An estate agent was stunned to find a fully exposed sink and toilet in the middle of the living room during a routine valuation of a Worcester semi.

In an exclusive interview with The Neg, Hills Estate Agents’ boss Azmat Riaz explains that when his colleague first visited the property, the rooms were so full of junk and clutter that he couldn’t see the toilet area, nor the extensive three-chamber cellar below.

They were only revealed during a valuation after the house had been cleared in preparation for its sale.

The original owner of the Victorian house in upmarket Barbourne had passed away, so it is unclear how the arrangement was used.

No lock

The picture, though, shows that there is a different floor finish around the toilet and sink. But, as Riaz points out, there is no evidence that there were ever any partition walls, which would have blocked the sitting room door on one side and run into the fireplace on the other. Nor is there any sign of a modesty-preserving lock on the sitting room door.

Viewers didn’t notice

During viewings, Riaz says he was astonished that half the people didn’t even appear to notice the toilet, as they were ‘too busy thinking about what they might do with the place’. The other half, though, were visibly surprised by its unorthodox location.

It didn’t put any of them off, though, as when Hill Estate Agents put the property up for auction, there were multiple bidders and it eventually sold for £202,000, £42,000 over its list price of £160,000.

Riaz says the buyer now intends to live in the house, but did not mention whether they had any plans to move the bathroom.

Pictures courtesy of Hills Estate Agents.