Levittown Garages Converted Into Living Space - Yay or Nay? (fit in, loan)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've been looking at listings in Levittown and see alot of houses with garages (or at least what I think used to be garages) converted into living space. I wonder how people feel about this. On the one hand, I think garages can be a waste of space. They usually just turn into a place to store "junk" - but then again "junk" has to go somewhere! I know that's what we always do. We store stuff in our garage and never park our car in it. However, I know in Levittown a large majority of the houses don't have basements. So if a house in Levittown has a converted garage and no basement, where do the homeowners store their stuff? Has anyone here lived in or seen one of these houses with a converted garage? If so, what did you think? Good idea or bad idea?
We recently closed on our house and remember seeing homes in Levittown just as you described. It makes no sense to me. Personally, I think its awful. A converted garage has all sorts of issues - for one, illegal living space (no CoC/permit for it), electrical/plumbing may not have been to code, the space itself would not be appealing to buyers, etc. Converted garages also mean the potential for delayed closings as the seller will either be forced to tear it down to make it legal again, or you will have to do it in order for the bank to approve the loan.
Any listing we saw that advertised converted garage, we would cross off our list. We actually park a car inside our garage, and it was a must-have (ideally we wanted a 2 car garage, but we settled for a 1.5). The majority of homes you see that have garage conversions, and have storage sheds in their yard is basically code for "we have too much stuff that doesnt fit in the house or our house is just too small for our family."
I seen garages legally converted to living spaces. Actually one of my friends is adding living space on the top of his garage!...cost a few hundred grand.
Personally, I must have a garage. I actually put my cars inside
I have a legally converted garage and love it. It is usable living space and it is very desirable. That is why many people put it in the listings. The only downside would be if there was a buyer who needed or wanted a garage.
Anyone that I know that bought a house with a garage converted into a room has regretted it. It's not about a place to store junk but more of a place where you can keep things from from deteriorating. I have a detached 2 car garage on a small property. I would much rather have the garage than the extra space. I keep everything in there. My lawn furniture, kids toys, lawn equipment, tools, my grills and all other things that I don't want stored outside. I don't want to buy new lawn furniture after a few years. They don't last long sitting out in the elements and they get nasty.
If I were to buy a house without a garage I'd make sure that there was enough space on the yard to put up a large shed.
Another noteworthy comment is many houses in Levittown don't have a basement. Not able to store items in a basement, garage or an big attic could be a deal breaker.
Status:
"Let this year be over..."
(set 23 days ago)
Location: Where my bills arrive
19,219 posts, read 17,095,590 times
Reputation: 15538
What would be the use of the new room? So many older houses (mine included) have both a formal Living room and a Play Room/Family room which is all we use. Personally I could take the living room and turn it into a walk in closet and no but the cat would miss it, he like to sleep in there. I think the garage is far more valuable than another finished room to dust.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
! But I'm not a guy, lol! So I'll await some female responses. 
