Doing away with the bathtub

[Jerry Sexton]

I am renovating an older home (for a rental) and I have to totally gut the full bath. My question is how important is it to have a bathtub vs. a shower only? As a remodeling contractor, I get asked this all the time by my clients. My answer is usually "keep the tub" since it could affect the resale value of the home. The funny thing is when I ask how often they use the tub for a bath most says either they cannot remember when the last time they used the tub or it has been more than a year! Part of me feels like a bathtub is an old technology and since it wouldn't get used much that I should just do away with it! What say you? 

[David Goossens]

I almost got rid of the bathtub in my last flip, until I mentioned it to my mom. She reminded me that potential buyers with kids would probobly want a tub for bathtime. I have also chosen to keep the tubs in my rentals for the same reason: it gives you maximum flexibility for future buyers/tenants. However, it could also depend on your market and target tenants. Do a little research on what competing units offer and go from there. Let us know what you decide!