garage conversion will it devalue my house ?

mcdermott_c

Hi

Have a 4 bed detached house with integral garage. The garage is never used for anything other than to store junk. Considering converting the garage to an office but wondered if this would devalue the house ? We have a fairly big drive which can accomodate 4 vehicles at a push and the house is 2 years old. Most other houses in our estate are 4 beds with integral garage with a few 5 bed and 3 bed kicking about.

The other option is to convert the back half into an office and leave the door and front half as a "garage" although obviously a car would no longer fit in but would still give some storage space.

Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks

ilikewatch

I can't imagine that this would devalue the house, though it may not add any value. It might help the house to sell more quickly as if someone doesn't need the garage it may appeal more to them, but if they do then it shouldn't be a huge job to convert it back again.

27col

Most garages are not really big enough for modern cars anyway. Particularly single garages. Unless you have nothing bigger than a super mini. The idea of leaving just a storage area behind the garage door is probably not a good one. If people see a garage door then they expect to find a garage behind it. Which is not at all unreasonable. There was a Grand Designs program about a house in Poole, which brought up just this very point. Cars do not really need garaging nowadays, due to all the built in rust proofing. In my opinion a properly done home / office would be a good selling point. The absence of a garage would probably not detract too much from the value, especially if you have plenty of parking as you say. However,I have noticed recently, that several posters are wanting to reinstate garage to room conversions back to garages. I suppose that you pay your money and take your choice. Everyone's requirements are different.

andyrules

I'm currently house hunting and would be attracted by a good conversion to office/second lounge/extra bedroom with a nice window where the door was.
I've seen a couple of half-garage conversions - they are dark, give a half finished appearance and generally are neither 'nowt nor summat'.

Debt_Free_Chick

I would have thought it would not devalue the house. Afterall, if a buyer desperately wanted a garage, it wouldn't involve any expense to "convert" the office back to a garage, would it?

summerday

We were considering doing this very recently. We rang a couple of local estate agents to see what they thought. We have a double garage, and the estate agents said that if we converted it all and left no garage then it would devalue the house. Converting half and leaving the other half as a useable garage would not devalue it, but nor would it add value in the current market, though he said in a more buoyant market it might do. Perhaps it is worth you ringing a couple of local estate agents to ask them? If you are not planning to move for several years you might decide it is worth it regardless if you appreciate the extra living space.

lovethymini

mcdermott_c wrote: »

Hi

Have a 4 bed detached house with integral garage. The garage is never used for anything other than to store junk. Considering converting the garage to an office but wondered if this would devalue the house ? We have a fairly big drive which can accomodate 4 vehicles at a push and the house is 2 years old. Most other houses in our estate are 4 beds with integral garage with a few 5 bed and 3 bed kicking about.

The other option is to convert the back half into an office and leave the door and front half as a "garage" although obviously a car would no longer fit in but would still give some storage space.

Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks

If you're not planning on moving home, why would it matter what it does to the value? If the home works better for you to change the garage into a room, then you should do it!
Personally, we're house hunting at the moment, but we're looking for a double garage with a house, so it takes all sorts , although hubby would say it would be a sin to convert a garage :rolleyes:

mcdermott_c

thanks for the replies and advice.

You are right its not all about the value of a house really, the extra room would mean i could use the 4th bedroom as a bedroom for the mother in law to stay over rather than an office at present.

The idea of converting half the garage was an idea to give us the best of both worlds, retain some storage area (not sure we could cope without some storage space for bikes etc..) but give us the extra room. I had thought we would put a window in the side of the converted garage to allow plenty of natural light in. Your points about it giving a "half finished appearance" are very helpful too as i guess some point down the hopefully distant line we will need to sell the house.

thanks again

cyril82

in general it is rooms that add value more than garages as not many people use the garage for parking these days as they are often too small for anything other than a small hatchback, if you have off road parking for 4 cars your house doesn't need a garage.

Do the conversion and get a good sized shed for storage would be my advise.

lawrie28

I have done a half conversion - both in size and finish, but that is another story. I think it works well having the outdoor storage space and the internal, clean storage area. I have not asked about house value, but seeing as you couldn't get a car in the garage very easily, and the layout downstairs is restrictive, adding a "utility" area for the washing machine has been great, and we couldn't live int he house otherwise.

mcdermott_c

cyril82 - we could get two sheds down the side of the garden which would give us plenty of storage i guess

lawrie28 - how did you do the half conversion ? i was thinking about putting a door from hall to garage and then a window on the outside to give light. A studded wall partition down the middle of garage (insulated of course) The garage is already plasterboarded with electricity lighting etc...

hmmmm choices choices

cheers