3 car vs 4 car garage option (sales, house, buyer)

[dadof2divas]

We are looking to build a house and was wondering what the return on the difference of a 3 car to a 4 car garage would be? The option price on the 4th car garage is less then $9000 so not that big of a deal. How do appraisers see the additional garages? Are the money well spent? I know not that many people have them but the additional space would be great to have.

[ReadyFreddy]

I don't think it'll matter much to a future appraisal... maybe $5k if you get a generous appraiser. Are any of the bays tandem style? I know many appraisers that won't even count those 'inner bays' as addl. garage bays. They count it as 'storage areas'. I counted those as addl. garage bays when I appraised. I think most people use their 3rd and 4th (and often 1st and 2nd!) bays as non-car storage anyway-- boats, bikes, mowers, quads, junk. So the fact a 3rd bay is buried behind another bay to me isn't that much of a minus. I think a 4th bay isn't highly demanded in the marketplace, which is what drives appraisal values.

So bottom line, get it if you want it but don't expect full payback.

[dadof2divas]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

I don't think it'll matter much to a future appraisal... maybe $5k if you get a generous appraiser. Are any of the bays tandem style? I know many appraisers that won't even count those 'inner bays' as addl. garage bays. They count it as 'storage areas'. I counted those as addl. garage bays when I appraised. I think most people use their 3rd and 4th (and often 1st and 2nd!) bays as non-car storage anyway-- boats, bikes, mowers, quads, junk. So the fact a 3rd bay is buried behind another bay to me isn't that much of a minus. I think a 4th bay isn't highly demanded in the marketplace, which is what drives appraisal values.

So bottom line, get it if you want it but don't expect full payback.

It is a full 4 car side by side with the 4th being kind of set back from the first 3 doors. The lot will also have a RV gate to go with it. I hope I could get the garage price back. What do the appraisers give per garage?

[jimj]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

I don't think it'll matter much to a future appraisal... maybe $5k if you get a generous appraiser. Are any of the bays tandem style? I know many appraisers that won't even count those 'inner bays' as addl. garage bays. They count it as 'storage areas'. I counted those as addl. garage bays when I appraised. I think most people use their 3rd and 4th (and often 1st and 2nd!) bays as non-car storage anyway-- boats, bikes, mowers, quads, junk. So the fact a 3rd bay is buried behind another bay to me isn't that much of a minus. I think a 4th bay isn't highly demanded in the marketplace, which is what drives appraisal values.

So bottom line, get it if you want it but don't expect full payback.

Not to mention it raises property taxes right? I'm all for a 3 car but paying for the 4th both in build cost and taxes wouldn't be high on my list unless it was an RV garage.

[ReadyFreddy]

I don't know why it'd raise property taxes. But you could be right. I think they just go off 'assessed value' and I don't think it'd matter much to that. It won't add in to livable square footage or anything.

I don't think going from 3 to 4 garage bays is really going to be a significant appraisal adjustment. There just isn't that much demand in the market for a 4th bay, so it's not like appraisers can say 'the average buyer will pay $X more for a 4th bay so I'll adjust the subject up by $X since all my comps have 3 bays'. Though they might. Appraising is not a very standard thing, though some common items like pools do tend to be. I'd be surprised if any appraiser gave it more than $5k.

If you keep the house more than a year, it won't matter much. You never really know just what part of your house is contributing what to its market value. Usually the land is the appreciating part and the rest depreciates like any other wasting asset (like a car) but R.E. has some weird market factors and conditions. And all you should really need the 4th bay to add value for is your buyer. The odds of it appraising for a contracted sales price are very good, if it's a fair price. The cost and market value of that 4th bay will very likely not kill a deal or anything.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by dadof2divas

We are looking to build a house and was wondering what the return on the difference of a 3 car to a 4 car garage would be? The option price on the 4th car garage is less then $9000 so not that big of a deal. How do appraisers see the additional garages? Are the money well spent? I know not that many people have them but the additional space would be great to have.

Go for it, Dadof2divas . . .

You can never have too much storage space and, as you've already stated, 9,000 bucks is "not that big of a deal."

Sounds like a great investment to me.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by Bummer

Go for it, Dadof2divas . . .

You can never have too much storage space and, as you've already stated, 9,000 bucks is "not that big of a deal."

Sounds like a great investment to me.

Not if it alters the curb appeal in a negative way. Just sayin'

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by Bummer

Go for it, Dadof2divas . . .

You can never have too much storage space and, as you've already stated, 9,000 bucks is "not that big of a deal."

Sounds like a great investment to me.

I wouldn't necessarily build and buy for the POTENTIAL resale value... who knows, in ten years styles and trends may be very different. Maybe detached garages with lube pits and lifts, or even open-sided wikiups will be all the rage.

Personally, that extra storage space is great if you need it. I have a 3-car with a truck, a car and a tractor and am pretty much out of space. Of course, that makes me an oddity; I use my garage for vehicles. One consideration: The larger garage is potentially a larger heat sink or a larger buffer (insulator) in the summer, depending on the orientation of the house.

I think the real bottom line is, will YOU use it?

[dadof2divas]

Originally Posted by SluggoF16

I wouldn't necessarily build and buy for the POTENTIAL resale value... who knows, in ten years styles and trends may be very different. Maybe detached garages with lube pits and lifts, or even open-sided wikiups will be all the rage.

Personally, that extra storage space is great if you need it. I have a 3-car with a truck, a car and a tractor and am pretty much out of space. Of course, that makes me an oddity; I use my garage for vehicles. One consideration: The larger garage is potentially a larger heat sink or a larger buffer (insulator) in the summer, depending on the orientation of the house.

I think the real bottom line is, will YOU use it?

I am planning on putting a woodshop in the 4th bay. I think I will use it but the curb appeal is something that I am considering. Not sure on what it is going to look like with the 4th garage.

[Jkgourmet]

May I suggest that you pose this question to a group of women? I'm gonna guess that the women will say "No, it looks terrible from the outside and we'll just end up storing more stuff" while the guy are saying "Yes, great idea, so I'll have room for [fill in the blank]."

Yep, I know - it's a sexist remark. But this female thinks it's an accurate remark.