Calling All Realtors

[rk911]

Looking for professional opinions from former or current realtors. first the facts and background.

3-BR, 1.75 bath, 1600sf split level on a corner lot in a nice dupage county (western chicago) suburb. older neighborhood of similar housing dating back to early to mid 60's. neighborhood is a mix of blue collar, professionals, business owners, retired like us and families with kids. house has been recently renovated and updated throughout. no mortgage. we do not want to move as we love the house and the area.

we're looking to remodel the full bath. my wife has some mobility issues and we're worried about her getting into the tub. i've nearly slipped and fell doing that so my concern is legitimate. we both shower. we're thinking one of the following options:

- do nothing except new paint, fixtures etc. doing nothing is always an option. we already have two grab bars and would add a third to enhance safety.
- remove the tub and replace with a walk-in tub/shower. this addresses our concerns ref safety but she is not excited about sitting in the empty tub waiting for it to fill and empty regardless of how fast they may fill/empty.
- remove the tub and replace with a curbless walk-in shower with a fold-up seat.

as mentioned we're not thinking of selling and moving but at some time in the future we obviously will. all of the remodeling we've done so far has been done primarily for our comfort and enjoyment but also with an eye towards future buyers. we didn't want to make the house so unique or overbuilt for the neighborhood as to make it unattractive and i think we have succeeded. but our comfort, enjoyment and safety is primary. we're applying that thought process to this project.

the question: just how important is a bathtub to the average buyer? i realize that some will absolutely want one and others won't give a doodlebugs hind end. i'm talking about the vast majority of buyers in the middle. looking for professional, not personal opinions.

thanks.

 

[Sunset]

Too bad, non professional here.

Since it's a split level, you have stairs, getting into a tub is like stairs.
Adding extra grab bars would be really useful.

Some folks here, have remodeled their bathrooms and have lovely curbless showers.

 

[Katsmeow]

Not a professional but I am replying as to what professionals told me when I asked the same question.

I was told that it wasn't a problem to do this so long as there was at least one tub available in the house. We have a second full bath with a tub/shower so we went ahead and removed the master tub and put in walking curbless shower.

FWIW - when we were looking to buy this house last year we saw a number of houses that had been remodeled to remove the tub in the master. At no point did our real estate agent indicate that this would reduce the value of the house. I did not see any difference in price for those houses and they sold easily.

However, I am not in the same geographic area you are in.

 

[Another Reader]

Are you saying that you will have two bathrooms with showers (0.75 baths) and no bath tub in the house? I have zero experience in the suburban Chicago market, but in the Bay Area and the Phoenix markets, that would severely limit your resale market to buyers with no kids and no understanding of how the lack of a tub would impact their resale value.

Almost all buyers will look at your house and deduct whatever cost they imagine they will incur to put a tub in from the price they would otherwise pay. In a market with decent inventory, most buyers will just move on to the next house because they don't want to do the work.

ETA: I am not a broker or agent. However, I was professionally involved in real estate valuation for over thirty years and I own a number of mid-range, single family rentals.

 

[Aerides]

I am not a professional but have watched enough episodes of House Hunters to play in this thread:

No tub in the master? not a deal breaker
No tub in the house at all? ~50% of buyers will balk (even if they don't care personally, they will also have that same eye to their future resale unless they plan to remodel)

 

[Jerry1]

Non professional here.

Who cares, do what you want. The amount not having a tub will take off the value of the house will not be enough to ruin your day. You could also do it in a way that makes it easier (cheaper) to drop in a new tub in the future. For example, don’t move the plumbing and don’t add a wall to make the shower smaller, which one might do if they wanted to gain some storage or make the toilet area bigger (more accessible).

I understand you want a professional opinion, but the truth is that no one knows. Like you say, some will not like it and some will be happy with it, but no one knows what the market will be like when you go to sell. The neighborhood you describe is likely to appeal to young families and they will want a tub, but there’s so many other variables. Someone could be just like you, many people chose not to have kids, some don’t care about doing some remodeling, but it all comes down to price. Just a complete guess here, but if it costs you $10K in the final sale of your house, is that worth not having what you want today? It wouldn’t be for me, but that is also a personal decision.

I’d put in the shower but leave the structure so that putting a tub back it won’t be expensive or a major remodel. I can imagine a design that would allow a shower to be converted to a tub with little remodeling and probably for less than $2K.

 

[aja8888]

Not a professional but bought and sold several houses. For us now "old" people, no big deal with no tub in the baths. When we had small kids at home, a tub was a must for giving them baths.

 

[jfn111]

I've run into this a couple of times. No bathtub will be a deal breaker for some, esp. young family's with kids.
I don't know that area, I work in Mpls, but if the neighborhood is first time home buyer's you will take a hit on the resale. If the area is move up buyers they often plan on some remodeling anyway so it's less bothersome to them.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Not a professional either so disregard at will, but....

We have a small old 1.5 bath house house (in the same county!) and expect to stay here forever. We remodeled our "Big" bathroom in the spring and replaced the tub with another tub. The people we worked with asked if we wanted to have only a (supercool) shower but I balked at having no tub, slightly for future owners, but mostly because I like a bath once in awhile and we have needed to bathe our dogs and grandchildren (not at the same time although that gives me an idea...). I think for resale if you got rid of the traditionla tub, most buyers would prefer a nice shower way more than a walk-in tub.

I was surprised at how much higher our new tub is--fabulous for taking a deep soaking bath, but a little difficult to stand up from. So I imagine there are lower tubs that might be easier to push oneself up from. Maybe go to Lowe's and Home Depot and a Kohler showroom and try getting into and out of the display bathtubs?

 

[braumeister]

We are considering a major makeover of our master bath in the next year or so and have already decided on a great shower and just get rid of the tub, which is the only tub in the place.

It's going to be fine in our case because of the 17 homes on our street, the age range is from 45 to 92, and 11 of the 17 are retired. There have never been any kids here. Talked to the main remodeling contractor in the area about it and he said it runs in cycles. 15-20 years ago he was putting in Jacuzzi tubs (which we have) and lately he has been taking them out and replacing with nice showers. There is nothing in the code to require a tub, so we'll be fine. Considering the neighborhood, it would be extremely surprising if a young family wanted to buy here.

 

[socca]

....fabulous for taking a deep soaking bath ...

Not a pro. I only use a tub on those rare occasions that I get sick and want to soak for 20 minutes in water as hot as I can stand (I call this the 'artificial fever' approach). However, when I need a tub, I need it, so not having one would be deal-breaker for me.

 

[tmm99]

I've run into this a couple of times. No bathtub will be a deal breaker for some, esp. young family's with kids.

I'm old and having no bathtub would definitely be a deal breaker for me.

 

[ncbill]

well, what's more important to you?

selling it or aging in place?

definitely go with the curb-less, walk-in shower to age in place.

 

[Moemg]

No bathtub in the house is a deal breaker for me . I like a long soak but for aging I think a walk in shower with a built in seat is ideal.

 

[Midpack]

I am not a professional but have watched enough episodes of House Hunters to play in this thread:

No tub in the master? not a deal breaker
No tub in the house at all? ~50% of buyers will balk (even if they don't care personally, they will also have that same eye to their future resale unless they plan to remodel)

I’d bet this is good general advice.

We just sold and bought a house. We did see several houses with beautiful master showers and no tub, but most had a tub in another bathroom. Many people want at least one tub to wash kids, dogs or themselves - so it doesn’t have to be in the master, but you want at least one in the house. Many buyers will balk at zero bathtubs.

OTOH, if you remodel such that a tub could be put back in, that’s not a costly upgrade for a buyer - or you to do proactively when it comes to selling.

And if you Google “homes with no bathtubs” there are lots of articles and discussion from industry people (vs random opinions here).

 

[Teacher Terry]

Our master bathroom is big so we have a huge soaking tub and a walk in shower. The guest bathroom is small so we pulled out the bathtub and put in a shower stall. You need one bathtub.

 

[rk911]

thanks to everyone who replied. i was hoping a realtor would have actual numbers or percentages that would help guide me but i do appreciate your thoughts and comments. any offense was unintentional.

many of your comments echo what has been going through my mind. going up and down our short carpeted staircases is not quite the same as getting in and out of a wet slippery tub. i tried using a tub mat but that actually made things worse. and as i mentioned we're not planning a move anytime soon. of course life has a way of tossing curve balls but for now we're happy to age in place.

yes, if we rip out the tub both bathrooms will be .75 but i like the idea of engineering the shower...and i'm favoring a curbless walk-in....in such a way to make replacing the tub by a future buyer or even proactively replacing it ourselves a possibility. i did that very thing when we sold my BIL's home following his death. we had the home inspected and made all of the repairs recommended by the inspector before listing it. i'm sure that was at least partly responsible for the quick sale and closing. i will definitety discuss that idea with my contractor.

in the end my wife's safety is the overriding concern and if it ends up costing us $10k in a sale then so be it. small price to pay. thanks again to all of you.

 

[Another Reader]

Appraisers may have a figure they use in their adjustments. Whether that's based on a formal analysis is questionable. I certainly would talk to a couple of local agents to get their opinions.

 

[pb4uski]

We are considering a major makeover of our master bath in the next year or so and have already decided on a great shower and just get rid of the tub, which is the only tub in the place.

It's going to be fine in our case because of the 17 homes on our street, the age range is from 45 to 92, and 11 of the 17 are retired. There have never been any kids here. Talked to the main remodeling contractor in the area about it and he said it runs in cycles. 15-20 years ago he was putting in Jacuzzi tubs (which we have) and lately he has been taking them out and replacing with nice showers. There is nothing in the code to require a tub, so we'll be fine. Considering the neighborhood, it would be extremely surprising if a young family wanted to buy here.

Very same situation here for our winter condo. Even though our association is not 55+, the vast majority of owners/renters are 55+ or if younger then no kids. Only kids I see are visitors. Our guest bath has a walk-in shower that we really like but the master bath has a tub/shower... we are considering replacing the tub/shower with a walk-in shower if/when we renovate in a couple years.

My personal view is that in our situation the lack of a bathtub will have a negligible impact on value given the nature of owners here.

As a buyer, the lack of a tub would not bother me at all. At DW's insistence we paid mucho $$$ for a spa/tub in the guest bathroom at home including special plumbing to quickly fill it and find that we rarely use it

If we ever have grandkids and want a tub for them then I'll get a big plastic tub, put it in the shower and fill it with hot/warm water.

 

[pb4uski]

Relevant article. https://magazine.realtor/home-and-d...02/just-how-important-is-a-bathtub-for-resale

... Home appraiser Jonathan J. Miller, president of New York–based Miller Samuel, which tracks trends in 30 housing markets throughout the country, considers at least one bathtub a must. “The tub falls into the category of another commodity in a house. Sellers who have the most commodities—or amenities—win because their houses appeal to the widest audience and you’re always trying to expand the buyer pie,” he says.

Los Angeles interior designer Erica Islas of EMI Interior Designs agrees, and says her clients want at least one tub or a tub-shower combination. “Some even add a bathtub before selling to improve the odds of resale,” she says. ...

... The need for at least one tub is most common among two specific homeowner groups. The first is young families with small children, since many parents consider a traditional tub safer than a shower, says Stephanie Mallios, a sales rep with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Short Hills, N.J. The second group is luxury home owners whose houses usually have multiple bathrooms. ....

.... Of course, homes without bathtubs are not impossible to sell. Some bathrooms are just too small, and the shower wins out as the better option. Grubb has seen this case often when clients with small condominiums sacrifice a tub for a shower. Red Seal Homes, based in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, is designing its newest communities with some plans that no longer include a tub because so few buyers want one. “If they do, we’ll add it in a secondary or guest bathroom,” says owner Brian Hoffman.

Designer Susan Brunstrum, owner of Sweet Peas Design in Chicago, has done without a tub both in her former three-bathroom suburban home where she raised two children and now in her two-bathroom Chicago condo. “I knew none of us would use a tub,” she says. She also always advises clients to focus on if the cost per use of anything they add to a home, to ensure it makes economic sense. “My advice in such cases is to emphasize the shower,” she says. “I sold my house without a tub and don’t think it hurt the value, probably because we had very nice showers.” ....

 

[rk911]

interesting read. thanks.

 

[Sunset]

In the situation of safety , instead of stepping into a tub.
How about using a transfer bench, one that can sit inside and outside the tub. A person would sit on it, then swing both legs into the tub, and shift their butt over to be in the tub.
Could stay there, or stand up to shower.

 

[Boose]

Sunset, that's what I was going to recommend, if the OP wanted to keep the tub.

But as far as bathing kids without a tub, there's always the kitchen sink in infancy (that's where Gramma washed me) and, for older kids, a plastic stool, bucket, and a hand-held shower wand in the walk-in shower. I've used this combo in India and Japan and I think it's safer than putting a child in a tub of water.

 

[kgtest]

I am not a professional but have watched enough episodes of House Hunters to play in this thread:

No tub in the master? not a deal breaker
No tub in the house at all? ~50% of buyers will balk (even if they don't care personally, they will also have that same eye to their future resale unless they plan to remodel)

As a Millennial with kids, my mind went through that same thought process. No tub in master, but we do have one down the hall in 2nd bath. It has been a life saver with small kids. I don't know how you bath children without one...seems like without you would eliminate that growing family with growing bank account demographic.

 

[rk911]

spoke with my buddy contractor this morning about engineering the project so a tub could be dropped back in. can do. and if our future buyers make the tub a deal breaker we'll offer them $X so they can do it the way they want.

appreciate everyone's thoughts and suggestions.