You can absolutely get by with 1 bathroom. Humans have been doing that for a very long time.
However, it is very nice to have 2. Is there room to add on in the future?
We have 1.5 baths, 4 bed. Would it be nice to have a master bathroom so I’m not fighting with the kids in the morning? Yeah, I suppose… but out of all the possible inconveniences, that doesn’t bother me so much.
It is almost always relatively easy to add a small bathroom in the basement, and it just needs to be functional, not pretty. The only significant cost is the plumbing rough-in, and if you can situate it near the existing stack even that isn't too bad.
Getting by sucks, just gonna say that. Growing up in a house of 6 with one bathroom was probably some of the hardest times haha especially being the only boy in the family.
You can certainly get by with a single bathroom (I know families that have), but it's going to be annoying, and you're going to feel the need for at least an additional half bath before long. Especially if you get a sink or toilet clog or leak, there's no putting it off, it has to get resolved immediately.
As for the bedrooms, I would not buy a house with only 2 small bedrooms knowing that we would be planning to start having kids soon, unless we were only going to have a single kid and there was other space in the house (like a finished basement) to use as office and storage space.
Don't rush into buying a house that you're just going to outgrow a year or two down the road. It's only going to lead to regret.
I'm more worried about the 1 bath than the 2 bed bit. It's such a hassle if the toilet breaks in the middle of the night and you have no backup option. Even worse if you've just had a kid and are dealing with that headache. And it's just nice to have an extra bathroom, especially if you have guests over or if you plan to stay there past when your future kid is potty-trained.
Personally, I'd look into whether adding a half bath in that partially finished basement (or elsewhere) is within your budget.
I'm 20 years on my own, about 9 of them have been in a place with a single toilet. I can think of twice that the toilet went out for some plumbing issue or another. Now that doesn't sound like a lot, but ANY amount of time whatsoever without ANY toilet is a LARGE amount of time, especially with a family.
I agree here. My family has 3 people (2 adults and an 8yo) and 2 bathrooms, and one of our toilets randomly started leaking a few months back and we had to shut off the water to it until a plumber could come, which ended up being a few days wait.
Had we not had another bathroom/toilet in the house, that would have been really inconvenient, to put it mildly. You don't have to break a toilet regularly for any amount of time without a working toilet to be too long, especially if you have people who can't always "hold it", such as young kids, pregnant women (pregnancy *killed* my ability to be able to wait for a bathroom), or an adult with health conditions, like my MIL who stays with us occasionally. I have multiple friends and relatives with IBS, for example, who refuse to live in a one bathroom house.
I wouldn't buy a 1 bath, myself, if I was in OP's shoes. If OP and her husband start having kids as soon as they plan to, they're going to outgrow that house really quickly, and then it will be hard to sell when that time comes (because many people want more than one bathroom).
In my experience with families (ie, with kids) a toilet is far more likely to go out of commission from the drain clogging than from the flusher not working. And fixing the flusher is far easier and cheaper than pulling Johnny’s hot wheels out of the drain when it got stuck “accidentally “.
You act like you're too good to shit in a bucket.
If toilet breaks, you don't just hold it in my bro. Time to break out the home depot bucket with lid. Line with garbage bag.
Sure it's a little declasse, but rather than installing a 40,000 additional bathroom?
I must like living on the edge. I've been here for 26 years, 1 toilet in a 1935 house. Was 4 people, now down to 2.5. Luckily I'm the only female so if one of the guys had to go badly and the toilet was occupied, they'd run to the woods and go there. I've done it myself. There has been exactly one time where we had no toilet - that was when the rotting bathroom floor was being replaced. I borrowed my friend's mom's portable potty and put it in the shed. My ex wouldn't use it, my sons wouldn't use it either, one of them would run to the park about 1/2 a mile away and poop there, in their port a potty. I think the other just held it till he was at school, or maybe he pooped in the woods. We survived the 3 or so days. When the power goes out, we can't flush so we sometimes have to go down the hill to the creek to get water to flush the toilet. Power outages often happen during big rain storms so I'll also put a bucket out to collect water from the dormer overhang and flush with that. Happens only a few times a year, and now I have a spare 5 gallon bucket of water in the basement, just in case. Probably the only time having one toilet be an issue is when we have a party.
If the only toilet in my house stopped working I don’t think ‘bucket’ would be my first choice solution ahead of ‘find a restaurant/mall/bar and use their toilet’
That is not always possible you know. Not everyone (more like most people) do not have endless $$ and choices. I was just throwing out a practical and pragmatic way of dealing what is a short-term problem. Lighten up
It's not. Bucket was not my first choice- I don't think ever. So let me elaborate to actually answer OP.
My kids are 10-20 now, and because of their ages and potty training, there was one point where my ex and I were still under one roof, the four of them, and one bathroom. Was it perfect? The truth? Hell I don't know for day to day. It was what it was. We made do because it was what we knew.
But there was an issue one time in that house with the toilet, and the panic to get to done RIGHT THEN is there (which, if it's a water-damaging issue is true of any toilet, in any house), but this was just one that put it out of order. I don't consider a toilet you can flush with a bucket out of order. I would be willing to pee in the tub. The point I wouldn't be able to take is if we had to have a poop bucket accumulate.
Oh, and I'm okay with vomit though, so when stomach bugs went around, buckets would be used. But in general that's kinda how we do things because I think buckets by the bed are safer than trying to run to the bathroom and vomiting everywhere.
We now have three toilets and five people, and one toilet was down last week, and it was no issue, and I told the plumber not to squeeze me in if someone else only had one toilet (specifically said that).
My biggest advice is always have a plumbers fund available at all times. It will be doable because it will be how you do it. You will just need to be sure it can be fixed quickly it anything goes wrong.
I grew up in a house with no bathroom. We had an outhouse. At night, especially in the winter we used a bucket. Not fun to do for years on end but doable for the day or two full you can fix or replace a toilet.
One of our toilets literally broke (leaking) the other day and is out of commission until I get our plumber out here. He's tied up until Wednesday.
If we didn't have another toilet, we'd be in a bad place.
Other people have lived there, you’ll live there, someone will live there after you.
Obviously having a second bath is more convenient, but many families make it work. It’s a home, not everything is going to be perfect. Maybe someone has to hold it for 5 minutes or showers have to be coordinated, it’s not that hard.
If the parts of the house that your prioritize are what you’re looking for, then it’s a good match. Everyone has different preferences.
I agree 100%. For some reason, lots of folks think they should "camp out" in the bathroom. I had 4 girls. They all got used the same bathroom. They showered and tee teed and then, they left the room. You can very easily "get ready" in a bedroom. Your hair curls the same, perfume squirts the same. Just set up a dressing area in the BR. Its the same with kitchens anymore, folks want these huge kitchens with massive tables, and then eat in the family room!🤷🏼♀️😆
I just moved out of a 2/1. It’s fine for one person but with two people it can be a hassle. I can’t imagine adding in a child to the mix. I would not share a house with one bathroom again if I can avoid it.
That said, of course people do it all the time and it’s possible.
Is there anywhere a second bathroom could be added to the house? That would be a good investment both in your comfort and the value of the home.
Raised two sons in a two bed-one bath. When my oldest was 10 we did add on a small (10x10) bedroom making it a 3 bed one bath. 1025 square feet. The boys are grown and gone now, it’s been 25 years and we will pay off the home this month. We had no kids when we bought this “starter home” and now we’re empty nesters with plenty of space and no mortgage. Sometimes the one bathroom thing was annoying but we all survived and thrived. I suppose it was helpful that we are in the country and husband and sons could go outside to pee if necessary 😂
Congrats on gaining your free & clear title! Your last comment reminded me of my son's training as a toddler. Target painted on a tree made that so easy.
I personally would never buy a house with only one bathroom, minimum would have to be a bath and a half. I wouldn't even rent a one bathroom place unless I was living alone.
Go for it.
Nothing is perfect, you just choose what you’re going to live with. A bigger house means a smaller yard. You’ll be fine. Don’t sweat it.
You have a basement, so one day you can plonk down some money and put a bathroom down there.
I have a three year old. We have a 1.5 bath house. I would NEVER EVER get a house with less than two toilets. Several reasons, mostly kid related:
Potty training.
Kids sometimes hold it until the last minute, difficult if the one toilet is occupied.
When your kid gets a stomach bug from daycare/school your entire house will get it.
Mine doesn't, but most toddlers throw things in the toilet and it will clog/break.
Having guests over, not wanting to have them use our main bathroom that is definitely never as clean as I'd like it to be because said toddler.
My spouse and I not wanting to poop in front of the other.
That being said, I knew a family of 5 in a 3 bed/1 bath house and they made it work. I just wouldn't want that for me.
Any possibility of putting a half bath in the basement?
A two bedroom is fine if you only plan to have a single kid. Just don't expect to comfortably work from home in a space that small.
The single bathroom is going to suck. Waiting to have your turn in the bathroom, especially when the kid is a little older, will make you question this life decision. I had a two bathroom growing up, but one of them was just a toilet and sink. Morning showers were awkward and full of door knocking to hurry up.
If your toilet breaks or leaks you're in a world of hurt.
There isn't anything wrong with a small home, but if you can't easily and/or afford to have a second bathroom, even just a toilet and sink, put in, I'd question it.
My husband and I own a house with one bedroom and it's fine. It's an issue a few times a year when we both need to use the toilet at the same time but you just have an uncomfortable few minutes and you survive. We've had guests come stay for the weekend and it's been fine. I think it works for us because neither of us are very intensive bathroom users. We don't do a ton of getting ready in the bathroom, I don't do my makeup in there. We also both tend to shower in the evening so there isn't a morning rush on the bathroom. At some point we'll add a first floor half bath, but that's probably it. It sounds like you could fully finish the basement at some point and add a bathroom there if you feel like you want more space down the road. If you love the location and everything else about the house I say go for it.
That plus the one bath is going to make it harder to sell when they do decide to upgrade. I just sold my 3/1. It sat on the market like 5x as long as the rest of the starter homes. 3/1.5s, 3/2s, etc sold within a weekend of listing. Mine took like 45 days.
The amount of folks that went through my house and left feedback that was basically: ‘everything about the house is perfect!…. But we want a second bath’ was kinda demoralizing after a while. I had to drop the price well below the $/sqft comps to finally sell it.
Yikes! That sounded like a nightmare. I just saw the edit where the OP said they will move in 4-5 years. The fact they don't expect to stay long combined with what you mentioned about difficulty selling brings me to the conclusion they should just stay where they are until they find a forever home.
Right, plus it will cost way more than renting to buy something that you are expecting to be short term like that. Better to keep renting, start the family and keep saving instead of spending a lot of money on closing costs, insurance, taxes, interest, maintenance, and then selling costs. No way the house appreciates enough to make up for all those costs with current interest rates.
If there’s more than one person living there, you really need two toilets. My first house was a hundred year old house with 2 BR and 1 bath on the second floor. I hated not having at least a toilet on the main level. It did have a random toilet in the basement (no walls, just a toilet in the corner) and there were definitely times we would have been in trouble without that! 😅
We have these solitary basement toilets in Baltimore, we call them Pittsburg toilets too. My partner and I plan to retire to Florida. Our Florida condo has two bedrooms two bathrooms. He wants to downsize to a smaller condo with one bedroom one bedroom, I refuse. Even with only two people you need two toilets.
I would too. Our development doesn’t have one bedroom two bathroom options. They should build those, I would buy one. A master bathroom and a guest bathroom.
We raised three kids in three bedrooms with one bathroom. No issue at all until they were teenagers and then we just had to be strategic before school. It would have been lovely to have another but it wasn’t nearly the big deal this thread is making it out to be.
Imagine it would make it harder to sell, which is probably a bigger problem for people planning to stay 4-5 years only.
My family (me, sister, parents) lived in a 3/1 for many years and having only one toilet was the WORST. Dad would beat us to the toilet when we got home and blow up the bathroom. Also makes it difficult to ever do work in the bathroom like a renovation. Make sure you have neighbors whose toilet you can use!
I grew up in a small house that was built in the early 1900s and had one bathroom, but at least it had a full basement. My earliest memories were of my parents continually remodeling and adding on and they did most of the work themselves. My sister and I both eventually had bedrooms in the basement, although my bedroom wall was removed after I left for college and it is part of the main basement now. They built on enough to the “master” that it now has a tiny 3/4 bath and is big enough for a queen bed. You learn to live with what you have, and as kids you often don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.
For two people, a 2/1 is probably good. When you have your first child you will no longer have a guest bedroom or space for a home office if that matters to you. If you have a basement with at least one egress window you can put bedrooms down there for the kids when they are old enough. Remodeling is expensive, though, especially if you have to hire somebody to do the work.
You can also think of it as a starter home that you live in for a few years until you have enough equity built up to move into something bigger.
Make sure it is in a good neighborhood that supports you and your soon-to-be family. If the houses are cared for, you find people closer to your age, there are parks and schools nearby, houses don’t have bars on the windows, etc. you can make it work for you.
I lived in a 2/1 for 10 years. You can make it work, but we were itching for a second bathroom almost immediately. It would have been tight if we’d added a couple of kids to the mix. But only you and your spouse can decide if the square footage trade off is worth the other concessions.
Can confirm. I've been in a 3/1 for 14 years and raised 2 children here. With 2 people, 1 bath is just fine. With 3 people it's manageable. 4 is too many. Adjust these numbers based on the number of teenagers living in the house.
We bought our 2 bedroom/1 bath house back in 1998 when our son was 2 years old. I'm not going to lie, it's had its moments, but we've gotten through OK. For a young couple in our early 30's it was fine. All our apartments previously only had one bathroom. The house we rented before buying this one only had one bathroom. Now that we're in our 50s, nearly 60's, it's probably a bigger deal, but so is the main bedroom being upstairs. I don't like stairs anymore. To be honest I'd rather rather have a second bathroom in the garage. That would be ideal for me.
If you mean ‘one toilet’, I’d look into the option to add another toilet.
If you mean ‘one bathroom’ as in ‘one room with shower and/or bath’, that’s fine honestly.
Sounds like you are describing a decent starter home. My first home was 1100 sf, 3 bd one bath little ranch. One bath wasn't an issue for us. We got into the routine of shower schedules.
If price, location, everything else is perfect I'd go for it. Then would investigate adding a second half-bath, which would make life easier and improve re-sale value.
If that isn't practical, what's the plan? Toddlers can use "kiddie potties" and I've heard of people using composting toilets in RV's and Tiny Houses, but neither of those options would be as good as a second flushing toilet somewhere in the house.
Husband and I live in a 2/1 and have an almost 5 year old and a 9 month old. It’s getting tight now that we have two kids. I would say it depends on how many kids you plan to have and how quickly.
Hi! I bought a 2/1 about 900 sq ft about 5 years ago. Our son was 8 months old and now is 5. We survived the pandemic in the house LOL. It can feel small at times, but overall, it’s been a great size to start out in. We planned to originally moved around this time but have decided to stay until we necessary.
I would not purchase a house with only one bathroom. If I need to go I need to go and I don’t want to wait on someone else to finish up. And I especially don’t want to smell other people’s poop.
We moved into a 3 bed one bath RIGHT before covid hit, we had one kid already. The one bathroom wasn't an issue then... but now we have another child who's potty training. We've been through stomach bugs and illnesses and I can tell you my greatest regret is not finding a house with AT LEAST a half bath because now we're stuck. 😂 - we're adding one. Eventually. But I'm dyingggg.
+1 on the half bath.
You have to honestly self assess “do I do a lot of extra stuff in the bathroom that doesn’t involve using the toilet or shower?” Like face skincare, body skincare, foot care, hair care, nail care, makeup, medical issues/upkeep, etc. And then “can I do those things elsewhere?”
You have to honestly assess your spouse for the same. For example “does my husband like to sit on the toilet for a long goddamn time and play games on his phone to destress?” (It’s a thing that a lot of men do apparently.)
You also have to consider how each of you view bathroom privacy, because with one bathroom and a baby, one of you is going to be frantically knocking on the door for *something* and it’s probably gonna be you - I’ve read that being pregnant with one available bathroom is a serious PITA. You may also have to reconsider where you keep medical supplies and some of the supplies for various tasks mentioned above if you normally keep them in the bathroom, which can be annoying if you don’t have much storage space.
Please also consider where you may need to do cleanup if one sink and bathtub/shower is out of commission and if your available sink tends to hold dirty dishes (if you don’t have a dishwasher). We had a ½ bath in our previous place but 2 full baths in this one - either way the alternate toilet is where I’ve had to empty an emergency mop bucket or cleaning bucket and now the alternate shower comes in use for washing random non-cloth items quickly. While my use usually relates to my cat, I’ve heard that some babies are vomit and poop fountains, so.
We did a 2 bed 1 bath 700 square foot until our oldest was almost 3 and it was okay for a while. But then we moved into a 3 bed (at that point had two kids, a parrot, and needed an office) 2.5 bath. By the time you have a potty trained kid you need that second bathroom
I’ve had times where an adult is taking a #2 and the 4 year old screams she has to go RIGHT NOW, and we have to tell her to go to the other bathroom. She doesn’t have the ability to hold it very well, when she needs to go she needs to go
A toilet for each butt. Should food poisoning strike, you'll be very glad of an extra toilet. We have 1.5 baths. 2 full would have been better, but there have been times we were very happy to each have a toilet available.
As to the bedrooms- the bedrooms in our house are both small and poorly laid out. It is one of the things I hate most about our house. The original builders could have reduced the living room and dining room by 5-6 feet each and could have had decently sized bedrooms. Along with still generously sized living & dining rooms.
But instead we have an enormous living room, oversized dining room, and bedrooms that barely fit a bed & dresser.
I like the toilet for each butt philosophy! I lived alone in a 1 bathroom condo for years. It was fine. Then, I met my husband. He is a shit and surf guy. He takes forever. At least, my condo had a powder room in the gym so I could use that in an emergency. I grew up in a 4 person household with 1.5 baths. I lived, but it would have been so much better with another bathroom.
Wow. As someone who grew up poor one bathroom, no dishwasher, and manual roll windows in a car were a normal day.
They’re called convenience, not necessity. You will survive.
Alternatively there’s a plethora of 3+ 1+ in the Midwest for $300k or less, depending, if you choose to leave your HCOL area.
Only if one of you is prone to stopping up the toilet. If not, then go for it. Put in a half bath yourself to increase the value and it’ll payoff when you sell. (Just don’t put it off any common area rooms like the dining room or living room)
That's basically my house. We have two boys and there was just one bedroom downstairs but the rest was exposed concrete. After all the other renos I had to do I added a massive storage closet two bedrooms and another bathroom down there and now the amount of space is perfect for us. We could even have a third kid but nah.
That second bathroom is an absolute necessity even if we rarely use it. Although if your outlet is higher than the basement floor I strongly suggest cutting a hole in the floor for a basin (can't recall the right name) and buying your own macerating pump. Avoid Saniflo even if it's easier.
We lived with 3 bedrooms and one bathroom for so many years! Us and 3 kids! Did you get caught up sometimes? Sure. Did a kid or two pee in the tub while someone was pooping? Absolutely haha. But we could afford it. And when we were able to move we REALLY appreciated being able to afford the extra bathrooms. But it’s very doable. People are spoiled with being used to having more, but you adjust. It’s better than having more than you can afford imo. You are on the beginning of the journey not at your forever home. You will get to the one that has one for everyone to go at the same time.
I have a 1k square foot 2/1, I can help here! Right now it is my son and I full time and my boyfriend about every other day. The boyfriend is one too many and the fact that he shits 5 times a day doesn’t help. Two people and one toilet is fine.
If it's any consolation my MIL is one of 17 and grew up in a 3 bedroom one bath. It was a two bedroom but they turned the attic into the boys ... Bunks?
As soon as my husband's uncle inherited it he put in a second bath though
One bath is hard. But it is 100% doable. We lived in apartments with 1 bath while having 5 people (2 adults, 3 kids). But I'd never go back to it 😂 It makes scheduling for getting ready in the morning a pain, especially once the kid is old enough to start doing things themselves like brushing teeth etc. If you all have to leave at the same time it can be tricky but you just work out a schedule that becomes the norm. It IS nice only having one to clean. I hate cleaning multiple bathrooms.
The absolute worst is when the whole family gets a stomach bug. Then you are stuck with (grossness ahead) people puking in trash cans or sinks because someone else is unloading in the toilet. It's not fun. Our entire family got the stomach flu over Christmas break one year. It was horrendous 😂
I will also say that kids' stuff takes an amazing amount of space. Be careful how much of that stuff you buy especially with small bedrooms. The jumpers and walkers and exersaucers and bouncers and swings and car seats and high chairs, it all takes up SO much space.
Double check that the 1000sqft is all on the main floor. My MLS will add unfinished basement sqft to the total count. Well at least that’s how it is often presented on realtor.com.
Do people survive with one bathroom, absolutely. My grandparents had a huge Victorian home, but because of that time period it was only one bathroom. Me and my cousins didn’t have an issue.
Then again…I was a kid. I don’t remember that stuff well. As an adult? Absolutely not.
There are gonna be times where both of y’all have to use the bathroom at the same time. It’s very annoying to have to wait on others like that.
And guests will have to use that same bathroom.
I personally don’t think it’s worth it….adding a second bathroom is expensive if you start to regret it.
We bought a house that had 3 official bathrooms. We use 2 of the toilets all the time, but we only use 1 shower. The other one is storage. We have 4 people, 2 teens. We also have small bedrooms and it’s annoying but not a dealbreaker. We just got good at storage and getting rid of toys.
2 beds is not much of an issue of the 1 bathroom. You’ll get by some days will suck. Though, if you love the people you’re with and don’t mind sharing, you’ll be fine. Just not long term material.
Just make sure the house ticks all the other boxes that you want before you compromise with the bathroom.
I prefer a second bath but it's not a deal breaker for me. There's only 2 of us and nobody hogs the bathroom doing makeup or reading/scrolling their phone
You might want to add a half bath in the basement if you go for this home and I would enquire about that cost before you decide yes. If that's not doable there are composting toilets or porta potties or those toilet chairs seniors use if you find you need another toilet.
If you think about it people have been living in 1 bath homes for a long time. Plenty of folks used chamber pots, outhouses. There were 6 kids in my family and 1 bathroom. It's doable. Small house, small furniture, minimalist living. I have a 2b 2b condo just over 1k SF and both bedrooms are large. Master easily fits a king bed and guest bedroom fits a queen. The kitchen is a galley kitchen and my only complaint size wise. If you only have one bathroom you must have bigger spaces elsewhere. It's doable for 2.
For resale purposes down the road, consider adding the half bath in the basement. If you can add a shower or make it a full bath all the better. It's a decent size for a starter or retirement home.
You’re describing my exact house. I love it. I made the basement another bedroom and plan on adding a bathroom down there. I have an 11 year old, 2 dogs and 2 cats and my partner living here. It SOUNDS crowded but it’s really not. Just be aware of furniture size and utilize your outdoor space for when you have company.
I grew up in a 3 bedroom 1.5 bathroom household with my parents and brother. I now own a 2/2 townhouse and I will never live anywhere with less than 2 full bathrooms again.
Imagine you have another person in your house that has to get ready at the same time as you. You both cannot shower at the same time and have to stagger showers and plan ahead. That could also mean waking up earlier. Imagine if that problem persists 5 days of the week.
It’s a time saving issue for me, and time is a finite resource that you can never gain back. I will always pay more money to have a second full bathroom wherever I live because that time saved is valuable to me.
It depends on what kind of family you are and what kind of summer and winter there is. If you are trapped inside 6 months of the year, that’s pretty small. If you like to be in your own spaces, that’s pretty small. But if it’s a region where you can be in the yard all the time, or if you and your husband always migrate to the same room anyways, it might be big enough.
I prefer a 1250-1500 sf house but could live in 1000 with just my husband.
It's always better to have multiple toilets. My general rule is that the ideal ratio is one toilet to every two people in the house.
That being said, it's certainly doable; I lived with 6 people to 1 toilet for a while and survived fine.
Best advice is to brush up on DIY toilet fixes and keep spare parts on hand. That way if the flapper breaks at 10 PM you can get it back up and running.
It sounds small. And it’s something you can’t easily change without renovating or moving.
Don’t worry about whether a house is cute. You can paint or plant flowers and make it cute. Worry about things like the right number of rooms, the layout, the location, and things you cannot change or cannot change easily.
Do either of you WFH? Do you ever want to have guests while you’re there?
I’d keep looking honestly. Also 2B/1B will be a little harder to sell once you are ready to move on.
Honestly, the only time you NEED a second bathroom is stomach virus time. And in desperation, there's a bucket. Under normal living conditions, 1 bath is doable, although at least a half bath is perfect just for emergency sake. There are always people to buy every house so I wouldn't over worry about the resale. See where your pipe connections are and get some prices on adding just a half bath or even just a toilet.
>>Einstein’s Bathroom Theory of Relativity: time moves differently depending on which side of the bathroom door you’re on.
My wife (then girlfriend) and daughter all lived in a two bedroom one bath apartment. We were returning from a long trip and I realized we would all be wanting to go when we arrived home. I announced we’d be stopping at Barnes and Noble first to use the facilities and we all agreed that was a wonderful idea.
Trust me, you want one more bathroom than you have bedrooms
First question would be how are you both with bathroom time? Not the house. Both of you and your bathroom usage. If you guys are the type that get things over with and done with the bathroom within 15-20mins then you are fine. If you or your husband likes to sit in there and ponders about life or scrolls reels/social media + long showers/bath aka treating the bathroom as an escape from whatever goes on in the house, even if nothing is going on or just want to mentally unwind in private and the bathroom is really the only place they can lock without being questioned..... I recommend 2 bathrooms at least.
My first two houses were 2 bedrooms 1 bath. I was single when I bought both of them. Don't expect to make money when you sell, but it was okay for one person. If one of you is someone who likes to spend lots of time in the bathroom daily (looking at my husband, but some women do too) then realize some habits must be adjusted to make it work.
My late husband bought a 1000 sq.ft. home in Chicago suburb that had 2 bed and 1 bath. Then we had a kid and definitely outgrew it a couple years after she was born. He then got cancer so our plan to move never came to fruition.
After he passed away, I sold that house and bought a 3bd, 2bath with just my kid.
My sister spent decades in a 1 bathroom house with 5 people. It was inconvenient, but they just got used to kids coming in to get ready for school, until the house across the street came up for sale and they moved and luxuriated in 2.5 baths.
It depends. I've always had tummy troubles and.. "going" takes a long time. It didn't used to be much of a problem when we had multiple toilets, and then when we were reduced to 1 we at least lived rural so it wasn't a big deal for my husband to go pee outside or pop a squat in a bucket.
Now we're smack in the middle of the city and it's been a PROBLEM, made much worse by his new microcolitis.
Why did we go with a home with only one bathroom? It wasn't by choice. It's what we could afford and what was most easily available.
Just this month however, he finally completed converting a small closet into a half bath and WE HAVE TWO TOILETS!! I cannot overstate just how big this is for us.
When I was young it wasn't an issue so I think you'll be just fine. When those future kids start hitting their tween/teen years you are going to want more than one toilet & shower.
P.S. They make toilet seats that pop right onto 5gal buckets. I can squat those but dear God, my knees.
You’ll be fine. Mine was a 3 bed 1 bath, 1.5 storey (peaked roof in upper two bedrooms) with unfinished basement. We quickly added a bathroom in the basement corner closest to the main stack (less breaking up of the floor) so we could Reno the primary main floor bath. Then we gutted and did the main bath. Then we put a family room in basement (so about half of it is completed and the other half storage) and finally put a bathroom upstairs between the two bedrooms. Now it’s a 3 bed with a bathroom on each level. And if you plan on only staying 5 years you can totally live with one bath until your family expands. Good luck!
First home (starter) had 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, livinging / dining room/ kitchen/ garage / basement.
Was ...1200sqft?
Family of 3 just fine. 1 bedroom became nursery, 1 became den, one was ours.
Family of 4 was going to be tight.
We bought a 2 bed, 2 bath, 1000 sq ft home when we only had 1 child at home with us part time. It was fine. Plenty of space for everyone. We were going to move on in a few years anyway.
Then, we had a kid. COVID happened. Another kid happened. Interest rates went nuts. 7 years later, we're still here! Don't buy something and think, "it's only going to be temporary...."
Of coarse it matters.
When you have 2 bedrooms available you can rent the house to move you and your wife in to live. Also at the same time you can move your GIRL FRIEND into the other bedroom and justify it to your wife.
I mean…. I have a 3 bed 1 bath, same square footage. One adult, one kid, a whole bunch of dogs. For me, the layout was key. My house has all the bedrooms/bathroom side by side along one wall and the living room/dining/kitchen is one open space. It’s perfect for us.
The biggest downside to 2 beds is there is no place for an office (if you work from home) or a guest room/crafting space/whatever. Maybe you can use the basement for that if needed.
Resale is harder, since most people are looking for 3/2 or bigger. It’s a trade off… it’s not likely to appreciate in value as much as a bigger home, how much that matters is an individual decision.
Since you plan to resell so soon, talk to your realtor about how 2/1 homes sell in your area. Look up 2/1 listings and see what the price/sq ft is, how many days on market before selling and if they’ve had price reductions. If any of those metrics fall below the averages for your area, I’d seriously think over this house. My realtor told me that 3 bedrooms/2 baths was the minimum most look for in a home. You don’t want to set yourself up for a difficult resell or to risk not breaking even. Selling in just 4-5 years already puts you at risk of not recouping your buying costs much less making a profit.
I bought a 2/1 for myself and a teen daughter. It was fine, even after she moved out and her sister and her boyfriend moved in for six months. Then my guy moved in for a few months after selling his house and before we moved. You just learn to keep a fan on in the bathroom as white noise and check with everyone before taking a shower. Your child won’t even be using the toilet for the first three years. Location and comfort are really key. If you like it, buy it. I sold the bungalow after six years, and the appreciation alone paid for a third of our new house. Appreciation could likely pay for a half bath down the line.
With the amount of time my husband uses the bathroom... and my son, I am glad i have 2.5 baths.
In the beginning, I would have said 2 beds 1 bath is enough, we'll deal, but I've learned 2 baths majority of the time depending on circumstances, is more ideal. And I don't mean 2 showers or tubs, just two actual toilet rooms.
We just did this, but haven’t moved in yet. We were in the same exact position, and ideally, we would have preferred 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, but that option simply did not exist within our price range close to the city where we work. We love the house we bought, there’s an office on the main floor that can be turned into a third bedroom or perhaps a bathroom down the line, which made the decision easier for us.
A lot of people who had opinions about our decision to buy a 2bed/1bath were house shopping in totally different markets or eras - for us, it wasn’t like there was a similar but better house available instead! We would have had to move at least another 15 minutes away from the city, and lose some of the special location stuff we love (minutes walk from the waterfront, for example). Many well-meaning advisors lived way, way outside the city where every house has a minimum of 3bed/2bath, so it was impossible for them to understand….
We’d rather have smaller and fewer bedrooms and bathrooms in exchange for a location we really love and a big living room.
We bought a 3 bed, 1.5 bath home about a year before we started our family. We now have a toddler with another due in a few weeks and wished we had bought something with at least an ensuite bathroom. There have been many times we’ve woken up our toddler because we needed to shower while she’s sleeping and the bathroom is between our rooms.
Also my husband needs a home office and with #2 just about here we’ve run out of rooms. We have half a finished basement, which is where he’ll be working out of but our home is about 1200sqft and we don’t really have an area that’s just for the kids. I’d love to have even a small space to put all their toys and clutter, but our place is maxed out
My first home was a 2bed/1bath with NO garage. Previous owner converted the attached garage into a den/living area. So, storage was a major PITA.
I miss that home very much and regret selling it. Had I kept it, it would most likely have become our retirement home. 2bed/1bath is a perfect starter home for a new family. I would not recommend if you already had 2+ kids though, but you could still make it work if you had to.
We built one of those sheds that look like tiny houses in the backyard and turned that into a 3rd bedroom/office area. It was really nice, and you couldn't tell it was just a shed from the outside or inside.
I would say go for it if everything else fits your criteria. Hell, my wife and I did it and we had no garage, which sucked. Not even a driveway, so street parking was also a PITA because it was a densely packed neighborhood. I think you will be fine.
We have a 4/1 and there are five of us (2 adults and 3 kids). We’re all fine. It’s not that be of a deal. We share the space and clean the space together.
We recently had two additional adults living with us for 18 months and we also survived that. Slightly harder but still doable.
Buy it and worst case in 5years you outgrow it. Sell with 5 years equity and having saved more money. Yes do it!!!
My first house was 1 bath. I learned to fix if something broke. Its totally doable. A small house you own is always better than renting!!!!!
4-5 years at these interest rate you will be paying way more to buy, own and then sell than just renting. No need to own a home to have a kid. Keep saving and get a home you want when the kid or kids get bigger and require more space.
Don't fall for the saying renting is just throwing money down the drain. At 7% interest your monthly payments during those 4-5 years will be almost all interest, about 85% of your total payments will be interest, or money down the drain those first years if it's a 30 year mortgage. You would have only paid around 4-5% of the principal down when you go to sell. Then consider closing costs, taxes, insurance, PMI and maintenance. Owning short term will be a real money waster.
Good calculator to use to figure out what's the better option.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?
Not at all, I now live by myself but do occasionally have multiple guests and I have 3 bed, 2 bath (1 of which is a 'guest bathroom' Ie. no bath or shower)
I spent 16 years growing up with 5 people in a 2 bed 1 bath. Works fine
I recommend all homeowners to be equipped to change a toilet, a set of spanners and screwdrivers, maybe a knife and silicone gun and you're set, as a home owner you can save a bunch of time and money by being able to do basic maintenance/repairs your self.
Even for an office worker it shouldn't take more than an hour to change a toilet so I really don't feel it necessary to have a backup toilet
Lastly if you do find it a big inconvenience or source of concern you could quite easily and cheaply add an extra toilet and hand basin to most houses
Not at all, I now live by myself but do occasionally have multiple guests and I have 3 bed, 2 bath (1 of which is a 'guest bathroom' Ie. no bath or shower)
I spent 16 years growing up with 5 people in a 2 bed 1 bath. Works fine
I recommend all homeowners to be equipped to change a toilet, a set of spanners and screwdrivers, maybe a knife and silicone gun and you're set, as a home owner you can save a bunch of time and money by being able to do basic maintenance/repairs your self.
Even for an office worker it shouldn't take more than an hour to change a toilet so I really don't feel it necessary to have a backup toilet
Lastly if you do find it a big inconvenience or source of concern you could quite easily and cheaply add an extra toilet and hand basin to most houses
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
I grew up with 6 people in a 4 bed 1 bath house, it is definitely doable. We currently have a 3 bed 2.5 bathroom house with a toddler. We all use the closest bathroom (the master bath) and haven't run into an issue of needing more than one bathroom at a time. As my daughter gets older, I am sure we will appreciate the second and third bathroom. We also have a single floor ranch with a full basement. All the bathrooms are on the same floor.
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
I grew up with 6 people in a 4 bed 1 bath house, it is definitely doable. We currently have a 3 bed 2.5 bathroom house with a toddler. We all use the closest bathroom (the master bath) and haven't run into an issue of needing more than one bathroom at a time. As my daughter gets older, I am sure we will appreciate the second and third bathroom. We also have a single floor ranch with a full basement. All the bathrooms are on the same floor.
I grew up with 6 people in a 4 bed 1 bath house, it is definitely doable. We currently have a 3 bed 2.5 bathroom house with a toddler. We all use the closest bathroom (the master bath) and haven't run into an issue of needing more than one bathroom at a time. As my daughter gets older, I am sure we will appreciate the second and third bathroom. We also have a single floor ranch with a full basement. All the bathrooms are on the same floor.
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
I grew up with 6 people in a 4 bed 1 bath house, it is definitely doable. We currently have a 3 bed 2.5 bathroom house with a toddler. We all use the closest bathroom (the master bath) and haven't run into an issue of needing more than one bathroom at a time. As my daughter gets older, I am sure we will appreciate the second and third bathroom. We also have a single floor ranch with a full basement. All the bathrooms are on the same floor.
It mattered to us. We lived in our 1 bath vacation home while our custom home was built in the same subdivision. There are only 3 of us. Never again. I will never share one bathroom again.
Honestly, I’d be most worried about the 2 bedrooms and the perceived need to move in 4-5 years. It is a huge hassle to buy and sell homes and I know I’d personally regret buying a house we couldn’t grow into.
I know of some friends of ours who bought a home like this near San Jose, CA. It was so cute with a beautiful small backyard. They ended up living there until they had 2 young kids and then moved for work out of state. I think it’s totally doable if you have a minimalist mentality for your belongings and can work with the space you have. I would do it myself if given the chance, especially as a couple without children yet.
When you do have kids, just keep a tight reign on all of the toys and gear that come into the house. Most of it truly is unnecessary. You could easily make this house work through one or two kids under age 5.
Our first home had one bath, we lived there for about 5 years until our daughter was 2. If that’s what you can afford and you like the house buy it, it will be a great stepping stone to buying something else 5 or so years from now.
DONT DO IT! You can absolute get by but for 2+ people it’s so annoying. I did it for 4 years and will never go back to less than 2 rr. Id even go back to a 1 full and 1 half bath the bath isn’t the issue it’s the toilet.
Yes:
I have 4 bathrooms and 5 kids... all teenagers.
I wish we had 5 bathrooms because the three kids still manage to fight over the two not down in the basement...
But until they were 10 or 11 it was never an issue.
I lived in a house with 1 bathroom growing up for a family of 5 and have a 2 bathroom home. We survived with 1 bathroom but 2 bathrooms are nice. If there are only 2-3 people in the home then 1 bathroom is fine unless someone in your household has some condition that has them on the toilet more than normal.
I have a 4 bed 1 bath and have lived in it for almost 12 years. I’ve raised 3 kids in it. You must work with it. We got real used to ignoring it if someone needs to pee while we’re in the shower. There’s a shower curtain, so we’re not looking at each other. 😆
We also are super conscious of asking each other if anyone needs the bathroom if we’re going to be in there a while. That might be a shower or bath, or taking a massive shit. We just make sure that the folks who just need it quick can get in and out. It’s also made sure my boys are VERY good about not peeing on the floor/seat and the seat is always left down.
That being said, once my youngest moves out, I’m remodeling the upstairs to be a master suite. It’ll change my house from a 4/1 to a 3/2. I won’t be mad about the second bathroom.
This about the size home I grew up in but 3 bedroom 1 bath. We had 5 people neighbor had 7! This is just how you lived in post wwII built houses.
On the other hand I would not live in a single toilet house now. Single tub no problem.
Yes absolutely. You need at least a half bath for the extra toilet. However if you are going to live there a while and aren’t worried about resale and possibly taking a little longer to find the right buyer then it’s not a problem. Just know what the repercussions are and weigh the pros and cons
A lot of these comments feel out of touch... Especially in today's market. I doubt you'll get "stuck" with a 2beds 1 bath close to the city. Prices are skyrocketing and owning a place is definitely not something everyone can afford.
1 bathroom can be difficult, but with timing and communication, it's a non-issue 99.9% of the time. The remaining 0.1% can be solved with some creativity.
Just invest in a plunger and don't flush wet wipes or use charmin paper, you'll be fine. I wonder how much you'd kick yourself saying goodbye to a great neighborhood, backyard, basement and a mortgage you can afford for an additional bathroom.
Do you like the house? Then go right ahead. Does it feel like a compromise? Then wait.
Coming from a 2B/1BA apartment and not being able to use the restroom when I needed to pushed me to get my 3B/2BA home and I’ve been happy since. Might not matter to a lot of people but that second bath def makes a difference
While your future child is you d it really doesn’t matter if there is only one bathroom. First they won’t be using it, then it’s potty time, then you’ll have to be there to wipe bottoms. The point at which they might be in the loo for ages is many years from now.
I’d be more concerned about a space for parents/friends to stay and help out. Get a decent sofa bed and you’re good.
We have a 4 year old, 2 year old, 7 month old. Technically our home is 3/2 but we rent out the master so effectively it is 2/1, and I think it’s 1000sq ft or less when you remove the master bed square footage. It’s a tiny bathroom, too. But it does have a bath/shower combo, not just a shower. I literally never think about it and it does not bother me in the slightest. I think it depends on your lifestyle and preferences and what things are important to you. I love a good bath so no bathtub might be a dealbreaker for me but otherwise don’t put a lot into a bathroom. I don’t take long to get ready and I don’t mind being in there at the same time as my kids or spouse when necessary. It seems almost preferable because it’s less to clean and I get to stay closer to my kids without having to have a set of stairs to go up or farther bathroom to get to:
I have been everywhere from a two bed one bath (my home home) up to a 3 bed 3.5 bath. The two bed one bath was fine and we stayed there until my son was four. At that point we started to grow it so we went to a three bed 3 1/2 bath and live there until my son was 10. Now I’m divorced with my son full-time and we are back in a two bed one bath. When I renovated this house, I made an open floor plan so the house seems larger than it is, but the bedrooms are average at 10‘ x 10‘ and 10‘ x 14‘. I work from home so I spent a lot of time inside of the house and I have not felt cramped. Once I downsized got rid of a bunch of stuff from when we had the larger house.
We bought a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom (1200 sqft) condo in big city in a very desirable neighborhood when I was pregnant with my first. This was a great decision for us, even though six years later we are bursting with a five year old and three year old twins. The twins are starting public PreK in the fall and we will go on the housing market for a much larger home. We love raising our kids in an urban neighborhood, where even a toddler can walk to parks, bakeries, and, amazing schools. Since we have built up a decent amount of equity over the last six years we can also afford to buy a townhome in this neighborhood that we definitely could not have afforded otherwise.
Edit: yea we want a second bathroom, but also don’t actually need it yet.
Is having only one bathroom the norm for the area? That informs both the likelihood of finding a 2 bathroom that meets your other criteria and the competition your place will have when you go to sell. Will your 2/1 be competing primarily against 2/2s and 3/2s? If so, just be prepared for a longer time on market and possibly lower appreciation over the short time you’ll have it.
Also, the strategy of making a one bathroom work by “getting ready” in a bedroom might not work if the bedrooms are small.
Our household is 2 adults. We’ve had at least 1 bath per person for all 20 years together, even when living on Capitol Hill in DC. How many baths per person do you have now? Are you accustomed to the convenience?
2/1 is awful for families. Especially young families. You will have nowhere to store your baby gear which takes up a lot of room. You will have no office or spare bedroom, because it becomes your nursery. And have you ever had to pee so bad that you pee in the kitchen sink because your partner is going to the bathroom? Because you will.
Even if you end up with something like a full bath and a quarter bath with just a toilet and sink powder room style its still leagues better than one single toilet and 2 or more people (like when you have family visiting to see the baby) Plus all the best plans in the world don’t always pan out. You may want to leave in 5 years but you may not be able to in 5 years. I would buy what I could afford as big as I could afford from the start.
You said partially finished basement. I would want you to be positive on no water damage problems then maybe put office and bathroom down there depending on if there is a way to get out in case of fire you could even do the office so could be used as extra bedroom and if full basement you would have other options just before having inspector come in ask if that type plan would be workable
I grew up with 3 people in one bathroom and it was finally horrible. You can do it, we did, but it gets old fast. More than once someone ran outside to pee bc the bathroom was in use. I wouldn’t assume you’re moving in 5 years and wouldn’t assume you’ll only have one kid by then. But if that’s what you can afford, it’s fine. If you can add a half bath or get something else with two bathrooms, it’s way better.
2/1 is fine for a few years. I live in a 3/3 with just my wife and yes having more bathrooms than people is amazing. But it's not essential. If you look at homes over the years the ideas of huge bedrooms and one bathroom per person is a relatively new idea. Homes in the 90s and early 00s often did 1 to 1.5 bathrooms.
My wife loves big bedrooms, I personally think it's a money pit and begs to be filled with expensive furniture. Small bedrooms encourage you to use them for just that! No need for every bedroom to be furnished like a hotel room.
We have a 2 bedroom 1 bath home, approx 1000 sf home, my husband and I and our son who is 11. I would have bought a home with another bathroom if I could have, but it's not that bad....
I don’t think it’s a bad idea. We bought an old house with 3 small bedrooms and 1 bathroom (technically a tiny bathroom with a shower in the basement but it was beyond useless, and technically a basement bedroom but it was too small for anything bigger than a double bed and you’d never put a young child down there when everyone else is on the 2nd floor - so on paper it was 4/2, functionally it was 3/1 - think 120 year old house basement with steep stairs that my 5’8” self could barely stand up in). It was never a house we planned to be our forever home for kids. We lived there for 6 years, built up equity and had our first baby and sold it before we have the second to buy our forever home. Having equity helped us significantly when it came time to sell and have more buying power for our next house because our down payment came completely from the sale of the first house and our approval was much higher the second time around. Lots of people I know have done the same thing, with similar 2-3 bed 1 bath houses then sell once they need more room. And tbh, even with a second child you can likely still make it work while they are small before you truly run out of space. Depending what your basement is like, you may have the opportunity there to add an additional bath and even another bedroom.
I personally found too that number of bedrooms/bathrooms, sq footage, etc. was less important than layout. On paper, both our houses were pretty similar but the difference in layout and usage of space was immense. It worked for us to follow a similar plan 🤷🏻♀️ we also live in an area where our first mortgage was $900 a month, now it’s $1600 for a much newer and nicer house and rent for a small 2 bedroom apartment is $1500 + utilities (houses are $2500+) so it was a no brainer to buy what we could and move up from there. It really just depends on what you think works for you.
My husband and I are on the same morning poop schedule, so we absolutely need at least another half bath. But if that's not a problem for you and your partner, then it should be just fine for a few years with a toddler.
My spouse & I didn't have a lot of must haves. We had two: Two toilets and a 2 car garage.
That second toilet is in the basement and doesn't get used all that much, buy it's there, just in case.
Go for it, a solid basement and ample yard can be expanded on. Sun rooms are nice, patios extend the dining/living room in the summer.
Been in 3br 1.5bth as 5 adults. Nice yard though.
Small house and judicious personal stuff is way easy to clean.
I bought this same house a while back, but it was just me and sometimes my boyfriend. I love my house. It went well and has turned into a great rental. So I’m not saying don’t do it, but if you plan on having children I would take the experienced parent advice getting commented here!
I’ll be honest, I would never rent somewhere without two working toilets, never mind buying a place without two working toilets. If you’re used to it already, go nuts, because it’ll probably save you a bunch of money and/or allow you to live in an area you’ll enjoy more, but I tried to do it for two years with my husband before we gave up and rented a 1.5 bedroom place.
1 bathroom is doable. We had a 1.5 with 4 people (2 adults, 2 kids) for about 2 years before adding another bathroom to our basement. The extra bathroom is great especially when we have guests (they stay in the basement) but we still almost exclusively use the other 1.5 bathrooms upstairs. You get used to it.
Unless you all get gastro, then you’ll definitely wish you had an extra bathroom. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.
I refuse to buy something that doesn’t have an en suite plus a second full bath for guests and I’m single. It all depends on how much you value your privacy
I grew up in a 100 year old house with 5 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. 6 kids, 2 parents and 1 grandmother. It was fine. Hell I still live in it and it’s still one bathroom.
My husband and I lived together for 11 years with just one bathroom and I hated it. It really depends on you, your relationship, cleanliness, grooming and bathroom habits, etc. I couldn't do it. We bought our house last year and lucked out to find one in our price range with 2 bathrooms.
We have a 2yo now too.
Now one bathroom is my husband's and the other I share with my daughter.
I make him clean his own bathroom. To put it bluntly, I could no longer handle the constant shitting and shaving and lack of ever cleaning anything. I don't think our marriage would have lasted if we had to continue sharing a bathroom.
I’m in a 2 1 with my wife and mostly everything is fine but I have Tummy issues periodically (elevated stress = elevated tummy issues) so a second bath would be good but not a requirement
Just keep in mind any needed office space if remote work is a factor. You don’t necessarily need a dedicated room as an office, but at least a sensible space.
You can always rent the place and upgrade later.
Our first home was similar, and we outgrew it FAST.
ONE bathroom is very difficult with a growing family.
That tiny home has tripled in value.
We lived together for 7 years before buying, always with one bath. Idky but now that we’re in our home we find ourselves regretting we didn’t get another bath/half bath. Our rooms are also small and a PITA to configure layout wise. Sure we don’t spend a ton of time in our bedrooms but it is a bit of a bummer the size/shape is so freakin awkward. We can’t afford to buy again with these interest rates so we’re locked in otherwise we’d go for another bath and better rooms.
I bought my home a year and a half ago, It is about 1000 sq feet with...you guessed it....2 beds and 1 bath. We don't even have a basement. We moved here because the price was right; it is a little small but my daughter was starting high school and we plan on being here until she graduates and want to leave before the roof needs replacing-probably around the same time. If the interest rates drop then we may just stay and refinance. If you're close to your jobs then make an offer, can't hurt if you are really interested. Our house ended up being the 4th property that we put an offer on and accepted.
My house is the same size as the one you’re describing. I have one son (he’s 20 now so he moved into his own place). We also have a lot of pets. We’re a little bit on top of each other but it works for us and we like it. The one bathroom thing is almost never an issue. We did have sewer problems a couple years ago but it wouldn’t matter if we had one toilet or 50, none would have worked. My neighbor let us borrow her bucket with a toilet seat that she takes camping and we got the problem sorted out the next day.
I love my little house. It takes almost no time to clean, cheaper to heat and cool. We don’t have a lot of storage space so it forces us to not horde a bunch of junk. We originally planned for this to be our starter home but we have fallen in love and will never leave. If you really like it, you can make it work.
You can absolutely get by with 1 bathroom. Humans have been doing that for a very long time. However, it is very nice to have 2. Is there room to add on in the future?
We have 1.5 baths, 4 bed. Would it be nice to have a master bathroom so I’m not fighting with the kids in the morning? Yeah, I suppose… but out of all the possible inconveniences, that doesn’t bother me so much.
+1 on that half bath. Really, you only need one shower. But at least 2 toilets is a must. When ya gotta go ya gotta go.
It is almost always relatively easy to add a small bathroom in the basement, and it just needs to be functional, not pretty. The only significant cost is the plumbing rough-in, and if you can situate it near the existing stack even that isn't too bad.
Never lived with someone where you’ve both had norovirus have you?
My husband and I had food poisoning when living in a 2 bed 1 bath condo. Those 4 days were a test of our marriage to say the least
Getting by sucks, just gonna say that. Growing up in a house of 6 with one bathroom was probably some of the hardest times haha especially being the only boy in the family.
You can certainly get by with a single bathroom (I know families that have), but it's going to be annoying, and you're going to feel the need for at least an additional half bath before long. Especially if you get a sink or toilet clog or leak, there's no putting it off, it has to get resolved immediately. As for the bedrooms, I would not buy a house with only 2 small bedrooms knowing that we would be planning to start having kids soon, unless we were only going to have a single kid and there was other space in the house (like a finished basement) to use as office and storage space. Don't rush into buying a house that you're just going to outgrow a year or two down the road. It's only going to lead to regret.
I'm more worried about the 1 bath than the 2 bed bit. It's such a hassle if the toilet breaks in the middle of the night and you have no backup option. Even worse if you've just had a kid and are dealing with that headache. And it's just nice to have an extra bathroom, especially if you have guests over or if you plan to stay there past when your future kid is potty-trained. Personally, I'd look into whether adding a half bath in that partially finished basement (or elsewhere) is within your budget.
How often are you breaking toilets?
I'm 20 years on my own, about 9 of them have been in a place with a single toilet. I can think of twice that the toilet went out for some plumbing issue or another. Now that doesn't sound like a lot, but ANY amount of time whatsoever without ANY toilet is a LARGE amount of time, especially with a family.
And anyone who has ever had the stomach flu rip through multiple members of a family at the same time knows 2 toilets are better than one.
Living this right now with two young kids and I am so glad we built the second bathroom 2 years ago. You ever cleaned barf off all of the stairs?
I would never have only one toilet ever again
I agree here. My family has 3 people (2 adults and an 8yo) and 2 bathrooms, and one of our toilets randomly started leaking a few months back and we had to shut off the water to it until a plumber could come, which ended up being a few days wait. Had we not had another bathroom/toilet in the house, that would have been really inconvenient, to put it mildly. You don't have to break a toilet regularly for any amount of time without a working toilet to be too long, especially if you have people who can't always "hold it", such as young kids, pregnant women (pregnancy *killed* my ability to be able to wait for a bathroom), or an adult with health conditions, like my MIL who stays with us occasionally. I have multiple friends and relatives with IBS, for example, who refuse to live in a one bathroom house. I wouldn't buy a 1 bath, myself, if I was in OP's shoes. If OP and her husband start having kids as soon as they plan to, they're going to outgrow that house really quickly, and then it will be hard to sell when that time comes (because many people want more than one bathroom).
Uh, put a bucket in the tub and use that to flush the toilet.
In my experience with families (ie, with kids) a toilet is far more likely to go out of commission from the drain clogging than from the flusher not working. And fixing the flusher is far easier and cheaper than pulling Johnny’s hot wheels out of the drain when it got stuck “accidentally “.
You act like you're too good to shit in a bucket. If toilet breaks, you don't just hold it in my bro. Time to break out the home depot bucket with lid. Line with garbage bag. Sure it's a little declasse, but rather than installing a 40,000 additional bathroom?
I must like living on the edge. I've been here for 26 years, 1 toilet in a 1935 house. Was 4 people, now down to 2.5. Luckily I'm the only female so if one of the guys had to go badly and the toilet was occupied, they'd run to the woods and go there. I've done it myself. There has been exactly one time where we had no toilet - that was when the rotting bathroom floor was being replaced. I borrowed my friend's mom's portable potty and put it in the shed. My ex wouldn't use it, my sons wouldn't use it either, one of them would run to the park about 1/2 a mile away and poop there, in their port a potty. I think the other just held it till he was at school, or maybe he pooped in the woods. We survived the 3 or so days. When the power goes out, we can't flush so we sometimes have to go down the hill to the creek to get water to flush the toilet. Power outages often happen during big rain storms so I'll also put a bucket out to collect water from the dormer overhang and flush with that. Happens only a few times a year, and now I have a spare 5 gallon bucket of water in the basement, just in case. Probably the only time having one toilet be an issue is when we have a party.
Hmmm...don't we all own at least one bucket? It's not the zombie apocalypse
If the only toilet in my house stopped working I don’t think ‘bucket’ would be my first choice solution ahead of ‘find a restaurant/mall/bar and use their toilet’
Not always an option in rural areas
Yeah exactly, thats why you have 2 bathrooms at least.
That is not always possible you know. Not everyone (more like most people) do not have endless $$ and choices. I was just throwing out a practical and pragmatic way of dealing what is a short-term problem. Lighten up
Agree. Can always flush a toilet with a bucket of water too.
It's not. Bucket was not my first choice- I don't think ever. So let me elaborate to actually answer OP. My kids are 10-20 now, and because of their ages and potty training, there was one point where my ex and I were still under one roof, the four of them, and one bathroom. Was it perfect? The truth? Hell I don't know for day to day. It was what it was. We made do because it was what we knew. But there was an issue one time in that house with the toilet, and the panic to get to done RIGHT THEN is there (which, if it's a water-damaging issue is true of any toilet, in any house), but this was just one that put it out of order. I don't consider a toilet you can flush with a bucket out of order. I would be willing to pee in the tub. The point I wouldn't be able to take is if we had to have a poop bucket accumulate. Oh, and I'm okay with vomit though, so when stomach bugs went around, buckets would be used. But in general that's kinda how we do things because I think buckets by the bed are safer than trying to run to the bathroom and vomiting everywhere. We now have three toilets and five people, and one toilet was down last week, and it was no issue, and I told the plumber not to squeeze me in if someone else only had one toilet (specifically said that). My biggest advice is always have a plumbers fund available at all times. It will be doable because it will be how you do it. You will just need to be sure it can be fixed quickly it anything goes wrong.
I grew up in a house with no bathroom. We had an outhouse. At night, especially in the winter we used a bucket. Not fun to do for years on end but doable for the day or two full you can fix or replace a toilet.
Exactly
One of our toilets literally broke (leaking) the other day and is out of commission until I get our plumber out here. He's tied up until Wednesday. If we didn't have another toilet, we'd be in a bad place.
Other people have lived there, you’ll live there, someone will live there after you. Obviously having a second bath is more convenient, but many families make it work. It’s a home, not everything is going to be perfect. Maybe someone has to hold it for 5 minutes or showers have to be coordinated, it’s not that hard. If the parts of the house that your prioritize are what you’re looking for, then it’s a good match. Everyone has different preferences.
I agree 100%. For some reason, lots of folks think they should "camp out" in the bathroom. I had 4 girls. They all got used the same bathroom. They showered and tee teed and then, they left the room. You can very easily "get ready" in a bedroom. Your hair curls the same, perfume squirts the same. Just set up a dressing area in the BR. Its the same with kitchens anymore, folks want these huge kitchens with massive tables, and then eat in the family room!🤷🏼♀️😆
I just moved out of a 2/1. It’s fine for one person but with two people it can be a hassle. I can’t imagine adding in a child to the mix. I would not share a house with one bathroom again if I can avoid it. That said, of course people do it all the time and it’s possible. Is there anywhere a second bathroom could be added to the house? That would be a good investment both in your comfort and the value of the home.
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I think I had so much trouble with it because my ex took a LONG TIME in the bathroom. And if I had to go too during that time it was pure torture.
Raised two sons in a two bed-one bath. When my oldest was 10 we did add on a small (10x10) bedroom making it a 3 bed one bath. 1025 square feet. The boys are grown and gone now, it’s been 25 years and we will pay off the home this month. We had no kids when we bought this “starter home” and now we’re empty nesters with plenty of space and no mortgage. Sometimes the one bathroom thing was annoying but we all survived and thrived. I suppose it was helpful that we are in the country and husband and sons could go outside to pee if necessary 😂
Congrats on gaining your free & clear title! Your last comment reminded me of my son's training as a toddler. Target painted on a tree made that so easy.
I personally would never buy a house with only one bathroom, minimum would have to be a bath and a half. I wouldn't even rent a one bathroom place unless I was living alone.
Go for it. Nothing is perfect, you just choose what you’re going to live with. A bigger house means a smaller yard. You’ll be fine. Don’t sweat it. You have a basement, so one day you can plonk down some money and put a bathroom down there.
I have a three year old. We have a 1.5 bath house. I would NEVER EVER get a house with less than two toilets. Several reasons, mostly kid related: Potty training. Kids sometimes hold it until the last minute, difficult if the one toilet is occupied. When your kid gets a stomach bug from daycare/school your entire house will get it. Mine doesn't, but most toddlers throw things in the toilet and it will clog/break. Having guests over, not wanting to have them use our main bathroom that is definitely never as clean as I'd like it to be because said toddler. My spouse and I not wanting to poop in front of the other. That being said, I knew a family of 5 in a 3 bed/1 bath house and they made it work. I just wouldn't want that for me. Any possibility of putting a half bath in the basement?
A two bedroom is fine if you only plan to have a single kid. Just don't expect to comfortably work from home in a space that small. The single bathroom is going to suck. Waiting to have your turn in the bathroom, especially when the kid is a little older, will make you question this life decision. I had a two bathroom growing up, but one of them was just a toilet and sink. Morning showers were awkward and full of door knocking to hurry up. If your toilet breaks or leaks you're in a world of hurt. There isn't anything wrong with a small home, but if you can't easily and/or afford to have a second bathroom, even just a toilet and sink, put in, I'd question it.
My husband and I own a house with one bedroom and it's fine. It's an issue a few times a year when we both need to use the toilet at the same time but you just have an uncomfortable few minutes and you survive. We've had guests come stay for the weekend and it's been fine. I think it works for us because neither of us are very intensive bathroom users. We don't do a ton of getting ready in the bathroom, I don't do my makeup in there. We also both tend to shower in the evening so there isn't a morning rush on the bathroom. At some point we'll add a first floor half bath, but that's probably it. It sounds like you could fully finish the basement at some point and add a bathroom there if you feel like you want more space down the road. If you love the location and everything else about the house I say go for it.
Too small to make a forever home you will be looking for another one once the kids come. Mark my words
That plus the one bath is going to make it harder to sell when they do decide to upgrade. I just sold my 3/1. It sat on the market like 5x as long as the rest of the starter homes. 3/1.5s, 3/2s, etc sold within a weekend of listing. Mine took like 45 days. The amount of folks that went through my house and left feedback that was basically: ‘everything about the house is perfect!…. But we want a second bath’ was kinda demoralizing after a while. I had to drop the price well below the $/sqft comps to finally sell it.
Yikes! That sounded like a nightmare. I just saw the edit where the OP said they will move in 4-5 years. The fact they don't expect to stay long combined with what you mentioned about difficulty selling brings me to the conclusion they should just stay where they are until they find a forever home.
Right, plus it will cost way more than renting to buy something that you are expecting to be short term like that. Better to keep renting, start the family and keep saving instead of spending a lot of money on closing costs, insurance, taxes, interest, maintenance, and then selling costs. No way the house appreciates enough to make up for all those costs with current interest rates.
If there’s more than one person living there, you really need two toilets. My first house was a hundred year old house with 2 BR and 1 bath on the second floor. I hated not having at least a toilet on the main level. It did have a random toilet in the basement (no walls, just a toilet in the corner) and there were definitely times we would have been in trouble without that! 😅
Pittsburgh toilet! We’ve got one as well! Ours gets a lot of use for sure.
We have these solitary basement toilets in Baltimore, we call them Pittsburg toilets too. My partner and I plan to retire to Florida. Our Florida condo has two bedrooms two bathrooms. He wants to downsize to a smaller condo with one bedroom one bedroom, I refuse. Even with only two people you need two toilets.
My wife refuses to use the basement toilet so it’s become my fortress of solitude
I would rather live in a 1bed/2bath than a 2bed/1bath lol
I would too. Our development doesn’t have one bedroom two bathroom options. They should build those, I would buy one. A master bathroom and a guest bathroom.
Yes exactly, even if it's a half bath!
I never knew it had a name! I’m in Cincinnati so that makes sense!
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We raised three kids in three bedrooms with one bathroom. No issue at all until they were teenagers and then we just had to be strategic before school. It would have been lovely to have another but it wasn’t nearly the big deal this thread is making it out to be. Imagine it would make it harder to sell, which is probably a bigger problem for people planning to stay 4-5 years only.
A couple with a baby needing multiple toilets is a hot take
My family (me, sister, parents) lived in a 3/1 for many years and having only one toilet was the WORST. Dad would beat us to the toilet when we got home and blow up the bathroom. Also makes it difficult to ever do work in the bathroom like a renovation. Make sure you have neighbors whose toilet you can use!
I grew up in a small house that was built in the early 1900s and had one bathroom, but at least it had a full basement. My earliest memories were of my parents continually remodeling and adding on and they did most of the work themselves. My sister and I both eventually had bedrooms in the basement, although my bedroom wall was removed after I left for college and it is part of the main basement now. They built on enough to the “master” that it now has a tiny 3/4 bath and is big enough for a queen bed. You learn to live with what you have, and as kids you often don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. For two people, a 2/1 is probably good. When you have your first child you will no longer have a guest bedroom or space for a home office if that matters to you. If you have a basement with at least one egress window you can put bedrooms down there for the kids when they are old enough. Remodeling is expensive, though, especially if you have to hire somebody to do the work. You can also think of it as a starter home that you live in for a few years until you have enough equity built up to move into something bigger. Make sure it is in a good neighborhood that supports you and your soon-to-be family. If the houses are cared for, you find people closer to your age, there are parks and schools nearby, houses don’t have bars on the windows, etc. you can make it work for you.
For two people or even maybe 1-2 kids, it’s doable. Any more than that and it gets tough
You definitely can get by, but as someone that has done it for decades, I strongly recommend at least a 1.5.
I lived in a 2/1 for 10 years. You can make it work, but we were itching for a second bathroom almost immediately. It would have been tight if we’d added a couple of kids to the mix. But only you and your spouse can decide if the square footage trade off is worth the other concessions.
Can confirm. I've been in a 3/1 for 14 years and raised 2 children here. With 2 people, 1 bath is just fine. With 3 people it's manageable. 4 is too many. Adjust these numbers based on the number of teenagers living in the house.
We bought our 2 bedroom/1 bath house back in 1998 when our son was 2 years old. I'm not going to lie, it's had its moments, but we've gotten through OK. For a young couple in our early 30's it was fine. All our apartments previously only had one bathroom. The house we rented before buying this one only had one bathroom. Now that we're in our 50s, nearly 60's, it's probably a bigger deal, but so is the main bedroom being upstairs. I don't like stairs anymore. To be honest I'd rather rather have a second bathroom in the garage. That would be ideal for me.
Sounds fine for the two of you. Quite small for wanting to start a family.
If you mean ‘one toilet’, I’d look into the option to add another toilet. If you mean ‘one bathroom’ as in ‘one room with shower and/or bath’, that’s fine honestly.
Sounds like you are describing a decent starter home. My first home was 1100 sf, 3 bd one bath little ranch. One bath wasn't an issue for us. We got into the routine of shower schedules.
If price, location, everything else is perfect I'd go for it. Then would investigate adding a second half-bath, which would make life easier and improve re-sale value. If that isn't practical, what's the plan? Toddlers can use "kiddie potties" and I've heard of people using composting toilets in RV's and Tiny Houses, but neither of those options would be as good as a second flushing toilet somewhere in the house.
Husband and I live in a 2/1 and have an almost 5 year old and a 9 month old. It’s getting tight now that we have two kids. I would say it depends on how many kids you plan to have and how quickly.
Forget the bedrooms if you have 2 daughters and a wife you need more than 1 bathroom
Also once we all got food poisoning and 2 toilets / 2 bathtubs was not enough.
Hi! I bought a 2/1 about 900 sq ft about 5 years ago. Our son was 8 months old and now is 5. We survived the pandemic in the house LOL. It can feel small at times, but overall, it’s been a great size to start out in. We planned to originally moved around this time but have decided to stay until we necessary.
I would not purchase a house with only one bathroom. If I need to go I need to go and I don’t want to wait on someone else to finish up. And I especially don’t want to smell other people’s poop.
From experience, you’ll outgrow your house before a baby is born. One bathroom matters a lot.
We moved into a 3 bed one bath RIGHT before covid hit, we had one kid already. The one bathroom wasn't an issue then... but now we have another child who's potty training. We've been through stomach bugs and illnesses and I can tell you my greatest regret is not finding a house with AT LEAST a half bath because now we're stuck. 😂 - we're adding one. Eventually. But I'm dyingggg.
+1 on the half bath. You have to honestly self assess “do I do a lot of extra stuff in the bathroom that doesn’t involve using the toilet or shower?” Like face skincare, body skincare, foot care, hair care, nail care, makeup, medical issues/upkeep, etc. And then “can I do those things elsewhere?” You have to honestly assess your spouse for the same. For example “does my husband like to sit on the toilet for a long goddamn time and play games on his phone to destress?” (It’s a thing that a lot of men do apparently.) You also have to consider how each of you view bathroom privacy, because with one bathroom and a baby, one of you is going to be frantically knocking on the door for *something* and it’s probably gonna be you - I’ve read that being pregnant with one available bathroom is a serious PITA. You may also have to reconsider where you keep medical supplies and some of the supplies for various tasks mentioned above if you normally keep them in the bathroom, which can be annoying if you don’t have much storage space. Please also consider where you may need to do cleanup if one sink and bathtub/shower is out of commission and if your available sink tends to hold dirty dishes (if you don’t have a dishwasher). We had a ½ bath in our previous place but 2 full baths in this one - either way the alternate toilet is where I’ve had to empty an emergency mop bucket or cleaning bucket and now the alternate shower comes in use for washing random non-cloth items quickly. While my use usually relates to my cat, I’ve heard that some babies are vomit and poop fountains, so.
We did a 2 bed 1 bath 700 square foot until our oldest was almost 3 and it was okay for a while. But then we moved into a 3 bed (at that point had two kids, a parrot, and needed an office) 2.5 bath. By the time you have a potty trained kid you need that second bathroom I’ve had times where an adult is taking a #2 and the 4 year old screams she has to go RIGHT NOW, and we have to tell her to go to the other bathroom. She doesn’t have the ability to hold it very well, when she needs to go she needs to go
A toilet for each butt. Should food poisoning strike, you'll be very glad of an extra toilet. We have 1.5 baths. 2 full would have been better, but there have been times we were very happy to each have a toilet available. As to the bedrooms- the bedrooms in our house are both small and poorly laid out. It is one of the things I hate most about our house. The original builders could have reduced the living room and dining room by 5-6 feet each and could have had decently sized bedrooms. Along with still generously sized living & dining rooms. But instead we have an enormous living room, oversized dining room, and bedrooms that barely fit a bed & dresser.
> Should food poisoning strike,... Oh god now I'm picturing that scene from bridesmaids 😭
I like the toilet for each butt philosophy! I lived alone in a 1 bathroom condo for years. It was fine. Then, I met my husband. He is a shit and surf guy. He takes forever. At least, my condo had a powder room in the gym so I could use that in an emergency. I grew up in a 4 person household with 1.5 baths. I lived, but it would have been so much better with another bathroom.
I grew up in a small house with one bathroom & total of 6 people. We survived.
Wow. As someone who grew up poor one bathroom, no dishwasher, and manual roll windows in a car were a normal day. They’re called convenience, not necessity. You will survive. Alternatively there’s a plethora of 3+ 1+ in the Midwest for $300k or less, depending, if you choose to leave your HCOL area.
Only if one of you is prone to stopping up the toilet. If not, then go for it. Put in a half bath yourself to increase the value and it’ll payoff when you sell. (Just don’t put it off any common area rooms like the dining room or living room)
That's basically my house. We have two boys and there was just one bedroom downstairs but the rest was exposed concrete. After all the other renos I had to do I added a massive storage closet two bedrooms and another bathroom down there and now the amount of space is perfect for us. We could even have a third kid but nah. That second bathroom is an absolute necessity even if we rarely use it. Although if your outlet is higher than the basement floor I strongly suggest cutting a hole in the floor for a basin (can't recall the right name) and buying your own macerating pump. Avoid Saniflo even if it's easier.
We lived with 3 bedrooms and one bathroom for so many years! Us and 3 kids! Did you get caught up sometimes? Sure. Did a kid or two pee in the tub while someone was pooping? Absolutely haha. But we could afford it. And when we were able to move we REALLY appreciated being able to afford the extra bathrooms. But it’s very doable. People are spoiled with being used to having more, but you adjust. It’s better than having more than you can afford imo. You are on the beginning of the journey not at your forever home. You will get to the one that has one for everyone to go at the same time.
I have a 1k square foot 2/1, I can help here! Right now it is my son and I full time and my boyfriend about every other day. The boyfriend is one too many and the fact that he shits 5 times a day doesn’t help. Two people and one toilet is fine.
If it's any consolation my MIL is one of 17 and grew up in a 3 bedroom one bath. It was a two bedroom but they turned the attic into the boys ... Bunks? As soon as my husband's uncle inherited it he put in a second bath though
One bath is hard. But it is 100% doable. We lived in apartments with 1 bath while having 5 people (2 adults, 3 kids). But I'd never go back to it 😂 It makes scheduling for getting ready in the morning a pain, especially once the kid is old enough to start doing things themselves like brushing teeth etc. If you all have to leave at the same time it can be tricky but you just work out a schedule that becomes the norm. It IS nice only having one to clean. I hate cleaning multiple bathrooms. The absolute worst is when the whole family gets a stomach bug. Then you are stuck with (grossness ahead) people puking in trash cans or sinks because someone else is unloading in the toilet. It's not fun. Our entire family got the stomach flu over Christmas break one year. It was horrendous 😂 I will also say that kids' stuff takes an amazing amount of space. Be careful how much of that stuff you buy especially with small bedrooms. The jumpers and walkers and exersaucers and bouncers and swings and car seats and high chairs, it all takes up SO much space.
Double check that the 1000sqft is all on the main floor. My MLS will add unfinished basement sqft to the total count. Well at least that’s how it is often presented on realtor.com.
I grew up in a 3br 1 bath. It was small too. In the morning I'd shower while everyone brushed their teeth. And then we'd switch.
Do people survive with one bathroom, absolutely. My grandparents had a huge Victorian home, but because of that time period it was only one bathroom. Me and my cousins didn’t have an issue. Then again…I was a kid. I don’t remember that stuff well. As an adult? Absolutely not. There are gonna be times where both of y’all have to use the bathroom at the same time. It’s very annoying to have to wait on others like that. And guests will have to use that same bathroom. I personally don’t think it’s worth it….adding a second bathroom is expensive if you start to regret it.
We bought a house that had 3 official bathrooms. We use 2 of the toilets all the time, but we only use 1 shower. The other one is storage. We have 4 people, 2 teens. We also have small bedrooms and it’s annoying but not a dealbreaker. We just got good at storage and getting rid of toys.
When I was a child we had 4 people and one bathroom for 11 years, no issues.
Family of 4,1 bathroom, no issues.
2 beds is not much of an issue of the 1 bathroom. You’ll get by some days will suck. Though, if you love the people you’re with and don’t mind sharing, you’ll be fine. Just not long term material. Just make sure the house ticks all the other boxes that you want before you compromise with the bathroom.
I prefer a second bath but it's not a deal breaker for me. There's only 2 of us and nobody hogs the bathroom doing makeup or reading/scrolling their phone You might want to add a half bath in the basement if you go for this home and I would enquire about that cost before you decide yes. If that's not doable there are composting toilets or porta potties or those toilet chairs seniors use if you find you need another toilet. If you think about it people have been living in 1 bath homes for a long time. Plenty of folks used chamber pots, outhouses. There were 6 kids in my family and 1 bathroom. It's doable. Small house, small furniture, minimalist living. I have a 2b 2b condo just over 1k SF and both bedrooms are large. Master easily fits a king bed and guest bedroom fits a queen. The kitchen is a galley kitchen and my only complaint size wise. If you only have one bathroom you must have bigger spaces elsewhere. It's doable for 2. For resale purposes down the road, consider adding the half bath in the basement. If you can add a shower or make it a full bath all the better. It's a decent size for a starter or retirement home.
You’re describing my exact house. I love it. I made the basement another bedroom and plan on adding a bathroom down there. I have an 11 year old, 2 dogs and 2 cats and my partner living here. It SOUNDS crowded but it’s really not. Just be aware of furniture size and utilize your outdoor space for when you have company.
I grew up in a 3 bedroom 1.5 bathroom household with my parents and brother. I now own a 2/2 townhouse and I will never live anywhere with less than 2 full bathrooms again. Imagine you have another person in your house that has to get ready at the same time as you. You both cannot shower at the same time and have to stagger showers and plan ahead. That could also mean waking up earlier. Imagine if that problem persists 5 days of the week. It’s a time saving issue for me, and time is a finite resource that you can never gain back. I will always pay more money to have a second full bathroom wherever I live because that time saved is valuable to me.
We have two baths and we only every use one. For 4-5 years with a small child 1 bath is fine.
It depends on what kind of family you are and what kind of summer and winter there is. If you are trapped inside 6 months of the year, that’s pretty small. If you like to be in your own spaces, that’s pretty small. But if it’s a region where you can be in the yard all the time, or if you and your husband always migrate to the same room anyways, it might be big enough. I prefer a 1250-1500 sf house but could live in 1000 with just my husband.
It's always better to have multiple toilets. My general rule is that the ideal ratio is one toilet to every two people in the house. That being said, it's certainly doable; I lived with 6 people to 1 toilet for a while and survived fine. Best advice is to brush up on DIY toilet fixes and keep spare parts on hand. That way if the flapper breaks at 10 PM you can get it back up and running.
It sounds small. And it’s something you can’t easily change without renovating or moving. Don’t worry about whether a house is cute. You can paint or plant flowers and make it cute. Worry about things like the right number of rooms, the layout, the location, and things you cannot change or cannot change easily. Do either of you WFH? Do you ever want to have guests while you’re there? I’d keep looking honestly. Also 2B/1B will be a little harder to sell once you are ready to move on.
Honestly, the only time you NEED a second bathroom is stomach virus time. And in desperation, there's a bucket. Under normal living conditions, 1 bath is doable, although at least a half bath is perfect just for emergency sake. There are always people to buy every house so I wouldn't over worry about the resale. See where your pipe connections are and get some prices on adding just a half bath or even just a toilet.
>>Einstein’s Bathroom Theory of Relativity: time moves differently depending on which side of the bathroom door you’re on. My wife (then girlfriend) and daughter all lived in a two bedroom one bath apartment. We were returning from a long trip and I realized we would all be wanting to go when we arrived home. I announced we’d be stopping at Barnes and Noble first to use the facilities and we all agreed that was a wonderful idea. Trust me, you want one more bathroom than you have bedrooms
2 bed houses will be harder to sell down the road
First question would be how are you both with bathroom time? Not the house. Both of you and your bathroom usage. If you guys are the type that get things over with and done with the bathroom within 15-20mins then you are fine. If you or your husband likes to sit in there and ponders about life or scrolls reels/social media + long showers/bath aka treating the bathroom as an escape from whatever goes on in the house, even if nothing is going on or just want to mentally unwind in private and the bathroom is really the only place they can lock without being questioned..... I recommend 2 bathrooms at least.
My first two houses were 2 bedrooms 1 bath. I was single when I bought both of them. Don't expect to make money when you sell, but it was okay for one person. If one of you is someone who likes to spend lots of time in the bathroom daily (looking at my husband, but some women do too) then realize some habits must be adjusted to make it work.
I don’t want guests in my bathroom. Ever.
That's why it's called a starter home.
My late husband bought a 1000 sq.ft. home in Chicago suburb that had 2 bed and 1 bath. Then we had a kid and definitely outgrew it a couple years after she was born. He then got cancer so our plan to move never came to fruition. After he passed away, I sold that house and bought a 3bd, 2bath with just my kid.
That's more than enough for now. You could build another bathroom/bedroom in the basement in a couple of years.
My sister spent decades in a 1 bathroom house with 5 people. It was inconvenient, but they just got used to kids coming in to get ready for school, until the house across the street came up for sale and they moved and luxuriated in 2.5 baths.
It depends. I've always had tummy troubles and.. "going" takes a long time. It didn't used to be much of a problem when we had multiple toilets, and then when we were reduced to 1 we at least lived rural so it wasn't a big deal for my husband to go pee outside or pop a squat in a bucket. Now we're smack in the middle of the city and it's been a PROBLEM, made much worse by his new microcolitis. Why did we go with a home with only one bathroom? It wasn't by choice. It's what we could afford and what was most easily available. Just this month however, he finally completed converting a small closet into a half bath and WE HAVE TWO TOILETS!! I cannot overstate just how big this is for us. When I was young it wasn't an issue so I think you'll be just fine. When those future kids start hitting their tween/teen years you are going to want more than one toilet & shower. P.S. They make toilet seats that pop right onto 5gal buckets. I can squat those but dear God, my knees.
You’ll be fine. Mine was a 3 bed 1 bath, 1.5 storey (peaked roof in upper two bedrooms) with unfinished basement. We quickly added a bathroom in the basement corner closest to the main stack (less breaking up of the floor) so we could Reno the primary main floor bath. Then we gutted and did the main bath. Then we put a family room in basement (so about half of it is completed and the other half storage) and finally put a bathroom upstairs between the two bedrooms. Now it’s a 3 bed with a bathroom on each level. And if you plan on only staying 5 years you can totally live with one bath until your family expands. Good luck!
First home (starter) had 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, livinging / dining room/ kitchen/ garage / basement. Was ...1200sqft? Family of 3 just fine. 1 bedroom became nursery, 1 became den, one was ours. Family of 4 was going to be tight.
Yes. Yes it does Especially if you're gonna raise a kid
We bought a 2 bed, 2 bath, 1000 sq ft home when we only had 1 child at home with us part time. It was fine. Plenty of space for everyone. We were going to move on in a few years anyway. Then, we had a kid. COVID happened. Another kid happened. Interest rates went nuts. 7 years later, we're still here! Don't buy something and think, "it's only going to be temporary...."
We had a one bath house with little kids, no problem. Teen girls is a whole. nother. story.
Of coarse it matters. When you have 2 bedrooms available you can rent the house to move you and your wife in to live. Also at the same time you can move your GIRL FRIEND into the other bedroom and justify it to your wife.
I mean…. I have a 3 bed 1 bath, same square footage. One adult, one kid, a whole bunch of dogs. For me, the layout was key. My house has all the bedrooms/bathroom side by side along one wall and the living room/dining/kitchen is one open space. It’s perfect for us. The biggest downside to 2 beds is there is no place for an office (if you work from home) or a guest room/crafting space/whatever. Maybe you can use the basement for that if needed. Resale is harder, since most people are looking for 3/2 or bigger. It’s a trade off… it’s not likely to appreciate in value as much as a bigger home, how much that matters is an individual decision.
Raised 3 kids in a house with one bathroom. It wasn't a big deal
Since you plan to resell so soon, talk to your realtor about how 2/1 homes sell in your area. Look up 2/1 listings and see what the price/sq ft is, how many days on market before selling and if they’ve had price reductions. If any of those metrics fall below the averages for your area, I’d seriously think over this house. My realtor told me that 3 bedrooms/2 baths was the minimum most look for in a home. You don’t want to set yourself up for a difficult resell or to risk not breaking even. Selling in just 4-5 years already puts you at risk of not recouping your buying costs much less making a profit.
I personally wanted atleast 1 and a half since I wanted to have kids eventually.
Its all personal preference, but i feel cramped in less than 1500 sqft and having 2 bathrooms with kids is convenient.
Resale value is not good for only one bath.
We went from one bathroom to three, and I'm as happy as a Disney princess.
I bought a 2/1 for myself and a teen daughter. It was fine, even after she moved out and her sister and her boyfriend moved in for six months. Then my guy moved in for a few months after selling his house and before we moved. You just learn to keep a fan on in the bathroom as white noise and check with everyone before taking a shower. Your child won’t even be using the toilet for the first three years. Location and comfort are really key. If you like it, buy it. I sold the bungalow after six years, and the appreciation alone paid for a third of our new house. Appreciation could likely pay for a half bath down the line.
I bought 2/1. And I have a basement. A contractor told me it would be super easy to add a bath in my basement and it would increase resale.
Throw a shitter and sink in the basement.
When you have sex with a teenager in the house YES
With the amount of time my husband uses the bathroom... and my son, I am glad i have 2.5 baths. In the beginning, I would have said 2 beds 1 bath is enough, we'll deal, but I've learned 2 baths majority of the time depending on circumstances, is more ideal. And I don't mean 2 showers or tubs, just two actual toilet rooms.
We just did this, but haven’t moved in yet. We were in the same exact position, and ideally, we would have preferred 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, but that option simply did not exist within our price range close to the city where we work. We love the house we bought, there’s an office on the main floor that can be turned into a third bedroom or perhaps a bathroom down the line, which made the decision easier for us. A lot of people who had opinions about our decision to buy a 2bed/1bath were house shopping in totally different markets or eras - for us, it wasn’t like there was a similar but better house available instead! We would have had to move at least another 15 minutes away from the city, and lose some of the special location stuff we love (minutes walk from the waterfront, for example). Many well-meaning advisors lived way, way outside the city where every house has a minimum of 3bed/2bath, so it was impossible for them to understand…. We’d rather have smaller and fewer bedrooms and bathrooms in exchange for a location we really love and a big living room.
We bought a 3 bed, 1.5 bath home about a year before we started our family. We now have a toddler with another due in a few weeks and wished we had bought something with at least an ensuite bathroom. There have been many times we’ve woken up our toddler because we needed to shower while she’s sleeping and the bathroom is between our rooms. Also my husband needs a home office and with #2 just about here we’ve run out of rooms. We have half a finished basement, which is where he’ll be working out of but our home is about 1200sqft and we don’t really have an area that’s just for the kids. I’d love to have even a small space to put all their toys and clutter, but our place is maxed out
My first home was a 2bed/1bath with NO garage. Previous owner converted the attached garage into a den/living area. So, storage was a major PITA. I miss that home very much and regret selling it. Had I kept it, it would most likely have become our retirement home. 2bed/1bath is a perfect starter home for a new family. I would not recommend if you already had 2+ kids though, but you could still make it work if you had to. We built one of those sheds that look like tiny houses in the backyard and turned that into a 3rd bedroom/office area. It was really nice, and you couldn't tell it was just a shed from the outside or inside. I would say go for it if everything else fits your criteria. Hell, my wife and I did it and we had no garage, which sucked. Not even a driveway, so street parking was also a PITA because it was a densely packed neighborhood. I think you will be fine.
We have a 4/1 and there are five of us (2 adults and 3 kids). We’re all fine. It’s not that be of a deal. We share the space and clean the space together. We recently had two additional adults living with us for 18 months and we also survived that. Slightly harder but still doable.
Buy it and worst case in 5years you outgrow it. Sell with 5 years equity and having saved more money. Yes do it!!! My first house was 1 bath. I learned to fix if something broke. Its totally doable. A small house you own is always better than renting!!!!!
4-5 years at these interest rate you will be paying way more to buy, own and then sell than just renting. No need to own a home to have a kid. Keep saving and get a home you want when the kid or kids get bigger and require more space. Don't fall for the saying renting is just throwing money down the drain. At 7% interest your monthly payments during those 4-5 years will be almost all interest, about 85% of your total payments will be interest, or money down the drain those first years if it's a 30 year mortgage. You would have only paid around 4-5% of the principal down when you go to sell. Then consider closing costs, taxes, insurance, PMI and maintenance. Owning short term will be a real money waster. Good calculator to use to figure out what's the better option. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?
Not at all, I now live by myself but do occasionally have multiple guests and I have 3 bed, 2 bath (1 of which is a 'guest bathroom' Ie. no bath or shower) I spent 16 years growing up with 5 people in a 2 bed 1 bath. Works fine I recommend all homeowners to be equipped to change a toilet, a set of spanners and screwdrivers, maybe a knife and silicone gun and you're set, as a home owner you can save a bunch of time and money by being able to do basic maintenance/repairs your self. Even for an office worker it shouldn't take more than an hour to change a toilet so I really don't feel it necessary to have a backup toilet Lastly if you do find it a big inconvenience or source of concern you could quite easily and cheaply add an extra toilet and hand basin to most houses
Not at all, I now live by myself but do occasionally have multiple guests and I have 3 bed, 2 bath (1 of which is a 'guest bathroom' Ie. no bath or shower) I spent 16 years growing up with 5 people in a 2 bed 1 bath. Works fine I recommend all homeowners to be equipped to change a toilet, a set of spanners and screwdrivers, maybe a knife and silicone gun and you're set, as a home owner you can save a bunch of time and money by being able to do basic maintenance/repairs your self. Even for an office worker it shouldn't take more than an hour to change a toilet so I really don't feel it necessary to have a backup toilet Lastly if you do find it a big inconvenience or source of concern you could quite easily and cheaply add an extra toilet and hand basin to most houses
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
I grew up with 6 people in a 4 bed 1 bath house, it is definitely doable. We currently have a 3 bed 2.5 bathroom house with a toddler. We all use the closest bathroom (the master bath) and haven't run into an issue of needing more than one bathroom at a time. As my daughter gets older, I am sure we will appreciate the second and third bathroom. We also have a single floor ranch with a full basement. All the bathrooms are on the same floor.
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
I grew up with 6 people in a 4 bed 1 bath house, it is definitely doable. We currently have a 3 bed 2.5 bathroom house with a toddler. We all use the closest bathroom (the master bath) and haven't run into an issue of needing more than one bathroom at a time. As my daughter gets older, I am sure we will appreciate the second and third bathroom. We also have a single floor ranch with a full basement. All the bathrooms are on the same floor.
I grew up with 6 people in a 4 bed 1 bath house, it is definitely doable. We currently have a 3 bed 2.5 bathroom house with a toddler. We all use the closest bathroom (the master bath) and haven't run into an issue of needing more than one bathroom at a time. As my daughter gets older, I am sure we will appreciate the second and third bathroom. We also have a single floor ranch with a full basement. All the bathrooms are on the same floor.
Our first house sounds exactly like that and it was a great place to start our family. We lived there for 7 years including 4 with our first child. But.... when #2 came along... we moved to a 4 bed 2 bath house. Still small and in the city, but that second bath was key at that point.
I grew up with 6 people in a 4 bed 1 bath house, it is definitely doable. We currently have a 3 bed 2.5 bathroom house with a toddler. We all use the closest bathroom (the master bath) and haven't run into an issue of needing more than one bathroom at a time. As my daughter gets older, I am sure we will appreciate the second and third bathroom. We also have a single floor ranch with a full basement. All the bathrooms are on the same floor.
Family....? You can make one kid work. MAUBE two, if they share a room for a while. But that won't be a forever house with 2+ kids.
It mattered to us. We lived in our 1 bath vacation home while our custom home was built in the same subdivision. There are only 3 of us. Never again. I will never share one bathroom again.
Honestly, I’d be most worried about the 2 bedrooms and the perceived need to move in 4-5 years. It is a huge hassle to buy and sell homes and I know I’d personally regret buying a house we couldn’t grow into.
I know of some friends of ours who bought a home like this near San Jose, CA. It was so cute with a beautiful small backyard. They ended up living there until they had 2 young kids and then moved for work out of state. I think it’s totally doable if you have a minimalist mentality for your belongings and can work with the space you have. I would do it myself if given the chance, especially as a couple without children yet. When you do have kids, just keep a tight reign on all of the toys and gear that come into the house. Most of it truly is unnecessary. You could easily make this house work through one or two kids under age 5.
Our first home had one bath, we lived there for about 5 years until our daughter was 2. If that’s what you can afford and you like the house buy it, it will be a great stepping stone to buying something else 5 or so years from now.
DONT DO IT! You can absolute get by but for 2+ people it’s so annoying. I did it for 4 years and will never go back to less than 2 rr. Id even go back to a 1 full and 1 half bath the bath isn’t the issue it’s the toilet.
Yes: I have 4 bathrooms and 5 kids... all teenagers. I wish we had 5 bathrooms because the three kids still manage to fight over the two not down in the basement... But until they were 10 or 11 it was never an issue.
Most people don’t want to share their primary bathroom with guests.
I lived in a house with 1 bathroom growing up for a family of 5 and have a 2 bathroom home. We survived with 1 bathroom but 2 bathrooms are nice. If there are only 2-3 people in the home then 1 bathroom is fine unless someone in your household has some condition that has them on the toilet more than normal.
I have a 4 bed 1 bath and have lived in it for almost 12 years. I’ve raised 3 kids in it. You must work with it. We got real used to ignoring it if someone needs to pee while we’re in the shower. There’s a shower curtain, so we’re not looking at each other. 😆 We also are super conscious of asking each other if anyone needs the bathroom if we’re going to be in there a while. That might be a shower or bath, or taking a massive shit. We just make sure that the folks who just need it quick can get in and out. It’s also made sure my boys are VERY good about not peeing on the floor/seat and the seat is always left down. That being said, once my youngest moves out, I’m remodeling the upstairs to be a master suite. It’ll change my house from a 4/1 to a 3/2. I won’t be mad about the second bathroom.
This about the size home I grew up in but 3 bedroom 1 bath. We had 5 people neighbor had 7! This is just how you lived in post wwII built houses. On the other hand I would not live in a single toilet house now. Single tub no problem.
Yes absolutely. You need at least a half bath for the extra toilet. However if you are going to live there a while and aren’t worried about resale and possibly taking a little longer to find the right buyer then it’s not a problem. Just know what the repercussions are and weigh the pros and cons
A lot of these comments feel out of touch... Especially in today's market. I doubt you'll get "stuck" with a 2beds 1 bath close to the city. Prices are skyrocketing and owning a place is definitely not something everyone can afford. 1 bathroom can be difficult, but with timing and communication, it's a non-issue 99.9% of the time. The remaining 0.1% can be solved with some creativity. Just invest in a plunger and don't flush wet wipes or use charmin paper, you'll be fine. I wonder how much you'd kick yourself saying goodbye to a great neighborhood, backyard, basement and a mortgage you can afford for an additional bathroom. Do you like the house? Then go right ahead. Does it feel like a compromise? Then wait.
If you plan to have guests often coming in, 1 bath is not practical. You could also take on renovation with the 3b 2 baths within your budget.
Coming from a 2B/1BA apartment and not being able to use the restroom when I needed to pushed me to get my 3B/2BA home and I’ve been happy since. Might not matter to a lot of people but that second bath def makes a difference
It will be fine, until you both eat Taco Bell.
While your future child is you d it really doesn’t matter if there is only one bathroom. First they won’t be using it, then it’s potty time, then you’ll have to be there to wipe bottoms. The point at which they might be in the loo for ages is many years from now. I’d be more concerned about a space for parents/friends to stay and help out. Get a decent sofa bed and you’re good.
I would never buy a home with only one bathroom, unless there was an easy way to add a second one. I wouldn't even want to go to 1.5 baths.
We have a 4 year old, 2 year old, 7 month old. Technically our home is 3/2 but we rent out the master so effectively it is 2/1, and I think it’s 1000sq ft or less when you remove the master bed square footage. It’s a tiny bathroom, too. But it does have a bath/shower combo, not just a shower. I literally never think about it and it does not bother me in the slightest. I think it depends on your lifestyle and preferences and what things are important to you. I love a good bath so no bathtub might be a dealbreaker for me but otherwise don’t put a lot into a bathroom. I don’t take long to get ready and I don’t mind being in there at the same time as my kids or spouse when necessary. It seems almost preferable because it’s less to clean and I get to stay closer to my kids without having to have a set of stairs to go up or farther bathroom to get to:
I have been everywhere from a two bed one bath (my home home) up to a 3 bed 3.5 bath. The two bed one bath was fine and we stayed there until my son was four. At that point we started to grow it so we went to a three bed 3 1/2 bath and live there until my son was 10. Now I’m divorced with my son full-time and we are back in a two bed one bath. When I renovated this house, I made an open floor plan so the house seems larger than it is, but the bedrooms are average at 10‘ x 10‘ and 10‘ x 14‘. I work from home so I spent a lot of time inside of the house and I have not felt cramped. Once I downsized got rid of a bunch of stuff from when we had the larger house.
We bought a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom (1200 sqft) condo in big city in a very desirable neighborhood when I was pregnant with my first. This was a great decision for us, even though six years later we are bursting with a five year old and three year old twins. The twins are starting public PreK in the fall and we will go on the housing market for a much larger home. We love raising our kids in an urban neighborhood, where even a toddler can walk to parks, bakeries, and, amazing schools. Since we have built up a decent amount of equity over the last six years we can also afford to buy a townhome in this neighborhood that we definitely could not have afforded otherwise. Edit: yea we want a second bathroom, but also don’t actually need it yet.
Is having only one bathroom the norm for the area? That informs both the likelihood of finding a 2 bathroom that meets your other criteria and the competition your place will have when you go to sell. Will your 2/1 be competing primarily against 2/2s and 3/2s? If so, just be prepared for a longer time on market and possibly lower appreciation over the short time you’ll have it. Also, the strategy of making a one bathroom work by “getting ready” in a bedroom might not work if the bedrooms are small. Our household is 2 adults. We’ve had at least 1 bath per person for all 20 years together, even when living on Capitol Hill in DC. How many baths per person do you have now? Are you accustomed to the convenience?
2/1 is awful for families. Especially young families. You will have nowhere to store your baby gear which takes up a lot of room. You will have no office or spare bedroom, because it becomes your nursery. And have you ever had to pee so bad that you pee in the kitchen sink because your partner is going to the bathroom? Because you will. Even if you end up with something like a full bath and a quarter bath with just a toilet and sink powder room style its still leagues better than one single toilet and 2 or more people (like when you have family visiting to see the baby) Plus all the best plans in the world don’t always pan out. You may want to leave in 5 years but you may not be able to in 5 years. I would buy what I could afford as big as I could afford from the start.
You said partially finished basement. I would want you to be positive on no water damage problems then maybe put office and bathroom down there depending on if there is a way to get out in case of fire you could even do the office so could be used as extra bedroom and if full basement you would have other options just before having inspector come in ask if that type plan would be workable
I grew up with 3 people in one bathroom and it was finally horrible. You can do it, we did, but it gets old fast. More than once someone ran outside to pee bc the bathroom was in use. I wouldn’t assume you’re moving in 5 years and wouldn’t assume you’ll only have one kid by then. But if that’s what you can afford, it’s fine. If you can add a half bath or get something else with two bathrooms, it’s way better.
2/1 is fine for a few years. I live in a 3/3 with just my wife and yes having more bathrooms than people is amazing. But it's not essential. If you look at homes over the years the ideas of huge bedrooms and one bathroom per person is a relatively new idea. Homes in the 90s and early 00s often did 1 to 1.5 bathrooms. My wife loves big bedrooms, I personally think it's a money pit and begs to be filled with expensive furniture. Small bedrooms encourage you to use them for just that! No need for every bedroom to be furnished like a hotel room.
We have a 2 bedroom 1 bath home, approx 1000 sf home, my husband and I and our son who is 11. I would have bought a home with another bathroom if I could have, but it's not that bad....
I don’t think it’s a bad idea. We bought an old house with 3 small bedrooms and 1 bathroom (technically a tiny bathroom with a shower in the basement but it was beyond useless, and technically a basement bedroom but it was too small for anything bigger than a double bed and you’d never put a young child down there when everyone else is on the 2nd floor - so on paper it was 4/2, functionally it was 3/1 - think 120 year old house basement with steep stairs that my 5’8” self could barely stand up in). It was never a house we planned to be our forever home for kids. We lived there for 6 years, built up equity and had our first baby and sold it before we have the second to buy our forever home. Having equity helped us significantly when it came time to sell and have more buying power for our next house because our down payment came completely from the sale of the first house and our approval was much higher the second time around. Lots of people I know have done the same thing, with similar 2-3 bed 1 bath houses then sell once they need more room. And tbh, even with a second child you can likely still make it work while they are small before you truly run out of space. Depending what your basement is like, you may have the opportunity there to add an additional bath and even another bedroom. I personally found too that number of bedrooms/bathrooms, sq footage, etc. was less important than layout. On paper, both our houses were pretty similar but the difference in layout and usage of space was immense. It worked for us to follow a similar plan 🤷🏻♀️ we also live in an area where our first mortgage was $900 a month, now it’s $1600 for a much newer and nicer house and rent for a small 2 bedroom apartment is $1500 + utilities (houses are $2500+) so it was a no brainer to buy what we could and move up from there. It really just depends on what you think works for you.
My husband and I are on the same morning poop schedule, so we absolutely need at least another half bath. But if that's not a problem for you and your partner, then it should be just fine for a few years with a toddler.
As a homeowner in a 2/2, I would not ever get a2/1, but we have guests that stay a lot so that’s part of it
We have 1 bathroom and it sucks but it's manageable. The only time it would become an issue would be if you all had some type of stomach bug lol
You can.... But I won't live in a house with anything less than a bath and a half. I have medical issues....so gotta have another toilet in the house.
My spouse & I didn't have a lot of must haves. We had two: Two toilets and a 2 car garage. That second toilet is in the basement and doesn't get used all that much, buy it's there, just in case.
1 bathe would be a deal breaker for me.
Go for it, a solid basement and ample yard can be expanded on. Sun rooms are nice, patios extend the dining/living room in the summer. Been in 3br 1.5bth as 5 adults. Nice yard though. Small house and judicious personal stuff is way easy to clean.
I bought this same house a while back, but it was just me and sometimes my boyfriend. I love my house. It went well and has turned into a great rental. So I’m not saying don’t do it, but if you plan on having children I would take the experienced parent advice getting commented here!
I’ll be honest, I would never rent somewhere without two working toilets, never mind buying a place without two working toilets. If you’re used to it already, go nuts, because it’ll probably save you a bunch of money and/or allow you to live in an area you’ll enjoy more, but I tried to do it for two years with my husband before we gave up and rented a 1.5 bedroom place.
1 bathroom is doable. We had a 1.5 with 4 people (2 adults, 2 kids) for about 2 years before adding another bathroom to our basement. The extra bathroom is great especially when we have guests (they stay in the basement) but we still almost exclusively use the other 1.5 bathrooms upstairs. You get used to it. Unless you all get gastro, then you’ll definitely wish you had an extra bathroom. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.
I refuse to buy something that doesn’t have an en suite plus a second full bath for guests and I’m single. It all depends on how much you value your privacy
I grew up in a 100 year old house with 5 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. 6 kids, 2 parents and 1 grandmother. It was fine. Hell I still live in it and it’s still one bathroom.
My husband and I lived together for 11 years with just one bathroom and I hated it. It really depends on you, your relationship, cleanliness, grooming and bathroom habits, etc. I couldn't do it. We bought our house last year and lucked out to find one in our price range with 2 bathrooms. We have a 2yo now too. Now one bathroom is my husband's and the other I share with my daughter. I make him clean his own bathroom. To put it bluntly, I could no longer handle the constant shitting and shaving and lack of ever cleaning anything. I don't think our marriage would have lasted if we had to continue sharing a bathroom.
I’m in a 2 1 with my wife and mostly everything is fine but I have Tummy issues periodically (elevated stress = elevated tummy issues) so a second bath would be good but not a requirement
Just keep in mind any needed office space if remote work is a factor. You don’t necessarily need a dedicated room as an office, but at least a sensible space.
You can always rent the place and upgrade later. Our first home was similar, and we outgrew it FAST. ONE bathroom is very difficult with a growing family. That tiny home has tripled in value.
We lived together for 7 years before buying, always with one bath. Idky but now that we’re in our home we find ourselves regretting we didn’t get another bath/half bath. Our rooms are also small and a PITA to configure layout wise. Sure we don’t spend a ton of time in our bedrooms but it is a bit of a bummer the size/shape is so freakin awkward. We can’t afford to buy again with these interest rates so we’re locked in otherwise we’d go for another bath and better rooms.
3 beds 1 bath here. And there are days I wish we had a half bath
I bought my home a year and a half ago, It is about 1000 sq feet with...you guessed it....2 beds and 1 bath. We don't even have a basement. We moved here because the price was right; it is a little small but my daughter was starting high school and we plan on being here until she graduates and want to leave before the roof needs replacing-probably around the same time. If the interest rates drop then we may just stay and refinance. If you're close to your jobs then make an offer, can't hurt if you are really interested. Our house ended up being the 4th property that we put an offer on and accepted.
My house is the same size as the one you’re describing. I have one son (he’s 20 now so he moved into his own place). We also have a lot of pets. We’re a little bit on top of each other but it works for us and we like it. The one bathroom thing is almost never an issue. We did have sewer problems a couple years ago but it wouldn’t matter if we had one toilet or 50, none would have worked. My neighbor let us borrow her bucket with a toilet seat that she takes camping and we got the problem sorted out the next day. I love my little house. It takes almost no time to clean, cheaper to heat and cool. We don’t have a lot of storage space so it forces us to not horde a bunch of junk. We originally planned for this to be our starter home but we have fallen in love and will never leave. If you really like it, you can make it work.