Would a converted Garage put you off?

Sedge123

I wouldn’t buy a house without a garage. Wouldn’t even look at one when looking especially with kids- you need somewhere to store all the bikes, scooters, pushchairs etc etc.

phoebe1989seb

We've only ever bought one house with a garage and that (almost double sized) wasn't used for parking but for DH's workshop/business storage.

To put it in context, the houses we've purchased were fairly large (4 bed detached, 6 bed detached, 5 bed detached, 5 bed end of small terrace of three) but as they were all period houses built before the advent of cars, with the exception of the latter - a village house on a large plot - there was no need/space for one without sacrificing garden.

The only time we resorted to renting a garage was at the 4 bed detached which was located on a bus route with a bus stop and double yellows outside. As we had a toddler at the time of purchase it made sense to have our own parking nearby (it was opposite the house)......

Otherwise we've managed perfectly well without a garage and would never park in one anyway - unlike my parents who spent decades parking large cars in a narrow, 1920s garage and limboing out once parked, lol!

With the exception of the 6 bed (city) house, all our homes have had driveway parking for at least two cars that was already in situ and didn't compromise garden space. We've also installed large sheds/outbuildings to house bikes, outdoor hobby stuff, tools etc....such as at our current considerably smaller rural cottage, which has plenty of off road parking.

I'd be happy with a well-converted garden office and speaking as someone who has sold all the above properties, lack of garage - whether to park in or not - has never prevented us achieving a quick sale at a price we were happy with. Perhaps the expectation of what you get with older, period properties is different from newer builds though....something we've no experience of

Sachs

FreeBear wrote: »

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/blog/what-is-the-average-cost-to-have-a-baby

In the first year, the average cost of a baby is around £11,500. By the time it reaches the age of 18, you may well have spent in excess of £200,000. And if the current housing market is anything to go by, don't expect the child to move out until it is 25 or more.

That garage conversion could end up being the kid's pad until they are old enough (and have the funds) to move out for good.

That MAS article is pretty terrible, they grab contradictory figures from all over the place, most of them unsourced.

The one they do source, 'The Cost of a Child' report actually states that for a couple like OP the first child costs about £45 a week for the first 4 years, before childcare costs. Obviously childcare costs are material but they vary dramatically from couple to couple.

To get to those headline figures quoted by MAS you have to include things like rent and council tax.

RelievedSheff

We have a classic car that needs to be garaged so for us a garage is on the list of must haves and any house that didn't have one was instantly crossed off the list.

PasturesNew

I'd like both

A house has many, many, many compromises. If the rest of the house/features/functions stacked up better than others available I'd still buy it if it'd been converted.

In some instances I might see it as a bonus, in others it is an annoyance. As it's possible to park behind your gate it'd not annoy me so much you'd done the conversion.

A house is rarely chosen/dismissed on one thing - it's a question of how many annoyances a buyer is prepared to endure for that price

edgex

Is the garage of a size that you can easily get a car into, or is it too small?
Are you thinking of staying in this property long-term, so with the kids growing up there?

Any chance of a sketched layout & sizes?

ian1246

Thanks for the replies guys - its great to have some feedback/opinions before making a big decision :-)

The garage is a normal sized single garage. In terms of its proximity to the house - our back door and (house) patio doors back out onto the brick patio (something we would be replacing with modern patio slabs if we did the conversion) which run up to the garden/grass edge. Alongside the patio is the driveway and at the end of the driveway is the garage - with the garden immediately to the side (& behind) the garage. The garden is south facing, with the garage wall which is immediately next to the garden becoming a fantastic sun trap - which is where we would put the patio doors (& also a window in the side of the garage).

Behind the Garage we already have a wooden shed which we don't use and is completely empty... which we would then make use of for storing tools/lawnmower etc...

Basically we'd extend the patio further so that it extends alongside the garage... which the garage patio-doors would open onto, if we were to do it.

At the moment we have our tumble drier & freezer in the garage, so routinely go in & out of the garage on a daily basis - so rain/the cold wouldn't put us off using it if it were converted, provided we did it to a proper standard with decent insulation and fitted a good electric heater or something.

In terms of car-parking/driveway - our drive is "single" width, but runs directly past our front garden, past the side of the house and then past part of the back-garden, before ending at the garage. We've basically built a fence & gate across the drive in line with the back of our house - absorbing some of the driveway into the patio area. You can park 4 or 5 cars on the drive in front of the gate/fence (just in single file!).

GDB2222

ian1246 wrote: »

At the moment we have our tumble drier & freezer in the garage, so routinely go in & out of the garage on a daily basis - so rain/the cold wouldn't put us off using it if it were converted, provided we did it to a proper standard with decent insulation and fitted a good electric heater or something.

Some more random thoughts:

The gap between the house and garage does not put you off, so you'd get good use from it, but I suspect it might put off quite a lot of buyers. It's one thing having an extension, even an awkwardly shaped one, but quite another having what is effectively a garden office, completely separate from the house. Of course, you only need one buyer.

In working out the finances, bear in mind that moving would cost you estate agency fees on the sale, plus stamp duty on the new house. Adding those, together with all the other moving costs, and you might not be that far off the cost of converting the garage. Just don't expect to make a killing.

Would creating another habitable room require planning permission and/or building control approval? Not getting either could hold up a sale, possibly?