Here in the northeast, there are a fair number of houses without garages (mine among them). There's quite a bit of older housing stock that was built before car ownership was common--in my neighborhood, which was built up between 1920-1930, the houses originally didn't have driveways, let alone garages. There is barely room to fit a driveway between the houses now. And some people have sacrificed half of their tiny backyard to build a garage. (It's a residential area in a large city.)

Someone looking for a new house will probably expect a garage, but might be satisfied if there is room to build one. Someone who is more flexible and is looking at both old and new houses will most likely not be deterred by the lack of a garage.

marjen: Even if most of the houses in your neighborhood/town have garages, there are plenty of buyers in the northeast who know that a garage isn't standard. A house sans garage but with recent updates may appeal to first-time buyers. Just make sure you're priced accordingly to the comps with garages. I think living space prices better than unfinished garage space, so the added 400sq ft may help your home by being bigger.

We're in the market to buy, and we actually prefer a detached carriage (carriage house) or space to build one. I despise attached garages.

Camlan is right, most housing stock in northeast pre-dates vehicle ownership. In my area (metro boston) most houses don't have them. In my neighborhood, considered "new construction" in town at 30yo, only 10 of 25 houses have garages. And of the 10, 8 are used as storage space and vehicles won't fit.

CMarlin20: Cleaning off a car after a snowstorm is no big deal. After the hour plus it takes to shovel my driveway, brushing off the car is a cool-down. Unless you park indoors all day everywhere you go, you're gonna deal with it anyways, what's once more? [And I'd take a snowstorm over an earthquake or brush fire any day :) ]

" In my area (metro boston) most houses don't have them. "

My relatives lived in Boston for many years.

It was a big deal to move from a triple decker in the North End to a double in Belmont and get a garage.

The less urban areas had space for garages, the city? You must be kidding.

It is VERY area specific.

Were else could guarding you shoveled out parking space rise to the attention of the mayor?

I inherited my parent's town house. It was built in the 20s. It had a brick paver drive down past the barn (yes it was in the city limits) and under the barn was a stable. LOL. Yes, they were still driving buggies in the twenties.

Thanks all, lots of good info. I am considering adding a garage but just not sure its worth it. Might talk to a few realtors in town to get some opinions. I have plenty of space to add a garage. UNfortunately the spot I would love to build it does not work due to the slope, the foundation would be like 12 ft deep!. When I say most have a garage that means some older houses dont ALL new houses do. However many builders put small garages that barely fit cars, they mostly end up being used for junk. I am including a link to some pics I took during the remodel. Surprisingly dont seem to have any of it all done. It relly does not look like the room was tacked on, you cant really tell a garage was ever there.

Here is a link that might be useful: remodel

Wow, that's gorgeous!! I can't imagine anyone not wanting to buy it. I think it looks much better now than it did with the garage. I'm no expert on markets, but I would imagine an allowance toward a basic garage would up your competitive advantage if there are alot of houses for sale in your area. Then the new owner can decide where and how big they want the garage,...how fancy etc.

There's no doubt that kitchen is gorgeous. And although I'd be drooling to have it anytime, it looks as if you're in suburbia where a two car garage is the norm. And although from interior shots you can't tell it was a garage, from the exterior you can clearly see that architecturally the space was meant as a garage. It even appears as if the dining room windows face the driveway?

I think talking to a local realtor to get a true perspective of how your lack of garage will impact sale in your area is a wise idea. In my area, even though you have an amazing kitchen, the lack of garage would seriously impact resale value. Good luck !

Tremendous kitchen and space you added..That said, i can't believe you removed a 2 car garage to do so...If it were a 1 car garage,i could see why you'd prefer the great kitchen and space,though i likley still wouldn't have done it...But to remove a 2 car garage,WOW!!!! And while you did a good job changing the exterior to hide the fact of it used to be a 2 car garage,it still is got the "structure look" of a 2 car garage,with a side entrance as opposed to straight in...I hope this doesn't come back to haunt you...Best of luck, and FWIW, i would NOT build a new garage,just lower the price

The were many reasons for removing the garage. First the space did not work. It was 20x20 exterior dimensions. It was VERY tight. With anything at all in it, you could not get cars in. The doors could not be opened all the way without hitting the walls, it just sucked. The 2nd reason, and a big one was, see that slope heading towards the house? Well when it really rained all the water we head right into the garage. Sometimes it would end up 3/4 of the way into the garage. Never went over the cement lip but still did not like all that water entering the space.
From an interior space standpoint we had no dining room. We had a dining area in the kitchen but that limited the kitchen to basically half the space and we really needed more. Living in the space. I personally love having the extra living space. But yea I hate not having a place for the lawn mower or to spread out my tools and work on woodworking projects. It was a trade off for sure.

I think you did an amazing job with the kitchen redo. Who wants a front entrance to a kitchen, btw? A side door is fine and the norm. I do not think it gives the outside impression of a garage conversion. How do you handle the drainage issue though since it's now living space? Did you do regrade or drain work?

The last house I sold was a small cottage. The square footage of the house and the fact it had a small eat-in kitchen was a much more limiting factor than a garage.

Your new kitchen is great but when I first looked at your pictures I didn't notice that the first two pictures were before pictures. I thought they looked nice, too. Your before kitchen was much better looking then many people's before kitchen.

calliope, i was referring to the LOOK of the garage(now the new kitchen),it LOOKS like it has a side entrnace not a drive in straight entrance..I wasn't referring to the kitchen and any entrance it may have..My 3 car garage has the exact same look from the front..

The only problem with saying you will give them an allowance for a garage, is that when they do a search for houses with 2-car garages, yours won't even come up on their list.

Anne

I dont think I would offer an allowance. I would price the house less than I think it is worth due to no garage. I may test the waters a little bit if we decide we want to try and make the move. I have a couple friends who are realtors. Maybe we just throw it on the market and see what kind of feedback there is . I looked in the price range I would expect to place it in (400-500k) and every house there has a garage. BUT none have as much sq of living space, dedicated theater space, huge kitchen, multiple stone fireplaces, etc that our place has. Obviously it would be a roadblock but when we had it on the market briefly 2 years ago, the biggest complaint was no dining room, small kitchen, no real wood floors, things that all were addressed. People ALWAYS complain about some aspect of a house and it really amazes me how most people have no ability to look at a structure, its spaces and see what can be done with them. They see a grey wall and go wow its not white, no way I could live in a house with grey paint, lol.

How does your home compare with others in your neighborhood in terms of size and price?

I also wouldn't give an allowance for a garage, since it highlights the fact that there isn't one. People will already know that; no need to rub it in. :) I think you have the right idea: price it based on comps (square footage-wise), then discount a bit for no garage. I suspect you'll end up not too far off where you would have been with no discount but only counting the old square footage. There's not much you can do about the buyers who search for only houses with garages.

I do think this is very location-specific, but where we live (in a medium-sized city), it isn't a given that a house has a garage, and many don't. Some have no off-street parking at all, some have driveways, and some have carports, which is a nice thing to have (especially if you live where it snows---it doesn't here). You could maybe put a carport up relatively cheaply, and then at least you could tick the box for covered parking. A buyer could tear it down and build a garage in its place if they wanted to. It might also be nice to get a shed, since you have the space. Most of our neighbors who don't have garages do have sheds for garden equipment and such.

My neighbor recently asked a local realtor what she thought the "markup" for a garage was around here---she guessed about $50K more for a house that has one (in an area where homes cost $350-$400/sf). And, notably, although most of our neighbors have cars, you don't *need* to have a car here---it's just a nice thing to have. That's quite different from areas where you must have a car to get around.

LOL, Marjen, that's so funny and ironic. I was just thinking about how irritating some sellers are because they expect buyers to see through their clutter, deferred maintenance, and weird personal effects. I just thought it was ironic you brought that up, right when I was thinking about that from an opposite perspective!

I am NOT saying that's you at all - your home is GORGEOUS, I just thought it's funny I was thinking that right when I read your post! Good luck. If I had 500,000 I'd love that house. That is, by far, the best, most attractive garage conversion I have EVER seen.

I wouldn't purchase a home with a one car garage, that would require demolition or expansion. I'd rather build a new 2 car garage altogether. But I wouldn't LIVE in a home without a garage.

If the house was priced right and it was feasible to build a garage, maybe. And one of the things I look for on a listing is that it has a two car garage. Three bedroom homes and two car garages are typically standard, I wouldn't consider anything less unless I came across my dream home priced right as stated earlier.

And I agree with the previous poster about parking vehicles on a driveway where all neighbors and passersby can see. I'd worry that when you sold your home, if I'd be stuck looking at new neighbors with a junker vehicle parked there all the time. And where do you put all your garden tools, lawn mower, snow blower, bikes, tools, etc.? My house would be full of junk.

We live on a beautiful tree lined street, with all garages set back behind the homes. Some newer neighbors park at the end of their driveway instead of in their garage (no street parking here), and it looks "ghetto" for lack of a better term, like a rental property, and in my opinion it decreases the value of not only your home, but also the neighborhood.

We live on a beautiful tree lined street, with all garages set back behind the homes. Some newer neighbors park at the end of their driveway instead of in their garage (no street parking here), and it looks "ghetto" for lack of a better term, like a rental property, and in my opinion it decreases the value of not only your home, but also the neighborhood.

Yikes.
I thought you all lived in the Land of the Free ?

Free as long as you conform to my sense of correct, eh?

I grew up in an inner-ring suburb, live in an urban area now (Cleveland), and previously lived in the exurbs. In all those communities, some people parked their cars in their driveways "in front of" their houses...and I have never noted it to be an issue...even the nice, expensive houses, people did it.

I would want a garage but would be willing to build one if the price was right and there was room.

My thinking about parking in the driveway is if someone can afford a decent home, they wouldn't be driving a 'junk-bucket.' Unless you live in a ghetto, why should it bother anyone if there are cars in the driveway?

We live on a beautiful tree lined street, with all garages set back behind the homes. Some newer neighbors park at the end of their driveway instead of in their garage (no street parking here), and it looks "ghetto" for lack of a better term, like a rental property, and in my opinion it decreases the value of not only your home, but also the neighborhood.

To my comments above, Metaxa said:
Yikes.
I thought you all lived in the Land of the Free ?

Free as long as you conform to my sense of correct, eh?

---------Those are two separate thoughts rolled into one sentence. I said to me it looks ghetto. The comment about, "and it decreases the value of not only your home....." came from the fact that you have no garage, and all your neighbors do. The two comments weren't meant to be inclusive of eachother.

And yes, this is the 'land of the free', hence I am entitled to my own opinions when it comes to the appearance of a driveway with cars parked along them. Everyone else in the neighborhood uses their garage. You don't have to agree with me.

^^^ I agree 100%..

Use your garage!!!! Cars parked along the driveway make a neighborhood look very urban..Even worse is when there are several parked bumper-to-bumper along the driveway..Fortunately,my current home and previous home people USED their garages,so i didn't get that "ghetto" feeling like i did in my 1st home in the 80's

You said, "It really does not look like the room was tacked on, you cant really tell a garage was ever there."

Are you KIDDING? Of course you can tell that space used to be a garage. I would not consider buying your house because:

1. You can tell the former garage was made over into a room(s).
2. There's no garage.

It is a very nice remodel marjen, love the counters and the cabinets. But it does not make up for loosing the garage imo. From the outside view yep, you can tell that there was a garage there once. Do you still have the same driveway leading up to the windows or did you change where you park your cars? NancyLouise

I would never buy a home without a garage. Here in Florida it is very common to turn the garage into another bedroom or office. Usually, without permits. Did you pull permits? If not, most likely, you will get caught by the real estate agent with the disclosures. One thing about a garage is protecting your car from the elements and with cars being so expensive these days, a garage is a must. Good luck!

No way would I purchase a house without a garage. In fact, like some previous poster, I probably would not purchase a house that was next door to a no-garage house. It just screams CHEAP to me. I really dislike the look of cars parked outside. Luckily, most of our neighbors park in their garages.

Having lived in apartments all my life, well, one did have underground parking, a garage was my main requirement. No scraping frost in the fall! Yippee!!!

So interesting to read the comments here. In my 39 years I have never heard anyone say that cars parked in a driveway looked "ghetto" or that not having a garage was "cheap". I grew up in a quiet upper class neighborhood with huge old victorians and while everyone had a one car garage most used them for storage, not their cars...and I live in the northeast! It never occurred to me I lived in a ghetto! We just bought a 100 year old home without a garage. Some homes on our street have them, some don't, so there are cars parked in driveways. The house directly next door to us just sold for 860k...so I am not sure I live in a "cheap" neighborhood, either. Either way, the letter writer has a beautiful home, and I am sure if he decides to sell, someone will walk in and know they just walked into the home meant for them. Good luck!

^^^^^^^^^ Oh Susanna!!! You are comparing apples and oranges...The complaints are based on the fact this home HAD a garage!!!! And furthermore there are many "old" expensive homes that didn't have a garage,and i am certain nobody is referring to them..My assertion of "ghetto" looking is based on the fact many people do indeed have a garage and for one reason or another choose not to use it..Then several cars are stacked in the driveway,creating an eyesore..This is most prevalent in subdivisions built in 50's to early 70's..

I am also certain nobody will argue the fact the OP's kitchen is fabulous,just that to get that 'fab' kitchen,they rid themselves of a TWO car garage!!!! Not so smart,imho

I was so astonished by the following statement (made by a poster to this thread) that I took the issue to another forum. No one had ever heard of such a thing - everyone with or without a garage parks their cars in the driveway and doesn't consider that it dimishes their neighbourhoods.

"No way would I purchase a house without a garage. In fact, like some previous poster, I probably would not purchase a house that was next door to a no-garage house. It just screams CHEAP to me. I really dislike the look of cars parked outside. Luckily, most of our neighbors park in their garages."

haha, in fact, I'm thinking it IMPROVES home values, since housing values and sales in my city are still rising ;-)

I don't know about anyone else but we had two kids with cars and my husband and I each had a car - that totaled 4 cars. My teenagers (young adults) had to park in the driveway as we had a two-car garage. My neighbor had 4 kids = 6 cars. Two car garage but hubby had a classic Corvette 1970, which was parked alone in the 2-car garage. She had 6 cars parked in her driveway.

We never thought of our neighborhood as ghetto. Houses in the neighborhood sold for 8 - 1.6M. New houses today might have 3-car garage. That still leaves one car in the driveway if the people only have 2 kids.

I would want a house with a garage, but would be willing to build one if the space was present. I think the OP's house looks very nice. I wouldn't have a problem buying it.

My neighborhood has large child friendly houses as well. Those children grow into teenagers with cars. We have four children and at one time had as many as 5 cars. 2 car garage, you do the math. I have no problem with cars parking in driveways and don't think it makes a neighborhood look cheap. But to each his own.

That being said. If a home in my neighborhood converted their garage to living space, the value of the home would be negatively impacted. Where I grew up, city of Chicago, it was rare to have a garage for off street parking. But where I live now, a garage is expected

I live in a community with houses on 1-5 acres. Most everyone has one or more garages (we have two double garages) but not everyone uses them to park cars. I confess that even with the two garages I don't park in the garage....

I would personally buy a house without a garage if there was room to build one if wanted. I do think it is a big negative to most buyers though not to have one.

Marjen wrote: "I have plenty of space to add a garage. UNfortunately the spot I would love to build it does not work due to the slope, the foundation would be like 12 ft deep."

What about adding a carport?

That would give people some protection from snow and ice for their cars. I'm guessing it wouldn't help with a frost, but if I parked in my drive, I'd probably get a car cover, even if only for the window area.

If you remove the old drive, and pour a new one (Even if it's mostly in the same spot, but shaped differently), it might not look so much like that used to be

A carport works for frost too. It slowly falls out of the air and settles on stuff almost like dew. If your in a carport there's no scraping.

replacing the "missing" garage with a carport would be the worst thing to do..The OP has a high-end kitchen,and is going to add a low-rent carport?..carports have their place, but NOT in this situation...

I never fail to be amazed at people that fill their garage with $1500 worth of junk while letting a 40-50k car set outside.

Protecting your car from the elements will greatly increase the life of it.

WOW ready some of these comments are crazy. I too never realized not using a garage was "ghetto" lol. Yes most houses around here have a garage, most in fact, but MANY people dont always use them. It is VERy common to see a car or two sitting in the driveway. Not sure how that is a bad thing.

With regards to it not looking like a garage. Our town, and whole state for that matter is VERY hilly. Many homes have a garage under the house and guess what they put above it? A room. Very much like mine. So on many houses here in the northeast, no it would not look like it used to be a garage, it just looks like a large room from the front. It could have a garage under it. We will see what happens. I may built one, if we stay I will fo sure. If not I will see what happens if i try and sell.

I agree with your WOW marjen ... amazing comments ... ghetto, cheap, low-rent ... glad those people don't live near me, but they wouldn't since I live on a farm. LOL!

I also made my 600 sq ft garage (previously was a hunting cabin) into a 600 sq ft family room. Though I have 20 acres, I did not add a garage ... just another building to get taxed on.

And I live in the snowbelt south of Buffalo, NY ... so I brush the snow off my truck every morning in the winter before I go to work. No big deal, just part of my morning rountine after I walk the dogs. I also prefer snow over earthquakes, fires, mud slides, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods.

marjen, there are buyers out there for most properties. Good luck on your sale.

I wouldn't live in a house without a garage, although I would consider a carport in certain parts of the country.

In fact, we didn't even want to look at houses unless they had a 3 car attached garage, or had a 2 car attached garage that could be added on to.

We do keep 3 cars in our oversized 3 car garage, but still have one in the driveway. I don't think of it as looking low-rent at all--and neither do our neighbors who also have cars in the driveways :-)

Of course there are homes when cars are in driveways that don't look "urban", but i think suburbs that look like the link,are what i am referring to

Here is a link that might be useful: Driveways

Wow yes! The article attached to that photo says it all. We are harmed by living in "exclusive" neighborhoods full of three car garages and people who don't speak to each other. Our lust for more for ourselves and less for our communities is doing us in.

I like the article's suggestion of turning one house in a suburban neighborhood into a convenience store...maybe the oversized clubhouse? :-) So would you buy a house next to a convenience store? I could imagine all the kids biking over to the store to pick up eggs and milk on Saturday mornings. It sounds lovely to me.

We are very luck that in a year or two my kids will be able to do that right where we live...a 15 minute walk from a major grocery store.

^^^, we have a small farm behind our home, the neighborhood was built to blend in with it..We go get fresh eggs when the sign is up, the thought of having a small convinience store in place of one of the homes would never happen,ever.

And "not" talking to a neighbor and doing less for one's communties has NOTHING to do with home size or lot size,or things people may own, it has to do with PEOPLE,and their personal selfishness.I know plenty of people with all of life's trappings, and they are the ncies/kindest,most giving people you'd meet..I also know some less fortunate people who walk around with the proverbial "chip on their shoulder" like everyone owes them something

I also thought the "before" kitchen was the new kitchen and thought it was VERY nice! The "after" kitchen is spectacular.

Living in snowy Michigan -- I am in the "never buy a house without a garage" camp. Our cars are in the always in the garage when we are home. They stay much cleaner and warmer that way.

The farm fresh eggs sound wonderful. I was being facetious qdwag. The article you posted a link to actually said just that, that our social behavior is directly affected by our community structure, size, and isolation. I have no idea if that's really true but its an interesting concept.

Neighborhoods are comprised of "neighbors", and some neighborhoods have great interaction,and others have none...Sometimes it takes one's self to "start" the interaction ;)

In some communities HOA's prohibit parking vehicles outside overnight. Why? Because it is less attractive. It IS! These are typically new developments where homes are built with large garages. The HOA's expect the garages to be used to house cars.

Them's the facts. But all real estate is 'local', subject to what's acceptable there.

I have *never* seen a garage conversion that didn't look like a garage conversion from the exterior -- and often from the interior. OP, have you removed the driveway and landscaped? Is overnight street parking permitted?

I grew up in NYC. No one had cars (no where to park), you walked to everything or took the subway or bus. It was great. Lots of public parks, and people and things to do.

But...rarely did you know your neighbors. Live in apartments for years and never really get to know who lives next-door to you.

Being a 'baby-boomer' I loved the idea of communal living in the 60's. But it never really became a reality. People wanted their own space were not really 'community spirited.'

Jane