Off street parking with garage? What value does it add?
by
Ashley Lucas
+12
We bought our house and there is no off street parking at all. It’s a normal thing on this road and actually in this area. We also purchased the 2.6 acres directly next to our house and we are looking into putting in a driveway and 2 car garage but the driveway alone will cost around $7,000 and I was wondering what the addition of off street parking with a detached garage would possibly add to our property value and if these big expenses will be worth it for us to do or if we should just stick with a simple gravel driveway. Any thoughts?
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Real Estate values are dependent on where you live. Parking spaces especially will be more valuable in bigger cities.
That said, a garage will protect your vehicles from the elements, provide storage, and security.
I would add the garage, and the gravel driveway. At a future time consider the paved driveway. Concrete is much more expensive than black top.
My vote is spend the money for the garage. Gravel the driveway, or blacktop top it, less expensive. Check with your insurance carrier, cars that are garaged, the rates are cheaper. I am spoiled, I have never lived without a garage, even when I lived in apartments. Having a garage will make your property more desirable when you sell even if you do not recoup the entire cost, depending on how long you live there.
I don't know about PA real estate, but here in San Francisco where street parking is a nightmare, the resounding answer would be "hell yeah".
If for no other reason, it protects your cars from the elements and also provides storage for all those things you don't want stored in the house ...ie, tools, paint, sports equipment ...
It sounds like you have a large area of land to build on.
I would suggest given the size of your lot, that you consider building larger than just a 2 car garage. Or, a 2 car width, but design it deep enough for ample storage or even a workshop.
In my experience, there is no such thing as too much storage space.
It's typically only a little more expensive to build larger from the beginning, but a lot more expensive to add space on later.
Cut cost to make up for that, by doing a gravel driveway now. When finances have settled, you can always pave it later.
Also, any reason you're thinking detached instead of attached?
Attached is much more convenient in bad weather situations. . . more secure too.
Good luck.
It will greatly increase the value of your property, if your in a nice neighborhood But look at value of other properties in your neighborhood. If the other properties are run down and ill kept then it won’t increase your value all that much.
The two story idea with apartment upstairs is a great idea . . . especially for your son!
Until then, it'll make a great space for storage or an office.
For an office or apartment, for privacy reasons, maybe it's actually a good thing that it's not attached to the house.
Sounds like you're on the way to a great project.
If anything, it would provide you with a practical place to park your vehicles, and of course a garage is awesome for doing work in and securing your vehicles. If you use gravel it should be easy enough to maintain, and I think it would add some good value to your home.
You might check with a real estate agent or with your banker for financial values that such construction might add to your property.
To me, it would add great value. I wouldn't even think of purchasing a house without one. Your cars will love you for it. Be sure to add a workbench area too.