Will removing carport but adding parking add value?

clearoutkate

I wondered if I can get some opinions from people on here about some thoughts we've had regarding changing our property.

We've just bought a house which is located on a corner. At the front is a small lawn and a tree and at the rear a small paved garden, part of which is taken up by a single carport. Pedestrian access to the carport is through the garden, vehicular access is via the road which runs up the side of the house.

As we are unlikely to use the front garden at all but would like more room at the back to create beds and put in a lawn, we are thinking of gravelling the front to provide space for two cars and taking down the carport to enlarge the rear garden.

I'm fairly sure that if we just ripped out the carport we'd devalue the house, but if we take the single carport down, yet create off road parking for two cars (although one will be under a tree) and improve the garden at the back, do you think we would at least keep the value the same, if not improve it?

The other alternative would be to keep the carport but put a door on it to create a more secure garage, but we'd really prefer the space.

Any thoughts would be gratefully received - our estate agent suggested the first option to us, but several friends have since said they think a carport or a garage is a valuable asset to a property.

shirlgirl2004

Most carports are pretty unattractive so not having one wouldn't bother me and having one wouldn't be more attractive to me. However if by losing the car port there was no off street parking it would bother me and probably put me off buying. Parking under a tree would put me off due to bird mess/leaves/acorns or whatever. Is it possible to remove/move the tree?

clearoutkate

thanks for your reply. The tree's huge so we couldn't move it. We could cut it down, but both of us feel it's a shame to remove a tree just because it's inconvenient to us. I think there's probably space for one car to be parked away from the tree, but one would definitely have to be under it. Think that'll end up being mine

laurel7172

There's no way I'm an expert on this (actually, it would be more honest to say I know nothing AT ALL about this), but I wonder...what do the other houses in the street/price bracket have?

I agree that carports are generally ugly, and I'd rather have garden space too. But I'm guessing that when it comes to selling, you don't want to be the only house in the road without one.

If I were the only house in the road *with* one, I'd pull it down like a shot...

27col

I don't think that removing a car port would detract from the value of the house. But having off street parking for two cars would certainly add to the value. Cars today are built, such that they do not require the weather protection, unlike in the past when a garage or carport definitely did protect a car from deterioration.

clearoutkate

The other houses all have off-road parking but there's a mix as to whether that's just on a drive or a covered area. That's one of the things that's making us err towards doing it to be honest, the fact that every house on the road is already a little bit different, so it's not like we'll be making ourselves stand out (in a bad way) if we take it away.

ic

Are you likely to get permission to drop the kerb to your front garden, given you're on a corner? Is it a busy road? Also investigate the costs as you'll probably have to pay the council to do the work, at a fixed price per pavement depth and crossing width.

Welsh_Totster

I think my main question is how long to you intend living there? If its for a long time yet then I really dont think de-valuing the property comes into it. You change things to suit your lifestyle. Dont think of the house as a commodity to make money on, think of it as your home, and youre making it more comfortable for you to live there. If a bigger back garden is what youd prefer then get rid of the car port and gravel the front to park on.

clearoutkate

thanks ic - we haven't spoken to them yet but we've been led to believe it shouldn't be a problem. And Welsh Totster, I totally agree - but having just lost £15K on the place we've sold (due to the market), am reluctant to go through that again! We'll be there for a few years yet, but I don't imagine it'll be forever, however as you say it's important it suits us while we're there.