apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I sent this in as a "good question" but I haven't seen it up on the site so I'll ask here:

My mother is putting her house on the market and the bathrooom is the same as the day it was built in the mid '50s. Pink tile, tub, sink, toilet. She says that since the new owners will definitely do it over she doesn't want to put any money into it. I say that she needs to update to before putting it on the market. The grout is crumbling and even the medicine cabinet is circa 1955.

Any thoughts? Should we sell as is or try to make it a better bathroom for resale?

ask your real estate agent about the bath...
i love the baths shown above.. didn't know what style of bath i liked best until i saw these... wow

If I were a buyer of that hose, I'd take it pink. I love pink tile in the bathroom. And the tub and everything too? Ask the real estate agent, but if the house has enough of it's own quirks, it'll attract the buyer who either will change them all, or who loves it.

Hey! The first photo posted is already in my style tray!

Why the double lavs? Why oh why?

Annd -- As someone who is in the market for a house, let me vote that your mom leave everything as is! I think that HGTV has gotten to people, convincing them that they have to remodel before they sell. [Look who sponsors HGTV -- the home improvement stores!]

I read an estimate in Money magazine a couple of years ago that said homeowners can expect about an 80% return on every dollar spent on a kitchen renovation; the percentages were less for every other type of renovation, including bathrooms. And that's just in the sales price -- the percentage will be even less when you factor in the agent's fee, sales tax, etc.

don't remodel, even if she redoes the bathroom there is no guarantee it will be the style house buyers want, most buyers want to put their own style into a house

I'd have less guilt about changing an old ugly bathroom then a new bathroom that isn't my style