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Bought a garage with a house attached

Vegaman_Dan

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2012
Messages
2,453
Location
Pacific, WA
Hello!

As we all know, garages are the primary reason we buy homes. It's also the least photographed area in any real estate listing. It can be frustrating to see endless photos of bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry rooms, kitchens, living rooms, etc, and only get a casual mention of a two car garage. Perhaps listing agents don't understand that a single photo of a garage can make or break a sale for those of us whom are interested.

Is it insulated?
Does it have drywall?
Where is the circuit breaker panel?
How tall is it?
Can I get a lift in there?
Is there room for the fridge?

Oh, and is there a house attached someplace?

Really, the last part seems to be the least important of the criteria, but you know how the rest of the family thinks. For some reason they see it as a house with a garage, instead of a garage with house attached. Priorities!

So I bought a house in Pacific, WA. I've been searching for 18 months, four failed deals, and finally landed a standard 600 sq ft two car garage- with attached 1800 sq ft house, for whatever you use those for. Already spending money on this thing and I'm not ready to move in yet. The 'shelving' the prior owner had was creative at best, and thanks to its construction, be easy to remove. I need to get the garage back to bare core shell so that I can finish off the insulation and walls of the forward 8 feet, pressure wash and etch the floor, get it ready for coating. Just prior to that, I'll finish the walls and paint those. I would like to ideally get the garage prepared *before* moving in. Yeah, it makes it easier to do floors and such when all your gear isn't in the driveway. :)

The property is typical suburbia, but there is enough space on both sides of the house for trailer storage, equipment storage, etc. Good parking. These are key requirements my agent knew about.

Currently I'm waiting for carpet to be delivered for that 'other' part of the property, but in the mean time, it's garage prep work!

Oh, and to fill it, my projects are varied- 68 Triumph Spitfire, 82 Cushman Truckster, motorcycle, van, trailers, and a railroad inspection gang car (speeder). Always have another project to work on it seems.

I've only had the house two weeks and I've already bought a radial arm saw from a metal salvage dealer for $30 that needs a new wood deck only, a nice 3'x8' steel metal work table from a closed auto shop, and yet more tools. Can there ever be too many tools?

Anyways, that's me. If you're curious about the handle, I used to have Vega's. A *lot* of them. I went through 26 from 1986-1990. Bought them up for cheap, fixed issues, sold them as good runners for under $1000. It kept me out of trouble and I know the little buggers inside and out. Now they are too expensive for me to mess with as 'collector' cars. A Vega? Collectable? Really? Who would have thought it possible.
 
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PA-Buckeye

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Messages
100
Location
central PA
Howdy Dan! My father had a Vega, he eventually chopped it and made it into a mini pick-up truck.

That "collectable" comment made me laugh. :)
 

wantedabiggergarage

Member Emeritus
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Messages
3,897
Location
Independence, MO, USA.
Welcome.

I know the feeling. I was looking at my dream construction and asked about workshops (both wood as well as garage work) and they had no pictures of any.
I have also had people say "oh it has a finished basement" like that is a good thing.:confused:
 
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don long

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Messages
8,845
Location
southern california
Well Dan welcome to the greatest place on the web
Man can I relate to your garage story.
My son inlaw called me one Sunday afternoon to tell me that I needed to meet him a few blocks away from my house
When I asked him why he said there is a garage for sale with a custom house
on the property and I must see the garage
Now I was not in the market for a new house, but I met him there anyway
after seeing the garage my first question was how much.
The price was good and I said "I'll take it"
My wife said "but what about the house" My reply was I'm sure it has a kitchen and a bath. 6 weeks later we were moved in.

So again welcome to the G.J.
Don
PS you can see the garage in my albums( the garage I left behind)
 
Last edited:

bigenos

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 20, 2012
Messages
218
Welcome! I'm currently browsing homes in San Antonio and it's hard sometimes to even ascertain how many spaces are in the garage much less how big it is! My wife doesn't really get why I want a 3+ car garage, but she did say that if we buy a small house with a small garage that I can buy land and build a freestanding garage nearby! I think that's a bait and switch though =)
 
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