part?

Answer 7

i love my baths - its my one time that i can be alone with my thoughts and properly relax - i wouldn't like to buy a house without a bath.

From a more professional point of view - you could install a corner or smaller size bath - plenty of these are now on the market - this would then free up space so the door does not hit the toilet and fulfil most peoples desire for a bath.

Answer 8

I shouldn't think it would put too many people off, it's becoming more and more fashionable to have a shower instead of a bath. The only people that might think twice are people with young kids, but if you could get one of those shower trays that's deep enough to bathe in too, it might be a good compromise.

Answer 9

You may be eliminating a few buyers who would need a bath but if it makes your bathroom more inviting, it could be a selling point for those who don't need a bath. Check with your local building and codes department to make sure you will not be violating any building codes by eliminating the tub.

Answer 10

Look at a continental shower design,.. all tiles,. floor and walls, (all around and no cheap looking, dirt-absorbing 'tray'), the whole room is designed to get wet, it can cope with getting drenched, tiles can be bought as 'seconds' or B-grade, so not overtly expensive,.. and,.. because it's just tiles it'd be a BREEZE to keep clean,.. AND, done with flair and attention to detail it can look amazing, plus the door would open fully too, (make sure the door is painted with moisture-proof paint), so not many people are really going be against the idea of having one of those instead of a lousy, chipped bath-tub. Sorted! :)