Garage vs Carport (Scottsdale, Buckeye: for sale, rental, houses)

[gamebird98]

As I continue to scroll through the homes for sale, I am seeing that some have a garage and some have only a "carport". Here in Upstate NY, its most desirable to have a garage. This helps keep the vehicles out of the blustery winds in the winter and provides a place for yard equipment. (snowblower/lawn mower etc.) Also provides some place for DIY projects. Wondering what are the thoughts and/or preferences of the folks that live in Arizona.

[locolife]

I still prefer a garage here but keeping your car out of the blistering sun is priority #1. A carport 2ill of course do that but you'll be lacking storage for home equipment, I personally limited my search to houses with garages or carports I could easily convert to a garage.

[BuckeyeBoyDJ]

Carports aren't that common as far as I can tell. You'll only find them in some older homes. Garages are far more common and much more desirable for obvious reasons. You can't storage items in a carport because of the open concept (i.e. theft).

[locolife]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeBoyDJ

Carports aren't that common as far as I can tell. You'll only find them in some older homes. Garages are far more common and much more desirable for obvious reasons. You can't storage items in a carport because of the open concept (i.e. theft).

We were targeting south Scottsdale at one point and almost every house there seemed to have a carport, some had already been converted to garages. I believe those homes were from the 50's and 60's. It seems like by the 70's most middle class single family homes had garages, just my observations from an extensive home search 2 years ago. We also wanted to stay close to the city and preferred block over wood frame/stucco construction.

[pbenjamin]

The one advantage of a carport is you are likely to actually put your car in it. A lot of people here seem to fill up their garage(s) with junk and then park in front of them.

[SluggoF16]

The home I grew up in (South Scottsdale, Allied Homes) was a block home with the carport in the back, built in 1960. From the street he home did not look like it had a carport or garage at all. It was inconvenient so we only parked on the street or in the driveway. Some of the models had out-front carports, but only one converted garage was on the street. Newer homes (after ~1970) seemed to start having enclosed garages.


They were tougher to keep clean after a monsoon. Which was one of my chores as I got older.

[Bummer]

Think about it . . .

To those common Street Thugs roaming the neighborhood looking for trouble, nothing screams "No One Is Home" more than an an empty carport.

[LBTRS]

A carport would suck...can't secure your car in the garage. Always dusty from being outside. No place to store things that you don't want others to have access to like you can in a garage.

[kell490]

Only single advantage I see with a carport is you don't get the heat being trapped you do when you get home and pull a hot car into a already warm garage let it bake in there for 2 hours. Most people converted their carports to garages on older homes which ins't that expensive.

[ScottsdaleMark]

A lot of people convert their carports, but more often than not they are converted into extra indoor/living space, not actual garage space. I lived in a rental house once that had done this. You parked in the short driveway or on the street, period. I understand people's desire for interior living space but I hated not having a garage, I am one of those people who just hates parking outside -- the less time my cars spend in the sun and dust, the better. Garages are great for both general storage and parking cars although PBenjamin is absolutely right that garages often end up full of junk or shop space or what have you and the cars end up outside. This is not solely restricted to smaller homes...I've seen people with three or four car garages that are so full of storage totes and shop equipment and what have you, that all their cars have to stay outside 24/7.