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Buying or Selling a Home/How much does adding a garage increase home value

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Expert: - 7/20/2006


Question
Jessica,
Currently am purchasing a house in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.  House has a beat up old single car garage.  We will be reselling the house in about three years.  A new 2 car garage kit will cost me around $5,ooo.  Would this be a good way to add value to the home when it comes time to sell in another three years?

Thanks,
Terry Nystrom

Answer
Dear Terry,
According to a recent survey of REALTORS across the country a two car garage adds some value to a home.  Depending upon the area in which you are located this value can be anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000. A good deal depends upon weather in the area and if other homes have garages.  If yours is the only home without a garagae, then it is almost a must to add one. without one, you will have to take off a considerable amount of money--perhaps up to $10,000 off the resale price. If, however, most homes don't have garages, adding one will only enhance the value by a few thousand dollars.  Another variable is the size of the home versus the garage size.  If your home is small, then a 1-car garage is perhaps the norm and adding a two car garage may not add as much value as in a larger home where a 2 car garage is almost a foregone conclusion. You can see that there is no hard and fast rule.  Most home improvements cost more to do than their final resale value. Consequently I always advise people to do what makes the most sense for them.  It isn't always about value--there is some personal enjoyment to consider as well.

~Jessica Bryan

Buying or Selling a Home

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Jessica Bryan

Expertise

buying and selling process such as:
General questions from first time buyers
How to market a home
Why choose a REALTOR
How do I find a REALTOR
Should I consider buying or selling without a REALTOR--how much can I save
Should I remodel or move
How much can I expect to gain by fixing up my home before selling
Helpful tips when selling
Helpful tips when buying
finding a good mortgage loan
what is the difference between banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers
Questions from the general public, people thinking about getting their real estate license, newly licensed.
Fellow professionals who have interests in networking and how to get started
What is a market evaluation and how does it differ from an appraisal what are the different loan programs
services a REALTOR can perform
when to use a lawyer
when to use escrow
what are the regional differences in the buying and selling process
what is the MLS and how does it work
how can the layman access information on the web--listings and other information
These are just a few of the questions. I can suggest that if I am unable to answer a question I will refer the inquiry to a source that can.

Experience

Anyone who is in this business and who dedicates oneself to professionalism has continued to take classes and along with it,additional credentials, awards and honors. I can list a host of them, but my greatest accomplishments happen to be those of getting first time buyers (who didn't think they could afford to buy a home)into a home of their dreams. The look on their faces when I hand over the keys is worth all of the hard work.

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