Attached or Detached Garages better? (Houston: houses, neighborhoods, buyer)

[texas7]

I currently live in a home with an attached garage but am looking to move and the home I am looking to move to has a detached garage. From those of you who have had both - which do you prefer and why?

I "think" I prefer attached because I drive in and I am in .... weather elements don't affect me etc. but maybe I am missing advantages/disadvantages AND for the realtors out there - does one or the other make a difference in resale value or does it not matter in the Houston market?

[Oildog]

I love my attached garage. Had detatched before...not so great in poor weather. Also can't hear if someone is breaking in.

[cheryjohns]

Doesn't really matter as to resale. It is an indicator of age. Newer homes are mostly attached.

If the buyer is looking for a particular area and likes older homes, it will most likely be a detached garage. If they want newer, the opposite.

I have had both. I like the convenience of the attached and I liked the look of the detached neighborhoods (you see house front and center, garages are usually set back).

[Malvie]

I have detached and prefer it. Several reasons:

1. Any fumes (gas, paint, exhaust) are contained in a separate building.

2. If a fire breaks out in the garage (most likely room in the house besides kitchen), more chance of containing it in that building.

3. Just like the look better---longer driveway (goes all the way down the side of the house to the back) means more space for off-street parking; not JUST for me (I have 2 cars, have room to park 6 in the driveway) but for my neighbors as well (meaning the street's not lined with cars). Further, you can look down the street in front and while you can see some cars, mostly it's clearer/less cluttered/more park-like. (And wouldn't you know, the guy down the street with a wife and 3 teenage boys (and he has a company truck as well) has the smallest driveway in the neighborhood (for a giant 2-story house), so he has 5 trucks and an SUV parked in front of his house).

4. Heat in summer---I've seen many neighborhoods where the homeowners have to leave the garage door "cracked" at the bottom or just plain open in the summer time just to let the heat out. At least if all that heat is in a separate building it's a different attic, etc. Saves on electricity, imho.



As far as to which is preferable or brings more resale value, honestly, in Houston, I don't think it matters. There are thousands of houses here with both.

As far as "getting wet", my garage is attached to my house via a breezeway, so there's no getting wet.

[sje2081]

I much prefer detached.

Makes the house look so much better IMO. Attached where the garages dominate the front of the house is just so ugly. Plus detached garages usually mean longer driveways and less parked cars visible from the street (another pet peeve of mine).

Convenience (nor weather with a breezeway) isn't a factor for me.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I like my detached for the reasons already stated; I also have a car port over the section prior to the garage, so that is where we park the cars, and that really leaves me the garage as a workshop, though I park a car in there once in a while when I need the space under the car port. The car port was original to the house, and so does not look cheap. The breezeway is also part of the structure, so weather is never an issue.

I lived in two homes with the attached garage. I just can't get used the feeling of stepping out of the garage into the living room, or kitchen. Likewise, I can't get used to stepping in the front door of a home and being immediately in the living room.

I prefer the more formal aspects of the home, a foyer, and utility room prior to entering the home other than the front door. Also, to me (I said me), homes with attached garages just look cheap. In my opinion, it is just an ugly site to see an otherwise nice home with 1/4 or more of the front being an ugly patch of concrete. Even worse with oil, or rust stains on it. I, again, like the formal look of a nice lawn in front of the home with just the sidewalk leading from the curb to the front enterance, and the driveway either in back, or far to the side.

You know what, most people don't even think of this. Try this, next time you drive the neighborhood, look at homes with the garage attached vs. the detached, and make up your mind that way.

[texas7]

Thanks for all your input - I like the convenience of attached but the looks of the detached so I appreciate the opinions and pros and cons pointed out by people who have had both.

[ChocolateBabz]

We have the best of both world's - a double garage (attached) and a single (semi-detached) - you have to walk under the 'porte cochere' to get in through the side door.

Hubby has all his in the single garage which leaves the double completely empty for the cars and bikes.

I am always amazed at how many garages I see that are stuffed full of to the point that you can't fit a car in.

[Ellen Pitts]

My father-in-law is a retired fireman. He says the garage should ALWAYS be detached. W3e used to own a home with an attached garage and he always griped at us. But in our area of the country detached wasn't really an option. In Houston, it is. The house we are getting has a detached garage. I really like the look of it as well.

[GettaClue]

We've had both and greatly prefer side-facing attached for looks, security and convenience.

Also, our last two insurers have given us a discount for having attached. I don't really know why, only that they did.