Only bathroom on first floor, deal breaker?
My husband and I are considering buying another investment property where the home’s only bathroom is on the main floor. There is no half bath on the second floor where the bedrooms are and there really isn’t any space to add a second bath. Could this be a dealbreaker for renters? The bathroom is at the bottom of the stairs and is a nice, large renovated full bathroom.
Quote from @Karlie Scavicchio:
My husband and I are considering buying another investment property where the home’s only bathroom is on the main floor. There is no half bath on the second floor where the bedrooms are and there really isn’t any space to add a second bath. Could this be a dealbreaker for renters? The bathroom is at the bottom of the stairs and is a nice, large renovated full bathroom.
Isn't it amazing how soft our society has become? When I was six, my family of six lived in a 600ft trailer with two bedrooms and one bath. My brothers slept on bunks in the living room, which doubled as our couch. At age ten, I walked half a mile twice a day to fill a 5-gallon water jug and carry it back home because we didn't have running water. The next year, we lived in an apartment building with two bedrooms, a tiny kitchen/dining/living room, a community bathroom 100 feet down the hall, and community showers two floors down (no elevator) and at the opposite end of the building. Those were some of the best years of my life.
Not everyone is so soft that they need a bathroom in every bedroom. Price it right, and they will rent it.
I am one of these “soft” people that Nathan refers to. I would not rent a house with 4 beds and 1 bathroom on another floor unless I had no other option, or was just getting started in life.
I’d comp this below other similarly sized assets, but it’s all about the numbers. There is likely a price that will make sense to but it at, and another to rent it.
For every renter that doesn't want it, there's probably 5 that do. Know your market and price it accordingly.