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Preparing to sell: how to present a beautiful bathroom

Fri 07 Feb 2020

Paul Bennett, Director

In the second of our series of blogs devoted to property presentation, we share our advice concerning bathroom improvements that may help sell your home.

Bathrooms, despite being some of the smallest rooms where we live, are increasingly a key selling point. This is especially true in high-value properties but even the most cupboard-like of conveniences need to be clean and in working order to pass the purchaser test.

How do I know if my bathroom will pass muster?

Daily ablutions have now become ‘bathing rituals’ and the desire for a haven-like sanctuary has replaced the purely functional bathroom. Does yours make the grade? Your first step is to conduct a bathroom review. Will a good spring clean suffice or does it require a bit more attention? The organisation Propertymark advises that bathrooms need to be fresh and hygienic looking to appeal, with a statistic that revealed 29% of homes sold in 2019 had a new bathroom fitted. 

Can a good bathroom add value and help achieve a higher asking price?

Industry experts suggest a brand new bathroom can add as much as 5% to the asking price, while a survey commissioned by Victoria Plum found 87% of respondents said a nice bathroom was key when deciding to buy or rent a property. This type of research suggests it’s worth paying attention to your bathroom before going on the market.

The biggest bathroom turn offs

Barclays Mortgages carried out a bathroom trends poll and discovered that the infamous avocado coloured bathroom suite was voted the household feature most likely to put people off buying a home, while 46% disliked carpets in bathrooms.

 

Other off-putting bathroom aspects included:

  • Dirty, dimly lit bathrooms

  • Mould, broken tiles, missing grout and limescale build up

  • Toilet seats left up

  • Children’s toys scattered around the bathroom

Quick fixes and simple bathroom solutions

If a bathroom review leads you to believe that a few cosmetic improvements are required, you may like to consider the following

  • Eliminate all limescale from taps and shower screens

  • Treat mould and mildew patches with a specific paint, and ensure adequate ventilation

  • Replace a worn shower curtain or add a simple glass screen

  • Change outdated fixtures, such as towel racks, toilet roll holders and cabinets

  • Replace cracked tiles and re-grout where anything is missing or mouldy

  • Add some bright, fluffy towels – neatly folded and not in a wet pile

  • Display a few luxury toiletries and candles

If you feel your bathroom suite really lets your property down, then a basic toilet, bath and basin set can be purchased from major DIY outlets or online for a small sum but it will have a huge impact.

To bath or not?

As the name of the room suggests, most people like to see at least one bath in a property. Some homeowners are tempted to remove a bath in favour of a shower cubicle if there’s not enough space for both but this poses a question: will it affect the home’s value? Probably not, unless your target market is parents with young children.

If you are looking to sell your property and would like advice on achieving bathroom bliss, please get in touch.