Having a downstairs bathroom in a property may be putting off some potential buyers and so if homeowners are finding that this is an issue when they are trying to sell it is worth exploring whether it is feasible and cost effective to move the bathroom upstairs.
Many older terraced properties will have a downstairs bathroom as these properties were often built before bathrooms inside the home were common. An outdoor toilet was the usual thing for these type of properties and a tin bath that was brought into the kitchen would be used for the weekly family baths. As time went on householders would extend the property and convert the outside toilet into an inside bathroom which was seen as a luxury for many people, but modern day buyers want a bathroom or at least a toilet upstairs. It is therefore certainly worth looking at the possibilities of putting a bathroom upstairs if the house is for sale.
If the house has three bedrooms, people sometimes convert the smallest bedroom into a bathroom and this is probably the simplest option although reducing the property from a three bedroom to a two bedroom could affect the value. Another option would be to partition off a section of one of the larger bedrooms to make a bathroom space. This could be an ideal solution if the property has only two bedrooms. Choosing to have a shower room instead of a bathroom would take up considerably less space and so could be a better option in some properties.
Once this conversion has been decided on, it is a good idea to ask an experienced builder or an architect to investigate whether this is possible regarding drainage issues as the toilet soil pipe will need to be routed from the new toilet to the drain outside. If after investigation it is found that getting the toilet drainage to the outside is not possible then it may be that a toilet macerator can be fitted so that smaller pipework can be used. Although people were put off installing macerators as they were thought to be noisy modern toilet macerators are much quieter.
The option to keep the bathroom downstairs is always open to house sellers and some decide that it is not worth the cost of moving the bathroom. Instead, they decide to modernise the bathroom by fitting a new modern bathroom suite, retiling and updating the décor. This may be a sensible choice as many buyers accept that this type of property will have a bathroom downstairs and are prepared to accept this.