4 bed house without a garage.

[NoTeaForMe]

We’re looking at converting our garage into a second living room and utility/boot room. It’s a large garage, not quite a double but bigger than a single.
However, then the house wouldn’t have a garage. We would put a decent shed in the garden for bikes and you can get from the garden to the front but are wondering if this would put people off in the future. Should we keep the garage? TIA

Completely depends on the parking situation. Assume if there's a garage there's a drive?

It would put me off. I have a lot of garden machinery and Dh has a number of expensive bikes. There would have to be a garage-sized very secure shed as an alternative, without the shed eating up too much garden space or being an eyesore.

We live in housing estate that is about 15 years old. There are about 100 houses and I think about 10 houses that have converted their integral garage. Most that have converted are the 3 beds, but some of the 4 beds have too. I don't think it has affected the resale at all from what I can see, but it is a popular estate so houses don't stay on sale for long

We have a driveway but not garage, given the choice I’d rather have extra living space than a garage.

Ours is the opposite: a 3 bed end of terrace that was converted into 4 bed with garage underneath. This put 35% on it, so taking garages out would be pretty damaging.

I wouldn't care about not having a garage in the slightest.

I would much rather have a bigger house. Our garages have always ended up full of crap so I really don’t see the point in them.

I hardly see any houses that still have garages (S London)

I wouldn’t be bothered about a garage or lack of, 4 or 5 of the houses down my PIL street have converted their garages into rooms and it makes the house much more usable, but they all have driveways big enough for 4 or 5 cars.

I hardly see any houses that still have garages (S London) - yes, i think the location is crucial. where we live (not london) most people have mountain bikes, some have kayaks, outdoor/camping stuff... none of which is very useful in a very urban setting.

I will be looking for a 4 bed in the next year. A garage is a must.

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest not having a garage. I plan to halve ours, keep the front as a store area and use the remaining space to create a proper utility and extend the downstairs toilet into a shower room.

We have a big enough garden that should we ever sell to someone who needed a full garage space, they could build something in the garden.

I'm about to get rid of my garage, and convert it into living space.
It means I will have to throw out the junk that lives in it.
When I was house buying I was looking for a house with a garage, but only so I could convert it!
You will put some people off, you will attract some people with your plans (I expect the majority will be in the latter camp despite the replies on this thread).

Some people on our road have converted the back of the garage and extended the front of the garage ever so slightly. So they get enough storage space in a garage and a back room converted.

I couldn’t live without our garage! But our attic is converted into a bedroom so the storage is so important. But it’s also so handy for things we want to be able to grab without going to the shed.

I’m surprised so many people would see the lack of a garage as a dealbreaker. Around here anyone with a garage ultimately converts it into living space. I don’t know a single person who actually uses it to park their car...

depends if you have a drive or street-parking

I'm not fussed at all - we have a 4/5 bedroom house with no garage. Off street parking was a must for us though.

I’m currently looking for a 4 bed house, and would be delighted if it had extra living space instead of a garage. We don’t currently have a garage or much of a loft (3 storey house) and have to be more discerning about what we keep. In our old house we hung on to everything, and moving was a nightmare.

We’ve got a pointless garage filled with crap. One day we’ll convert it and buy a shed. Many are too small for cars and could be better used day to day for living space. There is nothing in my garage I wouldn’t put in a shed. Might be different if I had super expensive bikes or a motorbike but that must be quite a small percentage of potential house buyers.

Always wished my garage was beside my house to make it into a playroom with a shower bathroom.
I’d do it in a heartbeat
Our garage full of crap as well

Thank you for all your replies. Storage is definitely something we need to think about and will definitely bare in mind the bikes. Glad it’s not an absolute no from everyone though.

We are about to convert ours. Would much rather have the living space and it suits our lifestyle v a hypothetical buyer of the future! I'm so excited about the extra space for a playroom and utility!

Loads of houses round here have done it and it doesn't seem to have affected sales or prices.

When we put our 4-bed garageless house up for sale we got three offers on the first day.

We’ve just moved into. 5 bed and are converting the garage. As long as there is off road parking.

I bought a 7 bedroom house with no garage and no driveway in london (not converted, built that way) so it really depends on each individuals specific requirements and personal tastes. All bar 3 houses here are the same, there are 2 stunning vintage rollers, a couple of new range tovers a Porsche, hag a few mercedes and liadys or runarounds on the road outsider the point being lts of people do t care even with cars as drool worthy and clearly valuable as one of the rollers). Personal parking is irrelevant to lots of people when the house is right.
Do what suits your family, make sure it looks right so as not to detract from the appearance of the house from outsidexwhilstxstill creating a pleasant useable room.. show us all your plans!!. Likelihood is if it will suit you or will also suit another family too.