Those are selling fast in mine as teardown

Three 3-BR, 1-BA homes have sold in Falls Church this year. No colonials, though. One rambler sold at list, one rambler sold for $15K above list, and one cape cod sold for $31K above list.

Thanks for the input. There are tons of teardowns in our neighborhood, and I imagine that this would be a candidate.

I understand that some would not buy a one bath house - we wouldn't have except that we fell in love with it and love the neighborhood, schools, and commute. Adding a toilet in the basement for emergencies - which we may do - is a small sacrifice.

Anonymous wrote:If you're going to move, don't bother. Your home will likely be a candidate to tear down or otherwise have a large addition anyway, and you won't recoup your cost to add the bath.

Totally agree. Your house is a tear down.

If this is the type of neighborhood where a buyer may come in a do a teardown/rebuild, then I'd leave it alone.

We are also looking for a house and I'm sorry but would not even consider a 1 bath house, as beautiful as it may be.

Do you have a half bath on the first floor? Do baths in the basement "count" (might be a silly question, but I know there are some odd rules about below grade living space).

I probably would not do it. You might take a hit on the price, but there will always be someone who's happy to get the house.

Your house would never come up on our searches because we only search for 2+bath and 3/4 bedrooms. We would not even consider paying less because I would want 2 bathrooms when we moved in.

If you're going to move, don't bother. Your home will likely be a candidate to tear down or otherwise have a large addition anyway, and you won't recoup your cost to add the bath.

I would always suggest obtaining two or three estimates. 20K for a bathroom seems high. As for the addition, it would depend upon the work needed and how expansive of an addition you would be considering. I suggest getting a couple of estimates and weigh the benefits against the cost. If you don't think that the return on investment is good enough, than sell as-is.

Thanks for the input. There is not really room on the bedroom level to add even a small bath, so we'd probably do an addition on the main level, or one in the basement. Do these figures - 20K and 40K - seem competitive for this area, or should we shop around more? We live in FCC.

You're correct. The only question would be is if you can get more for the house by adding the second bathroom than it may cost and if you personally benefit during the next few years.

If the house is otherwise desirable and in good shape and there is clearly room to add a bath, I would think it would sell, just for less than comparable houses with two baths. People in our neighborhood buy these houses all the time and either add a bath, or an addition, or tear down -- whatever suits their fancy. Certainly doesn't keep houses from selling since it is the neighborhood, schools, and walkability/proximity to metro that are the draws -- not the houses, most of which probably qualify as dumps or fixer-uppers anywhere other than this region.

A second bathroom is always a benefit to the buyer but more so if it is on the main bedroom level. If your master bedroom is spacious enough, you could consider adding a half bath and than work with a shared shower on the upper level. I would suggest examining the comparable sales to see the difference in selling prices.

We live in a very desirable, close-in suburb with a great school system. We have a colonial style, 3 bedroom 1 bath house. Many of the houses in our neighborhood are the same style, but most have added a bathroom or other addition. The house is beautiful other than the one bath problem: beautiful landscaping, large yard and patio, hardwood floors, etc.

If we are moving within the next five years, is it worthwhile to add another bath? To build an addition to add a bath would cost about 40K, to add one in the basement, about 20K. Although we have two kids, having only one bath hasn't really been a problem. There's no room to add one in the main floor.

Anyway, just wanted some input. Appreciate any thoughts (or contractor recs, if you have any). Thanks!