Garage or extra bedroom?

booksandbikes

We are viewing a nearly new-build (2021) bungalow tomorrow. It has two bedrooms and a garage, and is on for OIEO £300k.  The same estate agent has sold a bungalow on the same estate, which has the exact same floor size, but instead of a huge diner/kitchen, is has been split in half to give an extra bedroom. It also doesn't have a garage. Everything else about the two houses is pretty much identical - except for the colour of the kitchen fittings. It's asking price was £325k, and it is SSTC (no idea what was agreed). 

Assuming I like the house I'm just wondering if the argument for offering £300k (and not in excess of) would be that comparing the two, the one I am viewing only has 2 bedrooms.

I know it's personal preference, but what do you value more and what would you pay more for - a garage or an extra bedroom? They both have a long driveway, which would fit at least 2 cars.

Just curious for other people's views really. 😊

FreeBear

Garage every time (as long as it has decent head room). Can use it as a playroom workshop.

Herzlos

I'd go the other way and suggest that most people would want the extra bedroom. No-one uses garages for cars now so a shed is usually sufficient for bikes and lawnmowers. That extra bedroom could be a nursery, office, guest room or allow a larger family to live there.

When we were looking, I was prepared to forfeit the garage to get an extra bedroom, though I'd miss having a garage.

Section62

booksandbikes said:

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I know it's personal preference, but what do you value more and what would you pay more for - a garage or an extra bedroom? They both have a long driveway, which would fit at least 2 cars.

I would do some more digging, and get hold of the planning documents.

The developer is probably unlikely to have foregone the additional profit they could make by selling the property as a 3-bed if that had been an option - so there may be planning reasons why this one was only 2-bed and had a garage. On the face of it, two driveway spaces ought to be enough for a 2-bed property - it is unlikely the council's parking standards would demand more - so there might possibly be something about the development as a whole (minimum total parking spaces or maximum total bedrooms) which led to this one being a 2-bed with garage+two spaces.

Are you sure the other property didn't have a garage originally and has been modified by one of the owners?

booksandbikes

Section62 said:

booksandbikes said:

...
I know it's personal preference, but what do you value more and what would you pay more for - a garage or an extra bedroom? They both have a long driveway, which would fit at least 2 cars.

I would do some more digging, and get hold of the planning documents.

I went through (to the best of my ability) a lot of planning documents yesterday, and the final approved plans for bungalows appear to be 3 bedroom ones. However it does look like there was a lot of back and forth between the developer and the local council about reducing the number of houses and increasing the number of bungalows.

One of the communications on the planning portal : "The bungalows are now only 1 bedroom instead of 2, a dining room has been created instead of a second bedroom.  We are aware of the demand for bungalows in xxxx and the wider area, largely from the older generation, and as such they are unlikely to be occupied as family homes, and would benefit from having more living areas than bedrooms."

Mind you I haven't seen any 1 bedroom bungalows on the estate, so the above must have been superceded, but they do explain their reasoning for more living space rather than bedrooms.

There is another 2 bedroom bungalow that has sold - listing price was £320k - with the same layout as the one I will be viewing, but that one also doesn't have a garage. Maybe these are things that the first owners chose when they bought off plan?

horsewithnoname

depends what you want. I had enough bedrooms so converted my garage to a downstairs bathroom, utility and made my kitchen bigger. Also made me get rid of a lot of crap I had in my garage. I imagine the majority of garages are either converted or full of junk 😁

Annie1612

Would it would probably go for the garage (we need the storage and husband would need a work space for making stuff), then split the kitchen/diner ourselves if we needed the extra bedroom? Is that doable?

NameUnavailable

booksandbikes said:

We are viewing a nearly new-build (2021) bungalow tomorrow. It has two bedrooms and a garage, and is on for OIEO £300k.  The same estate agent has sold a bungalow on the same estate, which has the exact same floor size, but instead of a huge diner/kitchen, is has been split in half to give an extra bedroom. It also doesn't have a garage. Everything else about the two houses is pretty much identical - except for the colour of the kitchen fittings. It's asking price was £325k, and it is SSTC (no idea what was agreed). 

Assuming I like the house I'm just wondering if the argument for offering £300k (and not in excess of) would be that comparing the two, the one I am viewing only has 2 bedrooms.

I know it's personal preference, but what do you value more and what would you pay more for - a garage or an extra bedroom? They both have a long driveway, which would fit at least 2 cars.

Just curious for other people's views really. 😊

All kind of pointless speculation as the vendors will have the price they're willing to accept in mind whatever your reasoning.

If the two propoerties have the same internal floor space and the one you are looking at ALSO has a garage, then I'd expect that to be worth more, all things being equal.

So, offer what you think it's worth to you.

Drawingaline

It is very dependent on what you want. I like that our garage has been converted into an extra room (by the previous owners) as it wouldn't have fitted a car and I have no use for one.

Other family members though feel that a garage is non negotiable to them. They are into fixing up cars, welding and tinkering (dad) or into bike riding and have a lot of expensive bikes (sister). 

So we would each offer on one over another house depending on the facilities, that are unique to our own wants and needs. 

Herzlos

booksandbikes said:

There is another 2 bedroom bungalow that has sold - listing price was £320k - with the same layout as the one I will be viewing, but that one also doesn't have a garage. Maybe these are things that the first owners chose when they bought off plan?

That seems quite likely. A friend of mine is in a new build where there was an option for the garage to be built as a garage or built pre-converted into a bedroom.

Murphybear

Herzlos said:

I'd go the other way and suggest that most people would want the extra bedroom. No-one uses garages for cars now so a shed is usually sufficient for bikes and lawnmowers. That extra bedroom could be a nursery, office, guest room or allow a larger family to live there.

When we were looking, I was prepared to forfeit the garage to get an extra bedroom, though I'd miss having a garage.

We have friends who put their cars in a double garage.  His is a nearly new Jaguar and hers is a nearly new Mercedes.  How the other half live 

A few years ago we rented a small 2 bedroom house for 6 months only.  It came with a garage.  It’s amazing how many boxes of “stuff” you can get in a garage.  I’d vote for a garage