Whenever you consider making a large change to your home, it is a good idea to keep resale value in mind. Unless you plan on owning your home for the rest of your life, you will need to put it back on the market at some point. If you make undesirable changes to your home in order to make it more appropriate for your living situation, you might find yourself regretting the choice when your house languishes, unsold, for months.
Some additions are typically safe investments. So long as you are conforming to building codes, adding space on to your home will almost always increase your property value. Some additions are less clear-cut, and should be considered wisely before proceeding. Many homeowners wonder if converting their garage to a living space would give them a leg up against the competition, and others don’t know if they can expect to recoup the cost of a new garage door when they sell. We’ve done the research and can pass our findings on to you, so that you can be an informed consumer.
Peggy Patenaude, a realtor near Boston, had this to say: “I think a two-car attached or detached garage can add $30,000 to a home’s value; a one-car attached or detached garage may increase it by $15,000 to $20,000.”
Grant Cardone, a real estate investor and author from Los Angeles, also believes that the investment is a good one. “The average two-car garage will return the investment two to two-and-a-half times,” he says.
Clearly, having a garage on your home is desirable. Many shoppers are specifically looking for garages and won’t settle for a home without one. Carports provide some measure of protection and are attractive to buyers, but do not match the appeal of a full garage. Either option, however, is better than converting a garage into a living space. Almost all experts agree, converting a valuable garage into a poorly-built extra room only detracts from a home’s desirability.
Your home’s value is determined by numerous factors, including some beyond your control. You can’t change the neighborhood around you or your geographic location, but you can remodel or build additions to increase your home’s value. A less expensive and easier option is to increase your home’s curb appeal. Your home has to entice potential buyers from the road before they will even consider looking inside.
Dave Seymour, star of A&E’s Flipping Boston, said in an interview with ABC News that an attractive new door could yield a 400%-1000% return on investment. A survey of 300 realtors decided that a new door can increase the total value of your property by up to 4%. Installing a new garage door is consistently rated as one of the best ways to increase your home’s value, without spending the time and money of a full addition.
According to Remodeling magazine’s most recent Cost vs. Value report, a garage door replacement is among the top five best home improvement projects for homeowners looking for a return on investment. The same report found that, on average, a new door recoups 84% of its investment.
Clearly, a new garage door is an excellent way to improve your home’s resale value and to increase your curb appeal, which will give you a larger pool of potential buyers. Garage doors come in a variety of styles designed to compliment your home’s exterior, ranging from rustic to modern, and deciding if you want a door with windows or perhaps an insulated door can also help you stand apart from your neighbors.
Lastly, when selling your home, make sure to pay attention to the state of your garage. The Thomson’s Company, who sell water seal products, found that 91% of people are more likely to buy a home with a well maintained garage, and 70% feel that the garage’s organization reflects on the owner. Some simple power washing and organizing can help make your property an even more attractive option for potential buyers.
When selling your home, make sure not to forget the garage, since your potential buyers certainly won’t.