Brewster, NY · Member since 2016 · 33 posts · 16 votes
Hi Folks!
My wife and I are in the process of rehabbing our first investment property. The house is a 2bd / 1bth single family. We are having a slight disagreement about the bathroom. Right now, it has a corner shower stall only. My wife says that we need to redo the bathroom and but in a bath tub because any perspective tenants with young kids will not rent our property without a tub. I'm looking at the cost to do this and I think it will be pretty expensive. The bathroom is above a finished basement, so a contractor would have to tear open the basement ceiling to move around plumbing. We'd have to move the toilet and the sink and the baseboard heater as well.
I'm hoping to get a few opinions from you folks as to what you think would be our best move. As a side note, the house is 100 years old. Would the weight of the tub be an issue as far as the floor joists go?
Real Estate Agent · Chagrin Falls, OH · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 25 votes
9y
Is it in a neighborhood Where you can attract a non-family?
Are you planning to own more properties so you aren't dependent on this one? 2 BR to me is single prof w home office, married with guest room, single parent with 1 child, young couple with baby. Speaking as someone who represented some of those demographics as a renter, half of those need a tub, the others might not care. You could always put it up for rent and ask people as they come through whether a tub is a must as your own personal survey. Although you'd hate to take it out of circulation in the future to do the rehab, maybe wait and earn some cash flow to pay for it if needed. Similar situation for me in my first BRRR - a truly humbling situation - taught me a lot about what I look for going forward. Also, everything will sell at a price. Make your price attractive for what you have to offer and it's going to rent. Then do a cost- benefit analysis on the tub payback period and what you think you could raise the rent by.
My guess is you can increase the potential tenant pool with a tub in a 2 BR house, but it's not clear that a tub will allow you to raise the rent. In a 3 BR it would be a no-brainer but not here. Perfection is the enemy of Good Enough!!
Guy with Great Hair · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
You need at least 1 tub in the house.
Check the surrounding area, is it normal for most houses to have a shower only? if so, I guess you might be able to get away with it, but your wife (as they always are...) is correct.
The initial cost outlay may seem like a lot, but if you have to take a long term hit on rent price, high vacancy rates, difficulty in finding tenants, etc then those costs will be much higher.
At least get an estimate on the work, a few grand now is small potatoes compared to a few higher % vacancy rate and smaller rental pool of applicants.
Investor · Beachwood, OH · Member since 2016 · 37 posts · 21 votes
9y
I'd definitely leave it alone, it seems to be a waste of money in my opinion. For one this is only a 2br home not a 4 or even 3 br home. Someone who has kids is more likely to move into a home with more rooms than you have. Tubs also cause problems because careless tenants can overflow them as well, the corner standup shower is significantly less maintenance. I'd take the money your saving from not doing the tub renovations and put it into better finishes with lighting, flooring etc... throughout the house instead.
Brewster, NY · Member since 2016 · 33 posts · 16 votes
9y
Ok, so far my wife has 2 votes for the tub and I've got 1 for leaving the shower. You all have valid points. Curious to see how the voting ends up going. Thanks, guys!
Guy with Great Hair · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
@Jeff Bisgier while I'm sure you're joking (mostly) you should not leave it up to a vote! LOL
Get an estimate, check the numbers. If it cost $1500 to add a tub wouldn't that seem super easy.
you can't make the correct decision without all the information. If it cost $10,000 to add a tub I would recommend refraining.....so there is a break point and you're going to need that number.
Also, if you skip it and have a hard time finding a tenant, what does a lifetime of "I told you so" from the wife cost? haha
Brewster, NY · Member since 2016 · 33 posts · 16 votes
9y
@Alexander Felice LOL....Yes, I'm joking about the votes. I've gotten so much great advice from the people on BP with other questions I've asked, so I will look at everyone's thoughts and opinions and we'll make our decisions with that advice in mind.
And yes.....my wife is certainly the "I told you so" type of person!!
Real Estate Investor · Williamson County, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 961 votes
9y
Tub is optimal. But there are all kinds of tenants...and an elderly couple may appreciate not having to step into a tub. On the positive side, no tub, no kids, less wear and tear on the property.
Investor · Edwardsville, IL · Member since 2015 · 432 posts · 481 votes
9y
My first thought was you need a tub or you are eliminating the tenant population that has kids. Then you throw in that you will have to reconfigure the whole bathroom which will be $5-7000 modestly. You also never know what can of worms you are opening when you open up walls and floors. What will be the rental rate and how long will it take to get the investment back? Who are the renters / other owners close to the unit? If it's people with kids - the wife wins. No kids - you win (but do we ever really win?) :D
Developer · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 904 votes
9y
It's not just kids - tenants with pets may also like a tub.
Beware, tubs have their issues like tenants overfilling them causing leaks below and expecting landlords to fix it.
Get a price estimate and make a decision based on that.
Real Estate Agent · Chagrin Falls, OH · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 25 votes
9y
Is it in a neighborhood Where you can attract a non-family?
Are you planning to own more properties so you aren't dependent on this one? 2 BR to me is single prof w home office, married with guest room, single parent with 1 child, young couple with baby. Speaking as someone who represented some of those demographics as a renter, half of those need a tub, the others might not care. You could always put it up for rent and ask people as they come through whether a tub is a must as your own personal survey. Although you'd hate to take it out of circulation in the future to do the rehab, maybe wait and earn some cash flow to pay for it if needed. Similar situation for me in my first BRRR - a truly humbling situation - taught me a lot about what I look for going forward. Also, everything will sell at a price. Make your price attractive for what you have to offer and it's going to rent. Then do a cost- benefit analysis on the tub payback period and what you think you could raise the rent by.
My guess is you can increase the potential tenant pool with a tub in a 2 BR house, but it's not clear that a tub will allow you to raise the rent. In a 3 BR it would be a no-brainer but not here. Perfection is the enemy of Good Enough!!
Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Fiberglass tubs would not cause a weight issue compared with the old cast iron tubs, and one questions is will it fit in the door, up the stairs, and into the space, the tubs now can come with surrounds that have sections to help around those issues.
As a renter a shower is preferred for use. I personally wouldn't switch it, I doubt the return on the added cost and expense would be worth it.
Your more likely to get adults, roommates, no kids, which in my opinion is a preferred renter pool.. no pun intended.
Investor · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2014 · 80 posts · 45 votes
9y
While a tub definitely makes it more marketable, I will have to agree with some of the posters that is 'juice worth the squeeze?' Chances are, having a tub won't increase the rental rate by much at all; it will still depend on the market. Therefore it depends on how much it would cost to install the tub? If you could have this done relatively cheap, i say go for it because it makes property more desirable for the long term. If too expensive, keep shower. Then you could upgrade the property at a later date once the cash flow starts building up.
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
9y
@Jeff Bisgier first of all, your wife is always right.
As far as tub versus shower, I owned a 100 year old apartment building and all the 2 bed, 1 bath units had stand up showers only. I only rented to someone with children one time. Two bedrooms really limits families. I did have to install a shower wand, so that they could wash the child, so that is one option.
Lack of tub will be a turn off for people with kids, but so will two bedrooms. I would not install a tub and just accept the fact that you will attract more people without kids. If your target is families, buy a three bedroom house next time.
Brewster, NY · Member since 2016 · 33 posts · 16 votes
9y
Wow! Lot's of good thoughts and opinions from all you folks. Thank you!
A few people asked about the area and what our market would be like. The house is across the street from a church and next to the church is a Catholic School for pre-k through kindergarten. The house is also 0.3 miles walk to the train station and 1.3 miles to 2 major highways. That train line goes to Grand Central Station in Manhattan btw, so it's a great commuter house.
You all gave me some good thoughts both for and against putting in a tub. Seems like the best thing for me is to get an estimate of the cost and then go from there. Thanks for all the good advice!!!
Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2014 · 397 posts · 161 votes
9y
@Jeff Bisgier sorry if this was already mentioned but do you have the room to add another bathroom in the basement instead? Do 2BD/2BA rent for much higher in the area? Seems like a lot of work to add a tub to the one bathroom.
Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2016 · 477 posts · 426 votes
9y
I may have missed the area the rental is in, but in some instances (lower income area, 1 & 2 Bed apartments in a building, or any other time the owner has to pay the water bill) I've known landlords who would rip out tubs to put in showers - they claimed it made a huge difference in the water bill. That hasn't been my experience, but there it is.
If it were me, I'd keep it as-is for now and get it rented out. If you have trouble renting it because of the shower, change it up. Otherwise, I'd wait until it made me enough money to want to go in a rip out a perfectly good bathroom.
Real Estate Agent · Souderton, PA · Member since 2016 · 591 posts · 414 votes
9y
We don't put tubs in any of our rentals. I don't discriminate against kids in my rentals, but if they choose not to rent my unit because I don't that a tub then I'm OK with not having children tear my unit apart. Also in most cases we pay water so if there isn't a tub then they can't baths and the water bill is lower.
It's going to depend on what YOUR goal is though. Maybe your rental is perfect for a family, and in that case a tub would help. Think about who your target market is and base ALL of your decisions on that. Lastly think about who is paying for the water and how to reduce usage if it's going to be you.
Investor · Pella, IA · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 2 votes
9y
Our first property we flipped had just a shower and we tried to decide if we should put a new tub or shower in at that point. We decided on shower and still got it sold but it did turn away young couples and families when they saw that. The assessed value wasn't quite as good either because it didn't have a full bath. Tenants may not care but someone buying that house eventually will.
Good luck on your decision.
Investor · Appleton, WI · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 464 votes
9y
I say leave the shower. It will be cost prohibitive to add a tub and will not increase the rent in a meaningful way to justify the cost. A recently renovated property will rent just as easily.