Resale value - Master bath w/o tub

[Sarah_Rose]

We have that same floor plan in our master bath - small soaker tub, tiny little shower. The shower drives me up the wall - I can barely shave my legs in it, and when I was pregnant I had to shower in the "kids'" (said in quotes because we currently have only one kid and he's still in diapers and an infant tub) bathroom because the shower wasn't big enough for me to turn around in. Meanwhile, we only use the tub 3 or 4 times a year.

We stayed at AKV Kidani a couple weeks ago in a 2 bedroom villa and DH and I are ready to tear apart our bathroom and copy the Kidani large glass shower -- minus the Lion King themed tiles, of course, although they are very pretty.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

My last home had a Roman soaking tub, and I hated that thing. I rarely ever used it and it took up way too much room. The shower was tiny. I eventually took the tub out and installed a large shower.

I only take a bath about once a year, so I would certainly buy a house with no bathtub in the master bath. My DH loves soaking in a hot bath though, so he wants a bathtub in the master bath. Our new home has both so he's in luck.

I would do whatever makes you happy now.

 

[Buckalew11]

We built and moved in in the Fall of '09. We put in a huge shower with frameless glass and we love it.

We also put in a tub because in our old house we only had a tiny shower in the master bathroom. We use our tub though--it's not catching dust! lol

DH is a marathoner/Ironman so he used the tub as much as I do. We chose to put in a whirlpool tub that also has the bubbles. With the bubbles, you only have to have a small amount of water in the tub and I actually like the bubbles better than the jets.

I' rather not have a "soaking tub". That, I probably would rarely use.

 

[justhat]

We sold our house in Washington, DC last summer and we didn't have a tub at all in the house. The master bath had a HUGE shower, but no tub. And the other bathroom had a shower that was the same size as a regular bathtub, so I have no idea why the builder didn't just put a tub in there as well. The house was fairly new (we bought it brand new in 2006), so I have no idea on the reasoning, but it didn't affect us buying the house (and we had a 2yo and pregnant with #2), nor did it affect us selling it.

 

[rie'smom]

When we bought houses in the past, no tub would have been no sale. Now it would not be a huge deal. I broke my elbow a few years ago and had to shower because we have a claw foot tub that I could not manage. Some women like my mom and my daughter will only take baths though.

 

[shortbun]

The homes in our subdivision have the dumbest master bathrooms I have ever seen. I have yet to talk to anyone in our subdivision that likes theirs.

At first glance, they are nice enough. They are HUGE! But there is so much wasted space it is ridiculous. The shower stall is small and there is the world's smallest soaking tub.


We want to rip out both the tub and shower and put in a really nice glass block shower stall. It would have built in benches and the nice shower heads.

There is another full bath in the house. What do you think? Would it hurt the resale value?

This is exactly what we're doing-installing a mosiac tiled steam shower with a bench and great heads. My realtor friend told me as long as there are tubs in the other baths, it's ok. We have two other baths.

 

[2Kds2K9]

When we were redoing our master bathroom, the architecht told us that we would want a huge soaking tub for resale. I looked at her and said that I was doing this remodel for me and that if the next owner wanted one, they could put one in. That was 12 years ago and I don't plan on selling anytime soon.

You are spending the money, do what makes you happy and enjoy!

 

[golfgal]

We have a separate shower/tub in our master bath. We use our jacuzzi tub frequently. It would not have been a deal breaker if our bathroom had a luxury shower and no tub vs what we have now. We use the shower every day, the tub maybe once every few weeks. We have a bathtub in another bathroom that if we wanted, we could swap out for a jetted tub. I don't know that adding a glass block shower and taking out the tub would add value but I also don't think it would subtract value either-it would just be a sales feature.

I think that if you are in a subdivision with houses that are all the same, doing a unique upgrade that is functional will actually HELP your resale.

Search previous threads on the topic of taking a bath vs a shower and you will see that the majority of the people here RARELY if ever take a bath.

 

[kirstenb1]

I would love one of those new luxury showers. The only reason we have a tub is to bathe kids. As long as your second bath has a tub, I vote do what you want!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My guess would be that it will affect your resale value (what doesn't, really ) but that wouldn't stop me from doing it if it's what I really wanted.

 

[LisaR]

Thanks for all the opinions! We can't start this project until the end of April because my mom stays with us and can only use the shower stall. Once she leaves, I am pretty sure we are going to do something in there. We are hoping there will be some type of home show in this area where we can get some more ideas.

 

[monorailsilver]

If I was looking at your house to buy with out a bath in the master bath, I wouldn't think twice.

I hate baths, I think they are dirty & you need to shower right after anyways (I know alot of my friends feel the same way). I would never sit in a soaker tub just to sit as I am not a bath person.

My sister has a soaker tub. They just remodeled their bathroom too so they still have the tub & a 2 person fully tiled shower/glass doors. I don't think she ever uses the tub.

I honestly think it is all for show in most homes. Most people I know (it may be my area) don't take baths. How do I know because we have had discussions about it.

 

[GoodFairies]

Our house is 11 years old. The master bath had a small (leaky!) shower stall with no shelving (all toiletries went on the floor) and a large Jacuzzi tub that got used maybe twice a year. After a few years of throwing the idea around, we recently had it all replaced with a large his-and-hers shower.

We knew pretty much what we wanted since we had talked about it for so long, but we also took ideas from the higher end hotels we've stayed in over that time, as well as shows like Bathtastic and Bath Crashers. Our contractor also offered a lot of great ideas. We even looked at new homes to see what they were doing in bathrooms "today" but we were underwhelmed by all of them.

In talking to lots of people who have done recent renovations, most expressed that they wished they had done the large shower instead of the tub. We discussed resale value but didn't agonize over it. We agonized longer over the paint color . In the end we did what we wanted - and we don't miss the tub. I certainly don't miss cleaning it!

 

[LisaR]

Our house is 11 years old. The master bath had a small (leaky!) shower stall with no shelving (all toiletries went on the floor) and a large Jacuzzi tub that got used maybe twice a year. After a few years of throwing the idea around, we recently had it all replaced with a large his-and-hers shower.

We knew pretty much what we wanted since we had talked about it for so long, but we also took ideas from the higher end hotels we've stayed in over that time, as well as shows like Bathtastic and Bath Crashers. Our contractor also offered a lot of great ideas. We even looked at new homes to see what they were doing in bathrooms "today" but we were underwhelmed by all of them.

In talking to lots of people who have done recent renovations, most expressed that they wished they had done the large shower instead of the tub. We discussed resale value but didn't agonize over it. We agonized longer over the paint color . In the end we did what we wanted - and we don't miss the tub. I certainly don't miss cleaning it!

I would love to see a picture of what you have done if you don't mind sharing. It sounds perfect! We are definitely going to look around and make sure we do it right.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

When we had the flood and had to redo the house I took out the tub in the mb and put in a nice shower. I did worry at the time about resale but decided I was going to be here for awhile and I was going to do it for me. I just love the new shower! It is big with 2 shower heads. When we sell I am sure there will be at least one person (maybe more after reading this thread) that feels like I do. We do have a tub in the hall bath - so there is one in the house. It never gets used though!

 

[Angelhalo]

My fear is that people will walk into the master bath, not see a tub and decide they don't want it because of that. Is a tub in the master bath important to most buyers?

It is to me. No tub, I'm outta there. On to the next house option.

 

[LaurenLC]

I would NEVER buy a home without a tub in the master bathroom.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I want to do the same thing in our master bathroom. I have been told by realtors that as long as there is a tub in another bathroom in the house, it will not hurt your resale value, and even if it did, I'm also of the opinion that we do our home for us, not for whoever might buy it 10 or 20 years from now.

Obviously, there are some that wouldn't buy your house without a tub in the master bath, but there are others (like me!), who would love your big luxurious shower much more than the typical small shower and never-to-be-used tub. Just like there will be some who wouldn't like your flooring, carpet or wall color. Just depends on the particular buyer.

 

[AKL_Megs]

FWIW, I'd never use a soaker tub. Or I'd use it so sporadically it wouldn't be worth having. I'd much rather have a super fancy shower than a super fancy soaking tub.

We have a shower stall in our basement bathroom, but we can fit a big soaking tub Jacuzzi in its place. I told DH I'd rather have a fancy shower down there.

 

[tlbwriter]

I wouldn't worry about it. This thread shows that for every person who would reject your house without a master tub, there's another person who would buy your house for a luxurious shower.