Adding Garage: what size considering resale value/ROI?

[bbarton]

Hello, we are currently under contract on a house. Sadly it only has a 1 car attached garage (about 12ftx24ft). Good news is there is plenty of space to add garaging.

After remodeling the kitchen we plan to expand the garage. Based on property line setbacks, there is space to make the added garaging about 20ft wide and up to probably about 50ft deep.

Now as much as I'd like to do a 20ftx50ft, I doubt the ROI when we go to sell will be there....unless we did a tall door so when you go to sell you can say it has an RV garage?

Assuming we don't do that, what size will likely be the best bang for buck /have the best ROI when we sell?

I'm thinking maybe 20ft wide x 35ft deep? At 35ft you could fit 2 regular /small cars deep (unless it's 2 long bed trucks). This would make it essentially a 5 car garage, or 3 car with tons of workshop space.

Or just go same depth as the existing garage (about 24ft) so the new one won't protrude into the back yard? It would just be a typical 3 car oversize garage at that point.

Thanks!

 

[John in OH]

At a MINIMUM I'd go 36' deep. A garage only 32' wide is pretty narrow to be called a "3 car" garage so I'd add length to get a decent workshop area. Depending on what your house and lot look like, you may go 40' (since more is better) but you don't want to create a tunnel structure that would look weird. Just my $0.02 worth.

 

[38Chevy454]

ROI on a detached garage is not good. It can definitely help sell the property for someone wanting that, but like an in-ground pool the buyer not pay extra for the bigger garage unless they want that. To make the garage as wide potential future use as possible, consider all the uses a buyer may want. The RV garage is a good one, and to be most effective it needs to be able to fit big class A or 5th wheel trailers. Which means 45-50 ft depth and 14 ft high door.

Also for your own use, nobody that built a bigger garage ever said "I wish I had built less" once they started filling it up.

 

[bbarton]

It would be attached garage, adding the 2 additional spaces adjacent to/shared wall with the existing 1 car.
Yes I agree the bigger the better!
However I know 3 covered parking spaces adds value to many buyers, but an extra 10ft of depth (200 sqft)... what percent of buyers are willing to pay a premium for that? Making it large enough for a class a or 5th wheel does open up a bit of additional market, but is that market large enough and the premium they are willing to pay big enough to make up for the added cost of the high bay door and extra depth?

12ft + 20ft is barely considered a 3 car? Sure it isn't an wide 3 car but it's certainly wide enough to fit 3 cars without any trouble. And even at 24ft depth is enough for to fit a CCLB truck.


Edit : If I did go with an rv door, 14x14, might this be a bit tight for a 2 car, width wise? Since a standard 2 car garage door is 16ft.

 

[Firebrick43]

Why do we let Realtors lie so much to us? A home (except for short periods in certain markets) in not an investment.

It's simply a less costly place to throw your money than renting.

The only improvement one can make with a positive outcome is a fresh coat of paint before they sell. A detached building and ROI should only be mentioned on the comedy hour.

 

[firebirdparts]

As crazy as that sounds, it's totally right. Even if it wasn't, you'll lose a ton of money on the garage. You really should just build what you want, because there's no way you can build what the next guy wants.

 

[FordTruckWench]

Hello, we are currently under contract on a house. Sadly it only has a 1 car attached garage (about 12ftx24ft). Good news is there is plenty of space to add garaging.

What is the current roof configuration? Might this be an "old" ranch style house with the roof continuing over the garage with a gable on the 24 foot side?

If you make the garage deeper, what machinations will be required in the roof design? Would it be deeper by going out the front or the back?

What size garages do your neighbors have? You won't get a ROI if you go bigger than what is common in your neighborhood.

 

[cvairwerks]

Haven’t even taken possesion and you are worried about resale value

 

[nafterclifen]

The general public is NOT interested in garages. So whatever you do built, forget about ROI.

 

[CombatNinja]

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that the single car garage is typical for the neighborhood or area. Therefore, increasing your garage to a double might return you a little bit, going beyond that is not going to get you anything. It might even make it harder to sell because it will turn off potential buyers. You can only build up or improve your home to the level that is typical for the homes around it to recoup money. All of this HGTV and home improvement websites have gone to everyone's heads and has people convinced they are increasing their home's value with every little thing they do.

 

[readhead]

Forget about ROI for a moment. What do you want or need?

 

[Bretny]

When i wad looking to buy a house i didnt look at anything with less than a 2car garage. I didnt have many houses to look at in this area. With that being said i got the recpts from the former owner to have my 25x25 garage built. It cost $11,000 in 1997. It added next to no value and made the taxes higher. This garage had two lights and one outlet.

 

[John in OH]

Get bids to build a 20x24 garage addition and then compare that to the cost of a 20x36 addition. I'll bet the differential in cost isn't that much.

But I agree with the others ... considering a "house" as an investment isn't really sound planning ... we ALL have to pay to live in some type of shelter ... a house is just one of many shelter options.

 

[CombatNinja]

My house is in a very modest neighborhood with small houses. The vast majority have single garages. My rancher had a 21' x 26' oversize double that I added onto out the back to give me a 21' x 38'. This has not increased the value of my property by a penny. Good thing I have a huge backyard or potential buyers might be miffed that the huge garage takes away from the yard. My wife got her finished bonus room in the exchange, which is 545 square feet and increased the value a little bit. It would be a lot more if I had put a full bath up there so we could list the home as a 4 BR/3BA. As it is, it is just 3BR/2BA with a finished BR. The whole garage and bonus room renovation cost me about $35,000 because I did the majority myself and it might have increased the value $10,000 at most, all of that because of the finished bonus room. Finished bonus rooms are typical for my area, as are 1800 square foot houses, so I saw some ROI. Giant garages are not, so no ROI.

 

[3rdgendslmech]

When i wad looking to buy a house i didnt look at anything with less than a 2car garage. I didnt have many houses to look at in this area. With that being said i got the recpts from the former owner to have my 25x25 garage built. It cost $11,000 in 1997. It added next to no value and made the taxes higher. This garage had two lights and one outlet.

A garage wont add any value to your property it will usually make it a little more desirable for storage, or for someone that wants a garage or workshop area.
Think about it like this....not sure if you're into trucks or cars but follow along....base model diesel trucks sell for around 40K.....guy buys one and puts about 15 grand in modifications on it, 5 years later truck is still immaculate and low mileage but he wants to sell it. Now said guy thinks because he did all that work to it its a 55 thousand dollar truck. But in reality it's still just a pick up truck that you spent a lot of money on to get it to look the way you want it to look. When whoever wants it might only need it for a set of wheels to go back and forth to work.

 

[finn]

Add 20x24 for your own use and accept the fact that will never return its initial investment. Going larger may actually limit the resale market, depending on what sells in your area.

Make some sketches or photoshop some renderings to evaluate what a wider garage does to curb appeal aesthetics, and what the door layout looks like.

Sometimes smaller = more to scale for resale, and a poorly integrated addition just looks.....bad to potential buyers at resale time.

 

[bbarton]

What is the current roof configuration? Might this be an "old" ranch style house with the roof continuing over the garage with a gable on the 24 foot side?

If you make the garage deeper, what machinations will be required in the roof design? Would it be deeper by going out the front or the back?

What size garages do your neighbors have? You won't get a ROI if you go bigger than what is common in your neighborhood.

You are spot on its a gable roof with the roof line continues straight across the center of the house over the center of the existing garage. Neighbors have a mix of single and double attached garages, some with additional detached garages in the back.

 

[bbarton]

With anything, that's the best time to consider resale value. Not much you can do about it AFTER you've bought it!


My thoughts on best size is draw it up, and see what it does to the lot and house for architecture and aesthetics. Make it large enough to get in a car length, and still have workspace or storage space behind it. A lot of the value in the garage depends on the house, climate and neighborhood. What do the comparable houses around you have? Your best value will be to mimic them. Then, add a bit of length to give workroom and storage space as needed. If the house is short on storage, give consideration to adding a loft using attic trusses to gain storage space. If you make it long with workspace in the back, consider adding windows and decent sheetrock finish inside to make it more light and attractive to future buyers who might see that as an extension of the house for crafts or workspace.

Some of the return on investment will be how much does it meet your needs. Do you need the storage space? Will you use the workspace? Do you have a need to store 3 or more cars inside? Do you do car repair or some other work for a profit? What is the ability to have a workspace to do your thing in worth to you?

Recognize that you will probably not get out of it what you put into it when you sell. Well designed, you might get between 75 and 100% back. Build the ugly too high, too long garage Majal frequently advocated here, and it will DEDUCT from your sale value, not add. If your needs are for that, then build that, but recognize it will cost you both now and on resale.

Sure I might not intend to get 100%+ ROI, I am first and foremost going to add garage for myself. However, just using easy numbers(not expecting these numbers) , say I spend 25k on garage addition that is 20w x 24d, and that adds 20k in value. But making it extra deep so it's 20w x 35d costs 15k more due to roof changes, and extra material, etc and say that costs 40k but doesn't add any value over the smaller one. Then it really only makes sense to do the 24x20 addition.

 

[bbarton]

Forget about ROI for a moment. What do you want or need?

Want? 10,000 Sq ft shop with bathroom, bed, fridge, and stove. But the other half disagrees with that.

Need? 1-2 garage spots for daily drivers (truck can live outside if necessary.) 2+ for toys (project cars/motorcycle) plus workbench /tool space.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Haven’t even taken possesion and you are worried about resale value

How long do you plan on living in this house? 1-5 years maybe don’t build at all. Longer or much longer build it large and make it visually appealing someone will buy it so don’t go lowering your asking price if you build and set it up properly.

 

[glend123]

3 car garage for a decent amount of space and sweet spot for resale around here

 

[75gmck25]

Also check your local building code to see if they mention Floor Area Ratio (FAR) when you want to add on to the house or garage. FAR is the ratio of covered space (buildings) to the lot size, and some areas have limits on what you can build. Its designed to prevent folks from building McMansions that are way out of scale for the neighborhood.

FAR may not limit the garage size right now if you have a large lot, but if you do build the garage it might limit whether the house can have a future addition. Adding a couple bedrooms in the future would add to the resale value, while having a bigger garage is just nice to have.

Bruce

 

[bbarton]

Also check your local building code to see if they mention Floor Area Ratio (FAR) when you want to add on to the house or garage. FAR is the ratio of covered space (buildings) to the lot size, and some areas have limits on what you can build. Its designed to prevent folks from building McMansions that are way out of scale for the neighborhood.

FAR may not limit the garage size right now if you have a large lot, but if you do build the garage it might limit whether the house can have a future addition. Adding a couple bedrooms in the future would add to the resale value, while having a bigger garage is just nice to have.

Bruce

Good thought to consider, I didn't consider future expansion....that said it shouldn't be an issue, the lot is a bit over 1/4 acre and the house is about 1400 sqft footprint including garage. Zoning limited to 35% coverage, so plenty of room for expansion even after garage addition.

 

[Slednut]

I would build what you want, I moved into my house 33 years ago and thought I would only be there a few years. I wanted a house out of the city limits with a shop.

The house had a 12x26 garage. I was there 5 days and added another 14 feet for a 26x26. I also had a 20x20 detached. The house was 1300 square feet.

In 2013 I added 30 feet to the garage and 780 square feet of living space above it. Wish I had done it years ago. My attached garage is now 26X56.

 

[Brian Mathe]

My wife and I are going through this same discussion. We have a three car attached but I would like a three car detached also. Not sure about the ROI but the two other in my neighborhood that have added there detached garages have sold for the highest values. I also like what Slednut has said, we though we would be in this house for 2 years and on to the next like we had in the past. Now 8 years in, I wish I would have built 8 years ago.
If you have the finances to add the space you want, do what makes you happy. You may end up selling your house in a 2005 market and make a lot, or in a 2008 market and lose your **** on the deal.

 

[bbarton]

Add 20x24 for your own use and accept the fact that will never return its initial investment. Going larger may actually limit the resale market, depending on what sells in your area.

Make some sketches or photoshop some renderings to evaluate what a wider garage does to curb appeal aesthetics, and what the door layout looks like.

Sometimes smaller = more to scale for resale, and a poorly integrated addition just looks.....bad to potential buyers at resale time.

Heres a really bad MS paint "rendering" of adding to the existing gable roofline, and one with a "cross gable" type addition.

Though the simple gable roof line continued across is the simplest option, adding a cross-gable addition I think would enhance the appearance of the house by adding a feature to an otherwise very plain roof...so that might be a good excuse to go with the cross-gable, which is one of the costs associated with going for a garage deeper than the existing house

 

[Voi]

Now as much as I'd like to do a 20ftx50ft, I doubt the ROI when we go to sell will be there....unless we did a tall door so when you go to sell you can say it has an RV garage?

I think ROI should always be a consideration but I also agree with others to build what you want.

With that said, deep third stalls are somewhat common in my area as they're an easier to way to take a stock blueprint and meet the maximum county allowances for garage square footage, yet still sit on a small tract house lot.

I can say with some certainty that ones with ceiling height for a full sized fifth wheel would spend much less time on the market than ones with the more typical 9' to 10' ceiling heights. How that relates to asking price and ROI, I'm not sure. But it certainly suggests something of a scramble to jump on such properties.

By the way, RV owners don't only want 14' garage door heights for access but they also want room to get up on top and look for damage to the roof membrane, AC condensers, etc... So think scissor trusses when planning RV storage.

Now, with all that said, be very realistic about when you might outgrow this house or your dream garage. We closed on our current house in early 2005 but outgrew the 1000 square foot garage very quickly.

 

[Toothaker]

Sure I might not intend to get 100%+ ROI, I am first and foremost going to add garage for myself. However, just using easy numbers(not expecting these numbers) , say I spend 25k on garage addition that is 20w x 24d, and that adds 20k in value. But making it extra deep so it's 20w x 35d costs 15k more due to roof changes, and extra material, etc and say that costs 40k but doesn't add any value over the smaller one. Then it really only makes sense to do the 24x20 addition.

You need to do more research.

In your market, you need to look for what 1100 sq. ft. houses with 300 sq. ft. garages sold for, and then look for what 1100 sq. ft. houses with 800 to 1000 sq.ft. garages sold for. In round numbers, that's what you are talking about.

I would be very surprised if the 1100 sq. ft. house with the larger garage space sold for $20K more than the house with the 300 sq. ft. garage.

In my opinion, neither size garage addition make sense from an investment perspective. You probably need to do the math on a 50% ROI and then decide if you still want to do it. There are many intangibles that might make it worthwhile to you.

 

[mx500]

appraisers do not add value to your house, for a detached garage when its time to sell, or refi, unlike a bathroom. It will make it easier to sell to a male buyer though, like all of us in here.

 

[bbarton]

You need to do more research.

In your market, you need to look for what 1100 sq. ft. houses with 300 sq. ft. garages sold for, and then look for what 1100 sq. ft. houses with 800 to 1000 sq.ft. garages sold for. In round numbers, that's what you are talking about.

I would be very surprised if the 1100 sq. ft. house with the larger garage space sold for $20K more than the house with the 300 sq. ft. garage.

In my opinion, neither size garage addition make sense from an investment perspective. You probably need to do the math on a 50% ROI and then decide if you still want to do it. There are many intangibles that might make it worthwhile to you.

I picked numbers out of my *** to use as an example to explain.

I think you're very right, that just sifting thru sales numbers is my best bet to figure out how much a 3 car vs a 3 car oversize /detached might bring.
That said it's hard to find info on garage sizes. I found it so frustrating while we were looking that most would write "oversize 2 car garage" or “huge detached garage " but not provide pictures or dimensions.

Side note
I want to say I'm pretty surprised that there have been so many" dont build the garage its not worth it" responses, if all places here in Garage Journal. I have lurked for years so these were not the responses I expected.
Again, or Primary purpose of the garage is Ourselves, not to add home value. But I am wanting to consider home value when planning it.
We were hoping to find a house that was in our budget with a big garage. But we settled on this house with a big enough lot to add more garage, and was far enough under budget that we will be able to build more garage.

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

Side note

I want to say I'm pretty surprised that there have been so many" dont build the garage its not worth it" responses, if all places here in Garage Journal. I have lurked for years so these were not the responses I expected.

Again, or Primary purpose of the garage is Ourselves, not to add home value. But I am wanting to consider home value when planning it.

The question was about adding value and the responses were that it wasn’t worth it.

If your question was should I build the garage because I want it the responses would be a hell yes.

Truth is that garage will add no real value to your house for the most part and will be a bad ROI




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Firebrick43]

The question was about adding value and the responses were that it wasn’t worth it.

If your question was should I build the garage because I want it the responses would be a hell yes.

Truth is that garage will add no real value to your house for the most part and will be a bad ROI

Thank you sir. Well put. I looked back and only could find one post that possibly be construed as "don't build".

 

[CombatNinja]

This thread is kind of like someone asking me what go-fast modifications they can make to their car to maximize trade-in value. Phrased that way, the answer is "none".

 

[sberry]

to me a 24x24 is a one car garage. 20x50 is 2 car and not "tons" of room.

 

[ducksface]

This is a first for gj. I'm a bit in awe of the fine and reasonable advice given here today(versus historically) of the truth about roi on a garage addition.

So many gj members mistakenly think

Justifications
Make
Facts.


Percentage of income is important when building what you want.
Going to a crazy debt ratio to get a crazy collection of snap-on polished ratchet wrenches to fit along a back wall
Is what some gj members have done.
Misery loves company.
Some think the lie they told the spouse about resale will translate well to gj.


Don't do that to us or your spouse or yourself.

If a $1,000 bottle of wine is the norm,
Still watch the debt ratio, but build what fits you as a want.

This is the only reasonable thread concerning garage roi in the history of gj.
Thank you all.


Take the testimonies here as gospel.

 

[bbarton]

I'm certainly appreciative of the honest responses, I guess its just not what I really expected.
I assumed that more garage spaces, too a certain extent, add value, while additional "shop space" adds value to a smaller percent of the population(those that wrench, weld, woodwork, etc.)
Or perhaps it's very regional. Here in Denver it makes sense that garage spaces are valuable because it keeps the snow off their cars in the winter, plus room for "toys" (motorcycles, atvs, snowmobile, etc that they wouldn't want parked out in the elements the majority of the time), where maybe it's less of an issue in LA where the weather is always nice and people are less likely to have "outdoorsy" toys
Lots of things to research and consider when determining the size garage we will build. But worry not we will be adding more garage.

 

[38Chevy454]

I already answered the ROI saying it would have low added value. But if you think about what the cost for a rented storage would cost, each and every month, vs the cost for the garage addition; you might decide the addition is a reasonable financial choice. It is also a lot nicer having your stuff at home vs some distance away. Not just for convenience, but also the security aspect. I agree that location is a factor, in colder winter areas the added inside storage is more valued than in mild climates.

 

[Homerr]

Just build what you want and don't make a visual abomination. A design that ties in to the existing home and is reasonable for the neighborhood will sell quicker in the future than max X/Y/Z dimension addition.

If you're so concerned about resale then sell one or two of your vehicles and all your toys - they're depreciating right now and are causing this conversation about throwing more money on the fire.

 

[CombatNinja]

I'm certainly appreciative of the honest responses, I guess its just not what I really expected.
I assumed that more garage spaces, too a certain extent, add value

You have to be realistic. You are talking about adding to a garage (which does not get included in square footage in real estate listings) that is attached to an 1100 square foot house. When you are done, the garage will be almost as big as the living area. In no market in this country is that a recipe for seeing any return on that money. I'm not saying not to do it (heck, I did this very thing and kissed $12,000 goodbye in the process) but just know what you are getting into. I would advise you strongly not to do it if a) you have to borrow money to make it happen, b) you plan on moving in the next decade or c) you have to hire out the entire job. Any of those would be deal breakers for me, heaven forbid if you hit all three criteria. Paying interest on the addition is a quick way to throw good money after bad, as is paying for the whole thing to be done. A competent DIY'er could trim the cost of this addition by half, easily.

 

[stm317]

Trying to plan for a future buyer gets really complicated. You have to consider way too many variables.

Is it a large home with lots of storage, or a small home with limited storage where an owner might want to keep household things in the garage area? Is there a large yard that will require a riding lawn mower and yard tools that need to be stored or not? Is it in an area where the average homeowner has enough disposable income and desire for extra toys like motorcycles, snow mobiles, etc or is money tight for most of the neighbors? Is the neighborhood popular with retirees that might want an RV, or families that just need to store the kid's bikes and sports equipment somewhere? IF you're going to live here a long time, will there even be demand for personal cars and things when you go to sell, or will we all be riding around in autonomous pods that we hail from our phones by then? If there is demand for personal vehicles, what will they look like? Large SUVs and trucks or small electric vehicles that will need to charge every day or three?

The bottom line, is that it's going to be expensive to build this added space. Moreso because it's attached to the house and will need to match the house aesthetically. You're probably going to have to reroof the whole house when the addition goes on to make it look right. You're going to have to spend money on cosmetic things and finishes that match the house and maintain/enhance curb appeal. The ROI will be terrible, especially if you're not going to live there for 15+ years. All you can try to do is maximize resale, and to do that you make it look nice, and make it appeal to the largest number of people possible.

For me, that means I'd make it large enough for 2 large vehicles and leave room for doors to open. Leave room for a riding mower and some kid's bikes. That should also be enough room for a motorcycle, small boat, or snowmobile if the next owner doesn't have kids. Have enough electrical infrastructure to support charging lots of large electronic devices and cars.