Convert garage or not...

[lionsleepstonight]

We have a 3 bed detached with an integral garage. Our third bedroom is tiny, can just squeeze a single bed, so no good for guests. Downstairs is all open plan. Looks fab but can be tricky if everyone wants to watch different tv/play computer games.
Thinking of converting unused garage into a snug/4th bedroom.
We've loads of off street parking to the front of the house.
No that we're thinking of selling but worried not having a garage would devalue the house. No one else with our house has done this on our estate......
Would you be put off by a family house without a garage?

If you're not planning on selling and you don't use the garage you should definitely convert it! We spent a year thinking the same thing. In the end we've just converted half and kept the front section and door for storage which is the best compromise for us. In terms of resale, you will definitely put some buyers off not having a garage. But I think as people don't park their car in there anymore, more and more people would prefer extra living space to a giant cupboard to store stuff. It's crazy when our homes are getting smaller that garages can take up 30-50% of the downstairs floorplan! As long as there is enough storage for bulky items like bikes (sheds and lofts etc) and off road parking I would see the extra room as a huge bonus and prefer it to a garage if I was buying your house .

If you are going to be there for a very long time, till all the kids are grown and gone, do it. Is there room to build another garage anywhere in the future?
Dh and I will be looking at houses again, probably in a year or so. Anything without a garage/workshop or room for one isn't even considered, he has so many tools as a mechanic, and also DIY that our single garage is about full.

Can I ask what level your floor is? Ours was 2 feet lower despite being integral (bedroom above) and it was a huge amount of work raising it. But having that extra space makes the house seem so much bigger and am delighted we did it.

Can you have a good sized shed for storing bikes / gardening / DIY stuff etc? Modern garages are generally too small for a family car and tend to be used for storage these days.

Having a separate room that you can close off downstairs will make a huge difference to how you live in your house - especially if you have teenagers.

There's a similar thread running at the moment. 95% of posters saying they'd prefer the extra living space to the garage.

I think it's one of those things that neither adds value or takes it away. So if you were trying to sell in the near future then 10k spending will be lost. But if you are going to stay there then you get the use out of it. In terms of selling, some will prefer the extra space but some are funny about no garage.

I'd have done it if we'd stayed in our old house.

Of course it may not cost you 10k, that's what we thought ours would have, but it would have included putting in a downstairs cloakroom and utility ....

We converted ours in previous house. These days garages are too small for cars!! Had no problem selling it at all. Inside space is more important. We did have a big shed for bikes etc though.

We had our house valued for remortgage a few years ago. The surveyor said converting our integral garage would put money on the house. So we did. It's now a snug, utility room and cloakroom. Love it. We have parking for 4 cars and two sheds for our crap so happy days.
Don't know how true his advice would be in today's market though?

We bought our house because it has a converted garage.
Half of it was turned in to an office, the other half is still a useful place to store crap.

Nobody I know uses a garage for a car. Several have converted them. I would convert.

I've got a house which sounds remarkably similar to mine!
I converted the garage last year - made it a kitchen. Then ripped the old kitchen out and made the open plan area more lounge / dining room.
Best move ever - my house has increased in value anyway, but local estate agent reckoned it would sell for a good 15-20k more than an unconverted house, which covers my costs. And I couldn't have moved to get the extra space for that kind of money.

Solicitor reckoned no-one buying my size of (modern) house would be put off by no garage, due size & that few people use them for actually putting a car in. If it's "storage" space they need, there's a loft & shed! If you actually want a garage for a classic car, you probably would be buying a bigger house than mine anyway!

PM me if you want any other info.

Obviously I meant that your house OP sound remarkably similar to mine