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txmarti

Do buyers today want a garden tub?

TxMarti
10 years ago

The only reason I would want one is so I could tear it out and have a large, accessible shower.

Would it be a bad idea to build a house without a garden tub in the master, or remodel an existing and tear out the garden tub?

Comments (13)

  • MFatt16
    10 years ago

    New houses are being built without them. Our builder said its about 50/50 for him on custom jobs.

  • OttawaGardener
    10 years ago

    I have never heard of "garden tubs". I had to google it!

    To answer your question: I don't think big bathtubs are very popular anymore, since they use a lot of water (which is expensive if you pay for your water + the cost to heat the water). Also, many people just shower.

  • jewelisfabulous
    10 years ago

    The common advice I've heard is that, as long as there's another bathroom that has a tub in the house, a lot of people are okay with the master just having a shower, especially if it's a roomy one.

    For re-sale purposes, you will lose some of your buying pool if your master doesn't have the tub as there are people out there who enjoy frequent baths. How big a percentage of the buying pool is anyone's guess.

  • nosoccermom
    10 years ago

    Are you asking because you want to remodel your house for selling or for resale in the future?
    I personally like taking a bath, so not tub would be a drawback, so for me the ideal master bath would have a large tub and a separate shower. If I had to pick one or the other, I'd go with a shower as long as there's another bathroom with a tub somewhere.

  • DLM2000-GW
    10 years ago

    I'm one of those who enjoy a bath so like having a tub in our master bath in addition to a nice sized shower. It wouldn't be a total deal breaker if a house didn't have one in the master, but if all other things were equal between 2 potential houses, I'd pick the one with the bath. Doesn't have to be a huge tub, but I'm petite so that may differ per user.

  • ncrealestateguy
    10 years ago

    What dlm2000 and nosoccermom, and jewel654 say.
    IME, most buyers still expect a tub and a shower in the master. It will not prevent the sale of your home, but it may deter some buyers.

  • TxMarti
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    nosoccermom, I'm asking because we are looking for a house to buy and it will have to be handicap accessible for my mil. I haven't found ANY that are accessible, so I know we'll have to settle for one that we can remodel. It won't be our forever house, so I was wondering if we changed it to suit our immediate needs if it would be hard to sell later.

  • new-beginning
    10 years ago

    my Dad lives with me - he is 100 yrs old - he has a 48" walk in shower. My bathroom has a regular (not garden) tub. As far as I am concerned it is the best of both worlds however anyone with young children would probably want a tub/shower combo in what is the non-master bathroom

  • gyr_falcon
    10 years ago

    Since you have been having difficulty finding a handicap accessible home in your area, you may want to consider marketing your remodeled home as such when you want to sell. Then you would not have to worry about not having a garden tub, and it could be a selling point for buyers looking for an accessible home!

  • lazy_gardens
    10 years ago

    I hope not, because we had ours filled with concrete and converted into a low-curbed shower. If anyone wants to restore the tub they'll need a jackhammer.

    I don't miss it at all.

  • TxMarti
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    If and when we find the right house and remodel it to make it accessible, we would highlight those changes when we put it on the market. I have known a few people with a mother-in-law suite/apt in their home, and one of them sold quickly (it was an enormous house), but the other two were hard to sell, sold lower than they should have, and the new owners quickly converted the suites back to main living space.

  • rafor
    10 years ago

    I bought a newly built house in 1985. It had a large master bath with a huge garden tub and a double vanity that was 102" long. There was a smaller room in the bathroom that housed the toilet and a 3 by 5 shower. When we remodeled I asked my good friend who was also a realtor if we needed a tub in the master bath. I wanted to just put in a really large walkin shower. She said no since we had one elsewhere but that since the bathroom was so large we probably should keep one in there. So tore out the large tub. Isolated the toilet in its own room and built a 4 by 6 foot walkin shower. We installed a regular length and width tub that was exceptionally deep so it was a soaking tub. It was a great remodel and really helped sell the house when we put it on the market 3 years later.

  • daniellaB
    10 years ago

    Most buyers are nature lover. I love to have a garden tub for my garden.

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