Bathroom Matters When Buying or Selling

The bathroom matters significantly in any home. Whether you are buying or selling a home, there are considerations you need to make. Although these are often smaller rooms in a home, they can have a big impact if you know what to look for.

Bathroom Matters When Buying a Home

When looking for your perfect bathroom in a new home, whether you prefer a shower or bath matters. Do you have to have an ensuite or are you fine with a common bathroom? How many bathrooms do you need (think about mornings and all the people to get ready in a day)? Can you make due with some half baths (just a sink and toilet) or do you need full bathrooms (sink, toilet, shower or bathtub)?

Let’s start with some terminology as you start to look at possible homes online:

• 2 Piece - a sink and toilet
• 3 Piece - a sink and toilet, and either a shower or a tub (with no shower connections)
• 4 Piece - a sink and toilet, and either a shower and a tub OR a bathtub with shower connections
• 5 Piece - a sink and toilet, and a combination of shower, bathtub, tub with shower, soaker tub, bidet, jacuzzi

When you are viewing homes, you want to view these spaces carefully for moisture, as water issues can be common in a bathroom. Does the ceiling look water stained? Is there mold in the corners? Do the joints seem well sealed on tubs and showers? Do pipes under the sinks seem in good working order or signs or corrosion or deposit build up?

You have a right to have a professional inspector view your home, and they will help you answer all of these questions about your homes’ bathrooms.

Bathroom Matters When Selling a Home

You want to pay particular attention to the bathrooms in your home as you prepare to sell a home or condo. Make sure it is deep cleaned into every crevice. And kept immaculately clean for any showings. Buyers will make assumptions about your entire house based on how well your bathrooms are kept.

There are some easy fixes and repairs you can do to help your bathrooms pass any property inspections:

• Make sure your exhaust fan vent is clean, free of dust and working
• Re-Caulk the bathroom tub and shower edges to ensure a fresh and clean seal
• Soak your shower head in vinegar to ensure it has maximum water flow
• Wash your shower curtain (if fabric) or consider buying a fresh neutral one
• Manage slow draining pipes by having them cleaned (and yes, removing the hair trapped in them, for sinks and showers/tubs)
• Make sure your toilet is not running (wasting extra water) and flushes easily
• If you have never had the wax seal under your toilet replaced, you may want to do that
• Replace all light bulbs to the same color and high brightness
• Tighten door knobs and cabinet/drawer knobs - or update for a fresh look
• Wash your bathroom mats or get new ones

For showings, spend a few minutes to prepare your bathrooms:

• Empty the garbage in the bathroom
• Have the shower curtain half open, so they can see the tub connections
• Remove all personal products from shower, counter or back of toilet and tuck them into a cupboard
• Hang fresh white towels (keep the ones you use in a linen cupboard or under the sink)
• Give a quick wipe of toilet, counter and mirror
• Add a small touch of greenery to your bathroom counter

Paying a little bit of extra attention to your bathroom - when you are buying or selling - is always a good use of your time. I know you’ll now be better prepared what to look for in your next walk through a bathroom.