Resale Value - Closet v. Bathroom

5%

hard to say big diff depends on if you are going from 1 to 1.5 or 1.5 to 2 or 2 to 2.5
also are there barely any other closets as a result of the conversion?

My preference is towards an extra closet. No matter how rich you are and how much space you have, everyone's got a ton of crap. That said, unless you have a sprawling pad, i don't see the benefit of not having to walk an extra 10 ft to go to the bathroom. Half bath does nothing for me.

"Half bath does nothing for me."

Until you have a guest (or roommate or significant other or whomever happens to be in your place at the time) who gets a case of the screaming meanies and is glued to the toilet for hours at a time.

That second toilet is worth its weight in platinum.

I'll take the half bath and rough it with an extra armoire cluttering up the bedroom.

Yes, NYCMatt, you're totally right. Why choose a closet you can use every single day? Better to opt for a half bath to deal with someone in your apt with diarrhea once every 5-10 yrs. Good rate of return on that one.

I agree with mh330. Closet space is something you can use 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If I had a guest who was glued to the toilet to the point where I couldn't make use of it, I'd probably knock on the neighbor's door or even go down to the local coffee shop.

Unless the unit is severely under-bathroomed (1 bath in a 3-BR 1500 SF unit, or something), I say take the closet space.

Guess some of you are not living with another person. There are times when both of you need to go at the same. Extra bathroom worth its weight in gold when there's two of you.

"Guess some of you are not living with another person. There are times when both of you need to go at the same. Extra bathroom worth its weight in gold when there's two of you."

When there's *two*? Come on; I grew up in a perfectly ordinary suburban house that had one bathroom for a family of *five* and nobody ever felt deprived. My parents had a half-bath put in downstairs thinking it would be valuable, but it was hardly a necessity. The sink and toilet were handy, but the shower they put in never, ever saw any use.

The Brady Bunch seemed to manage with one bathroom, and their dad was an architect.

To me the difference b/w 1 and 1 1/2 baths is huge for a one bedroom. It allows one to have overnight guests comfortably on a sofa bed. One bedroom/1 bath is not much different than a studio

half bath for sure. Think two people getting ready in the am at the time. You can buy a closet and put anywhere.

IMHO in a 2BR/1 Bth or "convertible" 2BR, the extra half bath becomes very valuable, particularly for resale

"There are times when both of you need to go at the same. Extra bathroom worth its weight in gold when there's two of you."

How about when there three of you? Four? Five? Six?

Does nobody put up out of town guests? Let me tell you, even when just one person sleeps over, disrupting your normal routine, that extra half-bath is worth the entire Manhattan Mini-Storage building on Varick Street. If it's your parents visiting from out of town and everyone is trying to get ready in the morning at the same time for church -- that half bath is worth pretty much the entire UES at that moment.

Matthew, when did you go into professional real property valuation?

Extra half bath is worth it, and you'll notice that most new buildings these days on the rental side give very little closet space

I only like to go to 'grade pending' places bc it's more 'authentic'....so half bath for me.

closet if it's a 1-BR. half bath if it's a 2-BR, which dramatically increases resale value and is invaluable for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids), who will pay a premium for that extra half bath.

"Matthew, when did you go into professional real property valuation?"

It's a gift, sweetie.

I don't think this debate has anything to do with the likely purchaser pool. Closets can be added pretty much anywhere. Armoires can be substituted. You can't add a bath anywhere, and in most buildings can't add a bath at all. You also can't substitute a port-a-potty. Having a spare bathroom available at the nearest mini-storage isn't very helpful either. I don't think anyone is discussing whether to have a second bath in a studio or 650 sq ft cookie cutter one bedroom. This is a no brainer if the discussion relates to a second (or maybe even a third) bath. But, half baths are dumb unless it is a third+ bath, but that is a story for another day.

"half baths are dumb unless it is a third+ bath"

You say that now.

Until you feel a big torpedo blast imminent and your ONE bathroom is tied up ...

disagree about half baths. Showering is seldom an emergency; other functions are

when i was looking, i was looking for 2/3 br 1 1/2 bth+. 1 bathroom was not a consideration at all.

It's also nice to have that extra half-bath for guests (the kind who visit for just an hour or two and use your toilet, not the kind who stay overnight and use your bathtub), to maintain a more or less "public" toilet in your apartment while keeping people out of your personal bathroom.

> Half bath does nothing for me.

same here! we have 2 walking closet, wouldn't trade them for anything! when you have a kid or two the bulky stuff just piles up

> everyone is trying to get ready in the morning at the same time for church

people still go to those places?

>people still go to those places?

In Matt's example, your parents are visiting and you are all going together.

For a one bedroom or a two bedroom/one bath, I would prefer to add the half bathroom rather than an extra closet. Many years ago, I lived in a rental apartment where the toilet didn't work properly and the super could never fix it correctly and having an extra half bath would have been great. It's also nice not having to have guests need to use your bathroom. No matter how many closets, dresser drawers, storage spaces, etc. I have, I find that I never have enough closet space anyway.

In terms of resale the extra 1/2 bath is more valuble. Many purchasers want at least 1.5 baths and aill not consider anything less. They can add shelves or armoires or underbed storage but having the extra 1/2 bath is worth a lot more

Depends on what you already have. If you already have decent closets, a little more isn't gold. If you have none, it is big.

If you have 2 bedrooms and one bathroom, DEFINITELY the half bath. If you have 2+2, not so big.

Also, layout matters. Part of advantage of half is not having folks in your bedroom (say a 1/1). If bathroom is en suite, this is big. If not, then less so.

So *very* tough to say all other things being equal. Really depends on what you have. An extra tire matters a lot more if you only have 3.

In terms of sheer $$$.... I think bathroom, if nothing else it puts you in another category.

> So *very* tough to say all other things being equal. Really depends on what you have. An extra tire matters a lot more if you only have 3.

so true! i think of our 2 WC as indispensable at this point, but also have 2 bathrooms. i don't see the value of having 2 1/2 baths, but cannot imagine having only 1 bathroom and no WC.