Refurbing flat - two or three beds?

My tenents have just left so I have the opportunity to completely refurbish my flat above my shop. I am able to rip everything out and start from scratch. There are currently six rooms: 3 bed, living, kitchen, bath, based on a 12' x 12' grid. I have already ripped out the kitchen and bathroom due to them rotting into pieces. I was planning on refurbing back as a three-bed with small kitchen and small bathroom, as option 1 below. On looking around my brother suggested replacing one of the bedrooms with a kitchen/diner, and having a larger bathroom, with seperate toilet, option 2 below. Each room is now stripped back to plaster and floorboards, so everything is flexible.

Any advice? Three bed (two double + one single) with small, but functional kitchen and bath? Or two bed (one double + one single) and large kitchen/diner? With either option the corner double bedroom can be split into two singles.

(use monospace font) +-----+----+ | | | OPTION 1 | |BATH| |KITCH| | | +- -+ +------------+ | |

+---------+----------+ + 1xBED | | +------------+ | + | | | 2xBED | LIVING | | | | 2xBED | | | | | +---------+--------------+------------+ +------+---+ | | | OPTION 2 | |LOO| | BATH | | | + -+ +------------+ | | +---------+----------+ + 1xBED | | +------------+ | KITCHEN + | | | DINER | LIVING | | | | 2xBED | | | | | +---------+--------------+------------+

-- JGH - mdfs.net/HWPS

Reply to
jgh
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My guess is it would depend on what type of tenant(s) you are trying to attract. With students etc the extra bedroom would be a good idea. If a young working couple renting before moving on to buying a decent kitchen and bathroom would be more to the point.

But only a guess.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Assuming you're intending on re-letting I'd have thought you'd be best off inviting some estate agents around, outlining your options, and asking what the likely different in rental income would be. If option 2 has a higher rental income you then need to decide whether any extra refurb expenses would justify it.

Reply to
Piers Finlayson

I would think very carefully before reducing the number of bedrooms - that usually has a major influence on rent/resale value.

Definitely talk to estate / rental agents as someone else suggested: it's possible that the balance might be different for renting and selling... if this is a long-term rental, the best option *could* be to make the proposed change but in years to come, change it back before selling? Or vice versa?

My gut feeling would be to leave as is though (I speak as someone who recently added worthwhile value to a property during a refurb by reorganising the upstairs layout from 2 to 3 bedrooms).

David

Reply to
Lobster

Assuming the costs are not too far different, which they probably won't be if you are completely refurbishing the whole flat, the important factors will be what will be in greater demand and which will bring in a better income? The answer to those two questions may not be the same. A third factor may be what sort of tenant do you want to attract? A three bedroom flat with minimal facilities is likely to attract students, who may not be the best tenants. A generous two bedroom flat may attract a couple or a single parent family. As already suggested, a local estate agent will be best placed to advise you.

Colin Bignell

Reply to
nightjar

This depends solely on your target market, and also whether you are willing or required to comply with HMO regulations.

Both your current options appear to have internal rooms (rooms accessed by going through another room) which may not comply with current Building Regulations.

I assume you have windows on the west, south and east walls?

If plumbing permits moving the kitchen from one end of the house to the other, you could combine 2 bedrooms into a good sized open-plan kitchen/diner/living area, and have two, or possibly 3 single bedrooms, off a new corridor. This would probably be more popular for letting, and provide greater privacy for individual residents.

For HMO letting, 2 toiler/shower rooms would be pretty much essential.

The illustration below effectively has 2 corridors; you might be able to open the up to a square hall (alternative dining) or have larger rooms.

+------+---+ | | | OPTION 2 | |LOO| | BATH | | | + -+ +------------+ | KIT | +---------+------+---- + | | | | +---+ +-+---+ +------+ DINER | | | | | | BED1 | BED2 LOUNGE | | | | | +--====---+----======----+--=========-+ +------+---+ | | | OPTION 3 | |LOO| | BATH | | +--+ + -+ +------------+ | KIT | +---------+ +------- + | | | | | | | | DINER | | | | | | BED1 | BED2 | LOUNGE | | | | | +--====-------+-=====----+--=========-+

Option 4 below has the advantage of putting the kitchen at the blind end of the corridor, so a fire there does not block access to the exit. It might however need some external rearrangement of windows.

+------+---+ | | | OPTION 4 | |LOO| | BATH | | +--+ + -+ +------------+ | KIT | +---------+ +--- --+ -- + | | | | | | | Lounge | | | | | | | | | | KIT | BED1 | b2 | bed3 | | | | | | +--====-------+-=====-+--===-+--=====-+

Without knowing your target market (and the location of windows) it is difficult to suggest further.

For student lets you might be better knocking the existing bath/loo together into a kitchen/diner, and having single study bedrooms with en-suite shower/toilet pods, a la John Forty's.

Any rearrangement of walls is going to be subject to B Regs, and internal rooms are not generally favoured.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

Is it permissible to have bathroom opening direct from kitchen?

Reply to
Andy Burns

Some people have told me yes, some people have told me no. I'm inclined to 'no', even though that's how my granny's house (build "in the seventhe year of the reign of Kinge James" (ie 1610)) is laid out.

Anyway, the diagram is misleading, as that's a corridor, not part of the kitchen. I've added windows, and shown stud walls (ie, movable) as dots. All others are 18" structuaral stonework. (use monospace font) +-----+----+ | : | OPTION 1 : :BATH| :KITCH: | | ..d .+ d +------------+ | d d :

+---------+-----+----+ + 1xBED : | d +............+ | + | : | 2xBED | LIVING | : | | d 2xBED | | | | | +--=====--+----=====-----+----=====---+

Looks like this from the outside:

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This depends solely on your target market, and also whether you are

The local hous> My guess is it would depend on what type of tenant(s) you are trying to

I've never marketed to students, and I never rent 'per room'. It's a whole flat or nothing. It's your electric, your gas, your council tax, etc. If the tenants happen to be students, so be it. The last tenents were a recent graduate couple saving up for a house. They used on bedroom as an office, one as a storeroom, and one as a bed room, along with the less than minimalist kitchen that used to be there.

They have been there 6.5 years, so I have rather lost touch with what the market is out there. The suggestion to chat to an estate agent is probably a good idea.

I'm getting central heating put in, so where the kitchen is is the one pivotal decision I need to make before the plumbers start work.

-- JGH

Reply to
jgh

And it had a bathroom???

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

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