Who Doesn't Have a Bathroom on Your First Floor?

shella923 · January 2015

This is such a random question. I've lived in apartments my whole life. I'm pretty sure my rent is going up AGAIN so we are revisiting the idea of buying. Unfortunately the nearest good school district doesn't have too many great choices as far as houses in our budget. So, how annoying is it to go up the stairs to pee? I have a weak bladder. Hope you're all having a great day!!!

olp920 · January 2015

I would consider if you would ever have someone over (grandparents?) that couldn't get up the stairs.

RondackHiker · January 2015

olp920 said:
I would consider if you would ever have someone over (grandparents?) that couldn't get up the stairs.

It's annoying for this reason.

Is there only one bathroom?

Can you add a small one? A friend's family turned the kitchen closest into a tiny bathroom just to have more than one bathroom.

Mags748 · January 2015

I lived in a hour like this for 7 years (teen and preteen years). The bathroom on the second floor wasn't so much of an issue but having 1 bathroom for 4 people was. I always made it up there in time.

shella923 · January 2015

Ok I should have mentioned there's a second bathroom in the basement, which is finished. I'm sure this house Will go fast because of the neighborhood but originally I would have never considered a house without a bathroom on the main floor and I'm coming to the realization that I can't have everything. I really like the idea of a bathroom in the finished basement because I always think what if my mom wants to live with us Someday.

shella923 · January 2015

@peanutrach1‌ I'm not sure. Going to an open on Sunday. But I'm rethinking my wish list. Proximity to work and good schools are key!

carrotcake06 · January 2015

Not having one on the ground floor isn't that big of a deal. Having one bathroom is slightly more annoying.

Many older homes don't have a bathroom on the main floor, or if they do, it's been added down the road.

It's far from a deal breaker for me.

shella923 · January 2015

I wish you could all talk to my in laws. DH likes their input. They find a problem with EVERYTHINg!!!!!!!

TheGreatBeyond · January 2015

Our current house does not have a bathroom on the first floor. There is a master and hall bathroom upstairs so at least there are two. The house I grew up in had a very small powder room on the main floor so I do miss not having one. As far as daily life though it isn't a problem.

I also stress the importance of buying a house for the location. You can do all kinds of renovations but you cannot change where your house is located. That is something we didn't put enough emphasis on and I am really not happy with our house because of it. We will likely be house hunting in a year because of it as well.

shella923 · January 2015

This conversation reminds me of the curb your enthusiasm where Richard Lewis said he used certain bathrooms on the weekend.

shella923 · January 2015

I can def not afford to knock down and rebuild. And we can only
Afford an old house, mostly due to taxes. There is great info here.

Rogue Lily · January 2015

::raises hand::.

No bathroom on the first floor here. It's not awesome but it's hardly a deal breaker. I grew up with only a bathroom on the first floor and honestly that is worse. It's no fun to have to poop or shower in the middle of a flurry of activity. At least when it's upstairs you can get some privacy.

shella923 · January 2015

@hilarityensued DD won't be in public school until 2017, so I wonder if we should even buy until then. However, I hate that we can OWN something for only a few hundred more a month, and the rent will keep going up. It's a tough decision. But renting might be our only option down the line if we want to get into a decent school district. There aren't THAT many rentals in that school's area (hence prob why it's the best school in the entire district), however. It seems that everyone I know who owns tells me what a PITA it is!!!!

shella923 · January 2015

@TyrannosaurusLex‌ how adorable ! Nice bathroom.

ridesbuttons · January 2015

shella923 said:
@hilarityensued However, I hate that we can OWN something for only a few hundred more a month, and the rent will keep going up.....however. It seems that everyone I know who owns tells me what a PITA it is!!!!

Your friends are right. Your mortgage may be only a few hundred more per month but many other expenses will increase as well.

Having said that, I grew up in a house with one bathroom on the upper floor. Second floor was not a problem but one bathroom was not ideal.

SpaceGirlSpiff · January 2015

Also (and maybe someone already said this), just because your mortgage payment may only be an extra couple hundred, don't forget the other expenses that come with owning like repairs, ALL utilities (I don't know if your landlord covers any of yours), ALL maintenance, taxes of course.... owning CAN definitely be a pain in the ass for sure and goes far beyond just the mortgage.

I'm sure you know that but I think many people can underestimate it at times

I talk about being upset that we're in no place to buy right now in our HCOL area, and who knows when we will be.... but I admit, on the other hand, I really actually don't mind the positive things that come with renting vs buying.... I really more than anything wish we could just afford to rent a BIGGER place or maybe even rent a house (soon enough with some relief from daycare I'm sure!). The buying can wait.

[Deleted User] · January 2015

Mackalien13 said:

I think this was said more as a commentary in the differences in COL and what you might have to accept in higher COL areas.

Yup. I have a choice- not an ideal home or not an ideal neighborhood/schools. I chose not an ideal home. Yes, I could get more square footage per dollar a few miles away but...hell no.

I went from renting a home with 3.5 baths to owning with 1.5 baths and a 1/3 the square footage. It is what it is. I regret nothing.

shella923 · January 2015

So here's a question for homeowners: anyone wish they never bought?

shella923 · January 2015

If we end up still renting here in 2017 we will be sending DD to a private school. Schools around here are crowded and not well rated. Am not going to move to rent again. Such a pain plus moving costs.

KMW08 · January 2015

shella923 said:
So here's a question for homeowners: anyone wish they never bought?

Most days, no. We bought ours for the land, 60acres that will butt up to another 100acres that DH will eventually inherit. Built in 1968 and the original builder was a cheapskate, so the house has plenty of cons. FWPs. It is what it is and I'm not trying to impress anybody anyways.

To original question I'm another split level and no bath on the first floor. It's NBD 99% of the time.

meggyski · January 2015

Chiming in to say that we bought a house without a main floor bathroom. It has a similar configuration to yours- an upstairs bathroom as well as a basement bathroom (it had a really crappy/ not permitted one and we just finished a new bathroom / bedroom in the basement). We also plumbed for a main floor 1/2 bath and will install it later this year, mainly for resale value. We've been in the house for 5 years and the only time it's been an issue is when relatives / friends with bad knees come to visit and don't like going up and down our stairs.

As far as regretting a home purchase, ours was a major fixer and we've been remodeling it little by little, so I do sometimes regretting buying this particular house / choosing to do such an extensive renovation. That being said, I think we'll make money when we sell it, and rent prices have been climbing drastically while we've been locked at our nice low mortgage rate. It's just that having a 4 month old in a partial construction zone isn't ideal. Hopefully we'll get everything buttoned up in the next few months.

FalconCrest · January 2015

I regret buying when we did. If we waited just a little longer, we would have been able to afford something a little bigger and not such a fixer upper.

shella923 · January 2015

Hm....renting is sounding great about now...sigh...

[Deleted User] · January 2015

I have two bathrooms, which is rare for the size of my place. But I think we are past that conversation.

BUT random story about owning and the annoyances that come with it...I cannot get my washer/dryer out of the closet that was built around it. The cords/water hose/gas line are all too short to pull it out.

So my dad has to drive in to cut a hole in my wall in order for us to disconnect the stupid thing and hope it fits through the doorway to see why the thing is smoking when the washer is running.

Even with all that crap, I actually do love owning. I'm glad I have a dad who is willing to drive 6 hours to cut a hole in my wall, but even still, I would deal with it.

shella923 · January 2015

rvasc said:

Lenders will let you go up to 33% of your income for a loan. For us, keeping it closer to 20% of our NET income has been a much better decision.

YES!! I never understood why it's GROSS.

[Deleted User] · January 2015

But I have to agree with everyone who said that even though your mortgage might be less than your rent, there are still so many more expenses that you have to consider.

I just had an argument with my sister about this because she bought a house because "the mortgage will save her $100/month!"

Ummm, but you had to come up with a down payment and association dues and all of the maintenance on stuff.

pearlofwisdom1 · January 2015

Have an emergency fund when you buy. Things break and there's not a landlord to call.

pearlofwisdom1 · January 2015

We have two bathrooms. I had an upstairs deuce rule until the upstairs toilet broke. Probably too many deuces. Lol

shella923 · January 2015

Ok... BUT... What about the fact that one day your house will be paid off? Still not worth it? My IL paid theirs off and seem to be more carefree finance wise.

[Deleted User] · January 2015

I would consider Chicago a HCOL area (not the highest, just higher than average), but buying is definitely cheaper than owning right now.

I own a 2b/2b with 2 parking spots and I pay about $1000 less than what I could rent that for.

I feel like this is not the case in most areas though.

[Deleted User] · January 2015

I have a warranty. I know people think they are a waste but it gives me piece of mind as my home is 30+ years old and shit is expensive.

When I'm not paying what equates to a second mortgage for daycare and have more cash flow, I will cancel the warranty. For now it's worth the $400 a year.

shella923 · January 2015

Wow. Who knew a question about the shitter would illicit such a wealth of advice?

Hi @uconnhuskie007‌ ! I guess I'm
Naive too! Maybe we should just keep renting.

The only reason I never bought when everyone else was is because we had a mad cheap rent. Granted it was 500 sq ft but I was in NYC in ten min. Then DD came and that was it. Now we pay three times as much. But it's new construction, elevator, etc. I could never afford to buy something this nice in a good school district.

pearlofwisdom1 · January 2015

If our central air ever goes I'm buying box fans. lol

shella923 · January 2015

@CTGirl30‌ i hear ya. It's frightening the stories you hear about neighbors.

bulbasaur359 · January 2015

To answer the original question our house has 2.5 baths. Powder/laundry room off the family room and two upstairs, the master and the hall bath. I have lived somewhere where the only bathrooms were on another floor. My parents rented a condo and my room was downstairs and the everything else including two bathrooms were upstairs. It was odd and entertaining watching my older brother and my dad pushing a fridge up the stairs after it pinned my dad on the landing. LOL! That was 1997 and I still can see it happening. Daddy wasn't happy lol.

We bought our house last year. At the tail end of the slump for our area and we're in a great school district. I do sometimes feel suffocated with car problems and stupid repairs. The previous owner did not take very good care of the place and skrimped every change she had. We got the house through a short sale. Talk about a royal pain in the fucking ass. The stupid bank that owned our house was playing hard ball hard core, thank god for our realtors. But, I love the town we're in and it is much safer here. I have no qualms being here for a long time. Our interest rate is under 5% which is good. I am a SAHM but with only a degree and no experience other than retail finding a job isn't gonna be easy if I decide to go back to work, but we make do. We have what we need with a little wiggle room but damn if I don't want to remodel some. Shit just has to stop breaking. Yes, DH was very naive about the oh I'm saving money by owning thing. I didn't know much either so didn't protest. Oh well I do like the house and our neighborhood just wish we had more money but who doesn't. Houses in our neighborhood are selling for more than we paid which is nice. I do already have some equity which is a plus. This is also one of the largest floor plans but only 1634 sq ft built in 1986.

Oh, btw tp only over. Only over!!!

RondackHiker · January 2015

You all are making me want to rent until DH is making real money. We've been looking.

I think I should say thank you.

ridesbuttons · January 2015

DH and I bought our first home in our mid-twenties. Our primary financial goal was to pay that mortgage within 10 years, which we did. Totally fine home, but for various reasons we decided to move shortly after the mortgage was paid.

We have moved twice since and our next move will be a serious downsize when the kids have grown.

We were able to achieve our current home (which we love) because we entered into home ownership early and prioritized paying our first mortgage off ASAP. No way would I have bought this house and put a giant mortgage on it to hang over my head into my sixties. Nope.

Our home is about 8 years old, quality build and even so we anticipate preventative maintenance and repairs every year. DH is incredibly proactive about stuff like that. Maintain, improve. It's no different than managing your cash investments to get the best returns.

We have no mortgage and our home is, nevertheless, our biggest expense.

But this is our comfort zone. Local real estate values and simple calculations (such as mortgage rates) make real estate a good investment for us.

TheGreatBeyond · January 2015

I called it a powder room because my mom always did. Although, I have never referred to a half bath in anyone else's home as a powder room.

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