Is this a 1/2 bath.

[Tom D]

Typical urban row home. Finished basement with a laundry room with a laundry tub. In that room is a toilet closet, only toilet in it. But there is the laundry tub 10 feet away. Just driving me crazy from a technical point or symantec point, as to what would a buyer think. I know, do we even care, but i'm curious on the group opinion..

 

[J Grant]

Typical urban row home. Finished basement with a laundry room with a laundry tub. In that room is a toilet closet, only toilet in it. But there is the laundry tub 10 feet away. Just driving me crazy from a technical point or symantec point, as to what would a buyer think. I know, do we even care, but i'm curious on the group opinion..

It is an ugly, half-bath basement.
Despite appearance it functions as a half bath so it is what it is. Photo it and the let the photo speak for itself.
What would a buyer think? It is ugly, but it serves the purpose if they need to go for some reason while doing laundry.

 

[alebrewer]

Had one of those one time - no sink in the 'toilet closet', but a laundry sink in the next room. IMO, the market would see it as a half bath. Good luck quantifying any functional from the sink being in another room, though...

 

[Tom D]

I agree with both. The closet is in the laundry room. My issue is the market grid, fin basement with a .1 bath. So far the group is swaying me. Thank yous.

 

[J Grant]

I agree with both. The closet is in the laundry room. My issue is the market grid, fin basement with a .1 bath. So far the group is swaying me. Thank yous.

Report it as a half bath and photo and describe it. It is in a basement - so it matches that utility - if the rest of the house is Q4 it is not a game changer.

 

[J Grant]

These questions get asked in isolation and we do not see the whole property.

I might assume a rough half bath like this in a basement fits with a C 4 lower $ house in which case a buyer could care less. They are happy to have the amenity- though they might not pay more for it. Some things are about appeal rather than value. That is an assumption of course. The point is we analyze a feature by itself and we also analyze it according to how it fits with the rest of the property. We can always opine slightly lower or higher along the value range in these situations.

 

[Bobby Bucks]

It is an ugly, half-bath basement.
Despite appearance it functions as a half bath so it is what it is. Photo it and the let the photo speak for itself.
What would a buyer think? It is ugly, but it serves the purpose if they need to go for some reason while doing laundry.

It is an ugly, half-bath basement.
Despite appearance it functions as a half bath so it is what it is. Photo it and the let the photo speak for itself.
What would a buyer think? It is ugly, but it serves the purpose if they need to go for some reason while doing laundry.

I agree, but half the population would consider it a big, beautiful half basement, we live in a democracy.

 

[J Grant]

I agree, but half the population would consider it a big, beautiful half basement, we live in a democracy.

That's why we are experts in the market area!

I work on everything from basic starter homes to multimillion-dollar luxe properties, and I consider how the market views them, so I adjust each time. I might have my own private reactions to a property, but it's how the buyers see it that counts.

I have no interest in golf imo it is super boring but some buyers will pay millions to live in an exclusive golf course community so that is how I view it through their eyes.

 

[Lil Rhody]

Around here there a many older homes with a standalone toilet in the unfinished basement that some appraisers insist on giving a positive adjustment to. I was talking to an appraiser once and was explaining to him that most of these were put in as a mechanism to contain sewage backups. They were installed when the population growth was outpacing the upgrades in infrastructure. Like many of them, it had very minimal functionality and there was no market data that suggested an adjustment. His thought process was that since there was a laundry sink on the other side of the basement and since the basement had no walls, it was considered one room and therefore one large 1/2 bath. Some people just don't get it.

 

[JTip]

Not a 1/2.

It's called a 'Pittsburgh Toilet'.

Pittsburgh toilet - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org