Carport value ?

[billman]

Hello,

Got a question about carports. I'm in the midwest US and own a house that's worth about $120k. Housing appreciates about 1% a year here.

The "2-car" garage is 17' 8" inches inside width, which is pretty tight - I can get two cars in but it requires great care, so it's more like a 1.5 car garage.

I've considered taking that 1/2 car's worth of space and making a proper laundry/utility room, as the laundry and utilities are in the entryway, of all things. To park another car I could just do a carport (roof on poles), as a new garage in this area will not pay for itself.

So the question is, on paper I'd be dropping down from a 2-car garage, to a 1-car garage + a carport. What would you see different in the appraised value for this parking arrangement ? Is it $1k, $3k, $5k ?

Thank you much - Billman

 

[Thomas Fiehler]

Not knowing your specific market, in general you will likely see a decline in the value along with a house that will appeal to a smaller market segment.

 

[RSW]

I've never seen a 1/2 car. If you cannot get two cars in the garage side by side and get out of them easily, then it would be an over sized one car garage. Would the carport addition be on the side of the existing garage or in front of it?

 

[Thomas Fiehler]

RSW-I believe some of the new hybrids might be that 1/2 car!

 

[billman]

Carport question

Hello, it's a long ranch house, the garage is on the far left as you face the house from the street. Garage door in front. The inside of the garage is 17' 8" wide, wall-wall. The garage door opening is only 15' 6". So I bought it as a 2-car garage but that's stretching the truth.

There's enough room to put a carport at the left end of the house, next to the garage. A few houses have these in our neighborhood. I could even put an outside door from the carport area into the garage.

The reason I ask is that a simple carport can be done for $1,000. Even just a single car garage would be almost 10 grand. So if the appraisal value of the two scenarios is about the same:

1) 1-car garage plus carport plus I get a 9x15 utility room back
2) tight 2-car garage

...then I'm thinking carport.

I think I'll drive all over the neighborhood and see what I think of the aesthetics of houses with carports. I do have the option of putting the carport next to the garage either at the front of the house, or set it back from the front.

Thank you for the replies.

 

[Mztk1]

A one a half car garage is usually between 14' and 16' feet wide. Once you get to 18' or real close to it, that's a two car even though it may be cramped. The old rule of thumb was you need 9' for a garage. You are real close, and I think it is close enough.

Like General Fiehler said, the differences in a garage and carport vary from market to market, so how much it effects value is not really possible for us to know without doing a market study on it. In nearly all cases, however, a carport is worth less than a garage. If you do anything with the other 1/2, for resale possibilities, you should make it very easy to convert back to a two car garage.

 

[Thomas N. Morgan]

The modifications you envision would probably not affect in any measurable way how much someone would be willing to pay you for your house. If the change would make the home more useful to you, go ahead and do it.