Enclosed Garage

[SunbeltAppraisals]

I’m appraising a small SFR with an enclosed garage and the realtor reports no permits pulled. I’m waiting for a response from the permits dept. The quality of the construction is consistent with the main living area.

I usually report the cost to convert back to a garage if no permits are pulled. The market is primarily covered parking.

There is a small 18' door from the master bathroom to this room/garage. Not code. Nice upgrade though...

How do others address this situation?
What disclosures does one include?

 

[Josh Shapiro]

Has the garage door been removed? Has the H/AC duct work been extended and the unit upgraded to included the extra area?

 

[SunbeltAppraisals]

Door stil there. Same AC system however the room is ducted.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

It is still a garage conversion with functional issues and should be separated out and compared to other homes with garage conversions. How do you know the walls are properly insulated? If it is not permitted, cost to cure to return to garage utility.

Consistent with the main living area? All the main living area has a garage door to the exterior? All the main living area is accessible only though the master bedroom? All the main living area has a tiny door entry? Windows?

 

[Judy Whitehead (Florida)]

Sunbelt- I am in Florida, as well. It is rare that I consider a garage conversion living area, although I have seen one or two that qualified - raised floor, etc. Most of the time, it is way more sq. ft. than should be handled with the original CHA unit, the attic access is still in the ceiling - sometimes with the rope for the pull down stairs still dangling, and hot water heater, etc. still crouching in the corner.

Since we have no basements (or at least very few!) in Florida, our storage is limited and we find in this market that people prefer the garage area as opposed to additional living area. The floor plan may become a little disfunctional, as well, as if you use it as a bedroom, sometimes the 2nd bath is some distance away.

With an 18" door from the house and the fact that you must go through one room to get to another definitely is a functionality issue.

Finally, I don't consider myself the permit police. I simply try to appraise and report what I see and try to determine market reaction to it. Whether or not a permit was pulled for a garage conversion (in my opinion) is a minor issue compared to the functionality of the conversion. I would say that my scope of work does not include verifying all permit activity. In the way majority of our cases, I adjust for re-conversion to a garage, which is not real expensive, even if you have to rehang the garage door. If you run MLS statistics for sales of homes "with" garages and those "without" I'll bet you find very few "without." At least I do....

 

[SunbeltAppraisals]

Garage door is only accessible from the exterior, interior shows drywall. Additional entry through master bathroom, normal entry through family room.

I do have some sales.

 

[SunbeltAppraisals]

No permits pulled.

 

[SunbeltAppraisals]

I’m with you Judy. I focus on the functional issues and market acceptance.

Mid FL MLS now has "garage conversion" option under the garage features parameter.

 

[Judy Whitehead (Florida)]

Gotcha - I do see that as well, where they leave the garage door in place - probably because the homeowner figures that a potential buyer may want to reconvert it to a garage.

Again, what is the room used for - an office, since it has an entry from the master BR? I would have to got sideways through an 18" door, even though I am a size 8.

It is really up to you to make the call whether or not you consider it to be functional living area and that the market recognizes it as such, based on other similar sales. There are cases (particularly in older neighborhoods) where many of the garages have been converted to living or pseudo/living areas.

As for permits - again, I don't consider that my job. If I worried about it, I would simply add a comment in the appraisal report that I did not verify permits, as it was beyond the scope of my work. Perhaps your county is different than mine, but many conversions and additions, etc. are made over the years (again, particularly in older neighborhoods) by the homeowner and the county doesn't get excited about it. They have inspections of all structures every 3 years and the field crews of the property appraisers office reports what they see and then the homeowner is either contacted or reassessed. Sometimes they simply knock on the door, remeasure and then reassess for the additions.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Don't forget the loss of garage utility. The only times I have ever counted a garage conversion as GLA is when it can't be determined where the garage ended and GLA started. In those cases, there is no garage door (bricked to match the home or same siding, not masonite where the garage door once was), walls have been removed, flooring raised, windows added and no water heater standing in the corner. Otherwise, I always separate it and compare it to other garage conversion sales.