As a realtor I walk through a lot of homes but I saw something recently that I thought added a significant amount of value to a home and greatly improved the functionality and appeal of the home.
The home was a 2300 sq ft ranch, four bedroom home built in the 1950’s.
All four bedrooms were on one end of the ranch home as you would expect to see.
Someone had taken the fourth bedroom and converted it to a bathroom and closet and essentially adding a second “master bedroom and master bathroom” — “master suite” to the home.
It did not lower the value of the home to lose the fourth bedroom. Instead I think it increased the value of this particular home by about 15 to 20 percent.
This was done by opening the shared wall between the two bedrooms and someone designing this would need to know how much to open and also how large to make the bathroom vs the walk in closet.
I Just thought I’d share this. Maybe it’s commonplace, but I hadn’t seen this before.
The changed rooms had a good flow and a good “feel”. The rooms were not chopped up and did not have the feel that a major departure from the existing floor plan had occurred the way some additions or remodels feel.
^^^^^^
“The Older We Get, The Better We Were”
Replies
mrfixitusa
I did a remodel for a couple several years ago that did something similar.
They bought an old 4 square house, four bedrooms upstairs with one bath.
We converted one of the bedrooms to a master closet/master bath.
I don't think that this couple would have bought the place if they didn't have the possibility of having a master suit, the forth bedroom meant very little to them.
As you stated, I think the value of the place increased with 3 bedrooms, one being a master then it did with 4 bedrooms and no master.
Doug
There was an open house a last month that I wanted to go to, but was busy.
Anyway the area is full of 50-60's 3 bedroom tract homes. Based on the general area it was 3 basic bathrooms with a hall bathroom.
Any way this was remodeled (don't know what else they did to it) and but the article mentioned that they converted it into 2 bedrooms with a "master suite".
Agreed - the master bath increased the value of their home significantly I'm 48 years old and will never buy another home to live in unless it has a master bathroom.^^^^^^
"The Older We Get, The Better We Were"
I would like to see what you're describing - I would be very careful about changing the home from three bedroom down to two.My neighbor has a three bedroom ranch home. It had one hallway bathroom.They added onto the home and the addition was to a bedroom and the addition extended back of the home and into the back yard.The extension made the bedroom larger and it had a bathroom and a walk in closet. This adds a lot to the value of this particular home.^^^^^^
"The Older We Get, The Better We Were"
In general I agree.But these houses are small and way out of date. And there are a large number of single buyers without or with only one child.
Bill
I'd think that your way of thinking on this is probably right, I believe that there are a lot of younger couples that are opting to not have any children or wait until much later to do so. Even a lot of singles buying homes now.
They want a house now and the added benifits of having a master over a third BR is probably more important to them.
I think we will see this trend continue so givin a neighborhood such as the one you describe, it probably doesnt hurt to make the change.
Doug
Over the past year, I've done a few jobs for several 30-something's who have bought the older, smaller, houses as starter homes. Several of our "boomer" friends have expressed interest in "downsizing" from their current house into something smaller - but not a retirement community condo. They're wanting less unused house as well as casing out some of their equity.
I'm wondering if there may be a market for renovated 50's - 60's tract houses in the 1200 - 1600 sq ft range.
I'm wondering if there may be a market for renovated 50's - 60's tract houses in the 1200 - 1600 sq ft range.
That might be a good spec posibility, just have to find the right area for them to be hot tickets and off ya go to the bank!
there is an area off of downtown Austin, TX that any two bedroom fixed up nicely will sell for roughly 300-400,000.
There a differnt animal then the 50's 60's ranch but their is a market for smaller homes with amenities, especially if the neighborhood hasnt gone to the thugs.
Doug
There was an article In SoCal news paper a few weeks ago about just this same thing. Seems that people are now looking for master bedrooms/master suites on the main floor. In Wash, where we just sold our home, the only homes that have sold are the single story ones. All the 2 stories(a lot of them) are still for sale and the prices are dropping.
The brick home we have now is has a master bdrm on the main floor and additional 9'x15' bdrm plus a lot of hallway making it a great candidate for a master suite. The rest of the bedrooms are upstairs.
Now, my wife comes along and say that "some day her mom will be too old to be living on her own..."
Told when that happens, we'll move, with no forwarding address. She didn't think it was funny.
She did want to know how much an elevator would cost. She thought it would be cheaper than the real estate fees. I wish, maybe??
I'm sorry but I don't know what an elevator would cost. Realtor's fees are usually 6% but as I understand it some places are up to 7%.I have a friend in the same situation you're in with the mother in law and when it became available he bought the house next door for her. Recently I've become aware of several situations where families buy 3-4 homes on the same block. Mom and dad in one house, son and his family in the next one, the daughter and her husband 1-2 houses away, you know that kind of thing.The young children walk to grandma's houses whenever they want to.The grown children can walk down the street to check on the elderly parent, etc etc. or whatever.^^^^^^
"The Older We Get, The Better We Were"
Priced out some 'lula' elevators (limited use/limited application) for a project a couple years ago. They're not cheap. I seem to remember the prices being around $30,000 . . . maybe more if you're retrofitting an existing building for one.http://www.wheelovator.com/lula.htm
Draftguy,I have been putting residential elevators in like 15-20 percent of the customs I have been designing lately, and not just in over-the-top extravagant homes either. This topic is also covered in a front page article from a recent FHB, but basically it goes like this:People are designig these homes for life. They picture themselves growing old there, and as a result, a very common request is for the master bedroom on the first floor. And, of course, they want a big master bedroom suite. I have found the master suite on the first floor causes a myriad of negative effects. All of the negative consequences of having a master suite at first floor level stem from the increase in the building footprint. For one thing, an increase in the size of the footprint makes it tough, at least in my region, because it's hard enough as it is to make a new house work within the zoning setbacks. Second (and were talking about homes where people still want additional bedrooms on the second floor, but the master suite on the ground story) it becomes difficult not to add extra square footage on the second floor than is necessary. Because the ground level footprint expands, you now have a larger second story. I typically will combat that problem by creating a roof where some of the eaves go to first story level, thus eating up some of that extra space, however this can result in a more complicated than necessary roof to build, and thus added cost for construction.Also, with an expanded footprint you now have more foundation to build, more excavation to do, more roof to cover, more materials in general, etc. etc..All things considered, the cost of adding an elevator is actually offset by the costs that would be added by putting the master suite on the first floor. It's tough to convince people of this, but if they can think outside the box a little they come to realize that it actually makes sense.Plus, it's cool to tell people your house has an elevator.Also, residential elevators don't take up very much space. In new construction, it's pretty easy to make one work with the design.Thats how I feel anyway, but I would be interested to see if people agree or disagree.
In a new construction, multi-level, home, an elevator makes a great deal of sense since it's not that difficult to do. Retro-fitting one may be another can of worms, however.
Another request seems to be laundry rooms on the ground floor. Schlepping laundry up and down stairs gets old pretty fast. In '64 - when I thought I wanted to be an architect - I did the floor plan for my parents home. Mom absolutely insisted on having the laundry room on the ground floor and nothing was gonna change her mind. She's still living there (at 84) and thinks that's the best feature of the house - lol.
I have had instances where they couldn't make up thier mind, and literally ended up with one on each floor. Again, maybe a dumbwaiter would have been more economical? Oh well, theres no winning sometimes right?
Never tried to retrofit an elevator. Sounds like a much more costly proposition. But maybe better than moving. Especially if you like where you are.
yeah, makes sense
When I priced them it was for a 2-story multi-use building that would have been all new. I was wondering how it would work for an existing house (interior or exterior, more additional problems to solve either way). The 'lula' elevators are slower than other elevators too . . . but then again, by the time the owners are really using them, so are they. :)
Thanks to everyone for their input. The purpose of the post was to show how easy it would be to knock out a few walls and walla you've got a master suite and your home is worth $25 K more than when you started.I thought about it this morning and I've probably seen more houses botched up than improved when people demo interior walls.I do know of a home on the market as we speak in which someone turned a small two bedroom home into a one bedroom home and the place is not selling and has sat on the market for about a year now.The second bedroom was eliminated to make the living room bigger and doing this probably hurt the value of this particular home. ^^^^^^
"The Older We Get, The Better We Were"
In our part of the world, that's called, "Spend $2 to earn $1.50."
Do it because you want/need it... NOT to sell it.
Troy Sprout
"Don't forget the screws"
I can't see it adding value, in fact IMO it may lower it because the price point for a 3 bedroom is lower than a four in general.
That being said...unless your moving anytime soon, what difference does it make. If it makes the house work better for someone or a family, they should do it regardless.