Garage Converstion

JamesP

Hi, could somebody tell me whether converting your garage into a reception room would add value to your house? Also, has anyone any experience of the processes/costs that go into converting a garage.

lilyann1

I think its half dozen of one and 6 of another. Some people like a house with a garage for storage space and others don't want a garage.
Personally I feel that having another reception room is beneficial,but with any conversion,don't really know how much it adds to the value,it all depends on what else the house it like.
We have a lounge, separate diner and separate kitchen. We were told by our EA, when I wanted to knock through the kitchen and diner into a big kitchen dining room that it would decrease in value as we would lose a separate reception room.
Also by putting a new kitchen in,we were told that the houses in our road only go for a certain amount and by putting a new kitchen in ,we wouldn't increase the value, only the 'saleability' aspect of the house.
If you are doing the conversion for you ,then it's a good idea,if you are only doing the conversion to then sell,then be careful.
We have added a new Conservatory and new UPVC windows and doors to our house and it is worth no more than a house on this estate without the conservatory and without the new windows,but we did it for ourselves so it would look nice.
Does all that make sense?
You could get an EA to view it and ask them the questions.
I have no idea i am afraid of the cost of converting a garage though,but would think its the cost of a new window and plastering and sorting he roof space out.

mi-key

We looked at a few houses that had this done - we would actually have had to put it back to a garage as we need one.

To be honest, if you already have two reception rooms ( in a standard size 3 or 4 bed house ), then I dont think adding a third by converting the garage adds any value to the house. Also bear in mind how obvious it will be once done - one house we looked at had theirs done as a second living room, but you could only get to it by going through the kitchen, then through the utility room, so it didnt feel like part of the house.

Also, to have a proper conversion done ( as opposed to just sticking some plasterboard on the garage walls and a bit of carpet down - we saw a couple like that as well ! ) it will cost you as much, if not more, than the value it will add to the house.

jamminjamaica

i guess it is a matter of need for space. i would probabaly go for the extra room

Doozergirl

If you have adequate off road parking, then you may get away with it. I've seen it done on new build estates where visitor parking, in particular, is a problem and garage conversions can actually devalue a house.

Done well, you may never tell.

tonyivb

Houses with a garage conversions are a complete no-no for us!

Judging by the number of these on the market when we were looking recently it appears that many people have done this with an eye for selling rather than living in them themselves.

Asides from the problem of loosing the garage, I have not seen one of these conversions that looks in keeping with the house... the unbiquious large window is out of proportion and rarely matches the others on the house and the brickwork is a different colour.

We dismissed these at the first glance, so although you may attract some new buyers be prepared to scare off some others.

advent1122

I would buy the house with a garage every time.

Debt_Free_Chick

All too often, these conversions end up looking like "a garage that's been converted to a reception room". Very rarely does it look like the new reception room is an integral part of the house.

TallGirl

I agree do not convert the garage look at other options. Our house was a new build 12 year ago and we choose to only have 2 bedrooms as they would have been so tiny otherwise. The garrage to the side of the house was only single storey so we have now build on top of that and the back of the ktichen. I think it looks great and totally in keeping with the house and we have added a new large bedroom (size of a single gararge) and a very small study which is perfect for an office or nursery as I work from home.
We spend £30,000 and we now have
Upstairs 3 double bedrooms + study, 1 ensuite, 1 bathroom
Dowstairs lounge & dining room (separated by archway), kitchen and cloakroom and 1 integral single garage with access from the kitchen.
Hope that helps.

HouseHunter_2

I think it depends on the layout of the house and the quality of the conversion, as others have said. We are in the process of buying a house that originally had a large living/dining room plus a breakfast kitchen and had a double garage, with half of the garage integral and half sticking out the side. The integral half has been converted to a dining room, which is accessed from the hall and the kitchen, so the layout is logical. The quality of the work is also such that really, you wouldn't know unless it was pointed out. Extra benefit is of course that the house still possesses a single garage.

Mizz_Pink

We are having our garage converted at a cost of 5k. We are having to have a new pitch garage roof though and also our utility room is being re-done with proper flooring and at the moment the walls are brick. This price also includes the new front window and a new back door.
We have hadto put building regs in to the council at a cost of about £150.

Our next door neightbour has done and a few other people on a road so I'm sure we wont stand out too much. We hope to add about 10k to our house value, we have redecorated everywhere else aswell.