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Return on Investment for Bath Remodel

I have an 18 year old 4 bedroom house (1875 sq. ft.) and want to do a master bath remodel. However, to expand the bathroom I’ll need to take out the Master bedroom closet and make the bathroom double in size. To make up for losing the closet - I will take out the small guest bedroom next to the closet and make a large walk-in/sitting room Master Closet area.
Will losing a bedroom affect the value of my house? Esposito 1-25-07 2:28pm

Interesting question – to which my answer would be a definite maybe!  Bathroom remodels are generally considered one of the smartest home improvement projects you can do.  The 2006 “cost vs. value” survey done by Remodeling Online showed that an upscale bathroom remodeled delivered better than a 77% return on investment.  This means that if you sold your house within a year of doing the improvement, you’d probably get 77 cents of the dollar for your trouble. 

My concern with what you propose is that even though a greatly improved bath is usually a good idea, you are completing this at the cost of a bedroom.  Bedrooms add value to a home.  All other factors being equal, a 3 bedroom home will probably be more valuable than a 2 bedroom home.  Therefore, your elimination of the bedroom to create the closet could impact value in a negative way.

I think the bottom line is that it is really going to depend on who wants to buy your home.  If it is couple with a growing family, then they may not be too excited about losing that bedroom and devalue the home accordingly.  However, if it is a single person or a couple with no kids, the super expanded master bedroom may be just what the doctor ordered.

To protect your options, I’d make sure that the spare bedroom can be converted back into a bedroom, or at least be useable as a nursery, should a future owner have the need.

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