Hi folks,
I'm planning my first reno project, and would love some advice.
Its a 2 bed inner city apartment, 15 years old and needs a thorough cosmetic facelift.
My target market would be a professional couple, or relocation firms for businesses.
The bathroom currently has a bath with a shower overhead. Due to a long-term damp issue in the wall behind the bath/shower taps, I have been waiting for reno time to get this thorough investigated and fixed, and will be ripping out the bath, tapware, tiles etc and have that analysed first.
I'm just wondering if I should actually bother putting in a bath again, or instead just have a shower. Given the future tenants would be extremely unlikely to have a young child, how appealing is a bath in the bathroom?
If I don't replace a bath, I'll have some extra floor space, though this is likely to be in a somewhat unusable position as I plan to retain the existing vanity…
Any arguments for or against baths in this case?
Thanks,
EmmaWe have been tossing around the same scenario with our place. We have come up with putting in a normal bath along the shortest wall with a double shower – shower head on each end of the bath. The bath is going to have spa jets in it (not a heater though). This will free up room to put a double hand basin.
interesting, thanks Maree. I love the idea of double head showers and will look at this for our future PPOR that we’ll build in a few years, but don’t want to spoil my tenants that much
Plus if its rented out to a relocations company and its some single guy brought over to Perth for work it might be a bit depressing! Are you talking about an IP or PPOR? spa jets is nice too, lucky tenants!
This is our current PPOR but we are renovating with IP in mind. Once fully renovated we will move out.
As ours is a 2 bed/2 storey townhouse we figure someone with a disability wouldn't consider our house because of the stairs. But we may get a tenant with a child as there is a communal pool and playground in the complex.
Have you considered a wet room as a option for your place?
haha the single guy might get lucky
look at your target market, if you need more info on them and whether they want a bath, speak to some agents.
Women tend to look for baths more than men, it's not just for kids! A good agent (or three) will give you some clarity.CanberraClaire | Capital Buyers Agency
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Have a look around your area for fully renovated properties (same bed and baths) that have sold recently and see what they have done. Also agree that a great Agent will point you in the right direction if you are unfamiliar with the area
Holly
thanks for the tips, will definitely hunt around other similar apartments and see what they’ve done…
Hi, agree with checking out your target.
For a house and a larger unit I would always have a bath. With small units I think just a shower is fine. Personally I HATE stepping into baths to shower. But then again I do like the occasional soak in a bath.
Does it have an internal laundry? If not you could consider putting a small washing machine in the bathroom. This can significantly increase the rent as a lot of people don't like communal laundries.
yes there is a separate internal laundry, quite large actually… houses the washing machine, drier, sink, hot water system and room to put in a broom cupboard. had thought about the idea of knocking out the laundry wall to extend the kitchen, but don't want to do anything big and just focusing on cosmetics. Besides, its part of the appeal having a separate laundry and reasonable size bathroom. would definitely be more space without the bath in there.
Hi wisepearl,
Another thing to consider is the size of yor hot water system. If it is 50l or less, then putting in a bath makes little sense, as you won't be able to fill it with hot water. Otherwise a bath is something a lot of tenants will value.
We have a 2mx2m bathroom that i totally gutted and redid. We have 2 kids so needed a bath. We bought a Decina Modena bathtub which is like a normal tub but at one end has a very wide flat base which is nearly as big as some showers. The tub sits in the corner of the room and we put up a glass screen hinged on the wall over the exposed side of the bath. Works great, it feels enclosed like a shower and is a really nice big bath.
Plus if its rented out to a relocations company and its some single guy brought over to Perth for work it might be a bit depressing! 
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