Pole barn a good investment?

[wastntim]

So here's a question that can raise a good amount of debate and I'm sure its been asked before, but I'm also sure the answer changes with economy.

Is a pole barn a good investment as far as the value of your home is concerned?

I am buying a property in a suburb of Chicago. It's a really nice 2.75 acre lot with a pond (lots of this size and as nice are rare for the area). The house on the property is nice enough but has no garage whatsoever. I am considering building a 40x48 pole building (I currently have a cheap race car and a 28ft trailer and a lift, plus two trucks and a car and a couple of toys) but with the quotes tallying $90-$100k, I'm wondering how much of that money I could recover if I sold it?

Here is specs of proposed building:
40x48, 16ft to the eave, insulated and finished inside, water, electric, radiant heat, one 14x14 foot door and two 10x10, three windows down each side.

As for the building, I figured, generally, bigger is better, especially since the house has no basement (which is unusual for the area) and lacks adequate storage. I also thought it would be good to incorporate a high height and large door in case I decided to sell as it should hold a decent sized RV.

The reason I ask is that the cost is going to be a struggle to do as financing likely won't be an option. Additionally, the house is not exactly to our tastes and if we can't afford to rebuild it down the line, we may just move, and I don't want to eat all of the cost of the garage.

Would I be better off going with something smaller that would may give me a better opportunity to recoup my money?

Is there any type of rule of thumb with respect to a garage not being above a certain percentage of the cost of the property/home?

A lot of questions, I know, but these are the things I'm asking myself.

 

[volleyball]

I would think a more conventional garage/storage space would give you the best bang for your buck.
Are there many barns in your area? Any properties for sale. If you are going to stay, do what makes you happy. But it may keep you there longer than you want.
Talking to a few real estate people about selling your property. Ask how a pole barn would change the value. Storing your camper inside will help protect it so that cost can be transferred to the barns cost. Say you can "save" $10k by not paying indoor storage for your stuff or devalue the stuff, the math says 10 years is your payback period.
You know, if a new house on the property is in the future, you may get by by living in the barn.

 

[jim1987]

Rule #1 in buying stuff for resale, never expect to get your money back.

 

[cj7jeep81]

I'd say from a pure resale point of view, a garage that size is not a good investment. Most people only want a place to park their cars, and maybe store a few things, and a 24x32 or so is plenty. Going that much larger will only pay back if you can find that person who wants exactly that, and that's going to be tough.

From a use point of view though for what you described, it would be perfect (and why I'm planning on starting a 40x64 pole building next month).

Edit--also, going all out (fully finished inside, in-floor heat, etc), adds a ton of cost to your build, and for the vast majority of potential buyers, add's very little to it's worth. Obviously location makes a huge difference, but I'm looking to put up a 40x64x16 for about $40k. That's with me doing a good chunk of the labor, but also has budget for hiring out concrete and some of the building. All the materials (minus concrete for the floor) came out to about $22k, and I know I wouldn't see a return on that (via sale) even in my rural area.

 

[joe_padavano]

Rule #1 in buying stuff for resale, never expect to get your money back.

^^^This.

If by "investment" you mean, will you get more than the cost back at resale, the answer is, probably not unless you can wait to find the right buyer who wants a pole barn. Most suburbanites do not, and will not want to pay extra for it.

If, on the other hand, your "investment" calculation takes into account how much you would otherwise spend at a storage facility to store all the worthless **** you can't afford to throw out (yeah, I'm talking about myself here ), then yes it's a worthwhile investment.

 

[purplezr2]

Typically no. Similar to modified cars most people don't want or have a need. They don't see it as a "shop", but just as storage space which is valued much lower. Basically build it if you want it, but don't bank on getting the money back.

 

[rsanter]

Around here a shop does raise the value and desirability of a property.
Generally bigger is better up to a point.
The problem is that I think at that cost you will have a hard time getting your money back.
You may want to talk to a real estate person to see what the property value would increase as a basis for decision.
I think a shop half that size and perhaps a container for storage may be a better cost/value ratio

Bob

 

[wnstwolf]

Wast’n

After investing a lot of human capital and over $30k in my 60x40 dream garage work has me in a situation where I have to sell the property we just finished building. It has great acreage, pond, beautiful custom built house, and the barn as we call it. For me it is perfect. For those that have come to look at the property it is either something that comes with the house or they want to turn it into a horse barn. At this point as long as they write the check I have come to grips with it. From a guy at the selling end I can honestly say it is not adding a lot of value to the property right now.

Hope to get that right person at the right time that wants it all but as mentioned these are not the best investments and resale should not be a big decision maker in the build process.

Having said this, a poorly built eyesore next to a beautiful house can obviously be a poor investment and bring property value down. Do it because you want it but also do it right so you are not forced to maybe regret the decision… I regret mine for the wrong reasons.. not sure I will ever be able to duplicate it again..

 

[HoosierMark]

Before you spend that kind of money, call a Realtor. Have them pull comparable sales for properties like you have now and properties after the building is built. That will tell you the contributory value of the building. They can simply print out the sales data or do a simple CMA (comparative market analysis) for you. It may cost you $50 or $100 for the service but it will give you a good idea of the value change. In my area, a building of this type would probably add less then $50K even though it cost close to double that. Many banks look at the percentage of value of the land and the value of the extra buildings to the whole when considering financing a property. They want to loan on houses not "packages" Underwriters may have a problem with it, just as they often do when a property has a small house and 10-20 acres for example.

 

[Ray916MN]

Depends on the area and market.

Where I live, pole barns are generally considered to add little market value and in some cases can decrease the value of a property. OTOH traditional stick built accessory buildings generally add value, although they add significantly less value their construction cost.

The suggestion to talk to a Realtor is the right one to figure out your specific situation.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

That's a lot of money. If you want to have added value, you should consider building it like a stable, with a high center section and a loft area, then add a shed wing on each side. make one side a patio/carport

Develop it so that people can see studio potential in the loft. Make it good looking and interesting. The right building will add to the property. A big box won't.

 

[Notgrownup]

My son in law gas 30x60 pole barn and is very well built so the value I think will stay pretty decent but he didn't build it for investment , he built what he wanted. He used the best materials he could get....insulated nice, I give seen some crappy looking pole barns, this one isn't , he has about $20k in it.

 

[finn]

Fifty cents on the dollar return, at most.

There is a beautiful pole barn / shop with water, septic, a bathroom, and a boiler with heated floors for sale near me.

The owner wants $98.9K with no takers. Too far from town to convert to commercial use and too expensive for storage, or even hobby use.

The contractor that built it says the price covers the construction cost, but market value is only about half or 2/3 of that.

My experience living in the Chicago suburbs for many years is that most overly large hobby shops tend to be in less desirable (semi-trashy) neighborhood and eventually lean towards commercial or semi commercial use by struggling contractors. This hurts resale unless the property zoning can be changed to commercial.

Smaller shops can be designed to blend in with the neighborhood.

I've seen "pole barns" that look just as nice as a stick structure, but you have to work at it.

 

[2Big2Ride]

We built a 30x60 metal building with a 10x60 cover porch on our one acre lot. A metal building is as common here as pole barns are there. $0.50 on the dollars is all I am expecting at resale. We will enjoy and use the building for the other 50% to get our value from the build.

 

[espyking83]

Rule #1 in buying stuff for resale, never expect to get your money back.

Especially in this market.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Good investment, maybe depends all on the situation. Where you live, how much you can build yourself, I mean everything. In this case I'm reading between the lines and I say NO, and to keep looking for a different house. I see many red flags in what you have posted.

So here's a question that can raise a good amount of debate and I'm sure its been asked before, but I'm also sure the answer changes with economy.

Is a pole barn a good investment as far as the value of your home is concerned?

I am buying a property in a suburb of Chicago. It's a really nice 2.75 acre lot with a pond (lots of this size and as nice are rare for the area). The house on the property is nice enough but has no garage whatsoever. I am considering building a 40x48 pole building (I currently have a cheap race car and a 28ft trailer and a lift, plus two trucks and a car and a couple of toys) but with the quotes tallying $90-$100k, I'm wondering how much of that money I could recover if I sold it?

Here is specs of proposed building:
40x48, 16ft to the eave, insulated and finished inside, water, electric, radiant heat, one 14x14 foot door and two 10x10, three windows down each side.

As for the building, I figured, generally, bigger is better, especially since the house has no basement (which is unusual for the area) and lacks adequate storage. I also thought it would be good to incorporate a high height and large door in case I decided to sell as it should hold a decent sized RV.

The reason I ask is that the cost is going to be a struggle to do as financing likely won't be an option. Additionally, the house is not exactly to our tastes and if we can't afford to rebuild it down the line, we may just move, and I don't want to eat all of the cost of the garage.

Would I be better off going with something smaller that would may give me a better opportunity to recoup my money?

Is there any type of rule of thumb with respect to a garage not being above a certain percentage of the cost of the property/home?

A lot of questions, I know, but these are the things I'm asking myself.

See the red flags ?

 

[Quijote]

Good investment, maybe depends all on the situation. Where you live, how much you can build yourself, I mean everything. In this case I'm reading between the lines and I say NO, and to keep looking for a different house. I see many red flags in what you have posted.

See the red flags ?

Agreed.

I am just about done with a 22x34 garage that will run me ~$60K when it's all done (plus another $20 for the driveway and other related work). But it on a 10" foundation, looks just as nice as the house from the outside, and it amounts to less than 10% of the value of the house. Also, I really like our house and the location, and plan on sating there indefinitely.

If I had to sell tomorrow, the right buyer may pay 100%+ for it, but realistically, I'll get ~2/3. But it is very unlikely that we will move. And if I get 20+ years of use (I'm 35), then I won't care what I get back when I sell the house.