Is this a crazy idea?

"Quadradeuce" (quadradeuce)
05/16/2016 at 11:25 • Filed to: None

Stick with me, this is car related. So my wife and I are buying the run-down rental house next door. Why? Mainly, we want control over the property. In the past, the renters were reasonably tolerable, but we have had several incidents over the years, some of which have had to involve the police. PSA: no, you can’t use the space between your house and your neighbor’s as a urinal.

The house in question. There is a small workshop off the back that will be demo’d. Our house is on the right, with an addition currently being added. They are about 16-18' apart.

The house is in poor shape. It was probably built in the 1880s, and it was last renovated in the 1960s. Based on area home values, we would have to put more money into it than it would be worth. So the options are: raze it, move it, or convert it into something that is more viable.

As far as razing it, it is a nationally listed historic property, which doesn’t stop us from bulldozing it but it wouldn’t engender much goodwill in our neighborhood. Moving it might be viable since the local historic society museum is across the street and they have an empty lot and a desire to expand the museum.

The third option is the most intriguing, and also why I am posting this here on a automotive blog: turning it into a garage. The house is about 23' wide, and I have determined that the inside dimension would be at least 20-21'. Not great, but many garages are narrower. However, it is 31' deep, allowing plenty of storage in front of the cars.

Scale drawing with our two cars inside.

I have assessed the structure and determined that it is possible to remove the first floor without compromising the second floor, which would probably be used for storage and a rec room. There is just a crawlspace underneath which doesn’t pose any issues. I have also talked with the city and they don’t see any issues. From a money standpoint, we would just have to demo the first floor space...pretty cheap compared to bringing it back to 2016 code for habitation.

The big question is: is this a weird thing to do? If you were looking at buying a house and it had something like this on the property, would it scare you away? I.E. will doing this make it hard for us to sell the house down the road, or would this be seen as a great feature.

As a side note, there is a small apartment that goes off to the right that we would fix up for a bit of airBnB income during NFL games.

What do you think? Are we nuts, or would this be awesome?

DISCUSSION (21)

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 11:30

Having a garage that nice in that kind of neighborhood would be awesome. Keep it historic andcool and everyone will be happy and you’ll have a place for your cars. Do it.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 11:35

can you merge both properties and connect the houses with a mudroom? I’m thinking doing that would put your house way above the average price range over the rest fo the neighborhood

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 11:35

I think it would be awesome.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 11:37

I think it’s a great idea especially if you can keep a more traditional appearance out front.

The idea of renting out the upstairs is brilliant to recoup the cost. Once you break even you could always stop renting it out too.

Patrick Glace > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 11:39

I think it would be totally sweet, but I think you need to execute it really well to make it marketable. High-end finishes, maybe wood or frosted glass garage doors would be cool. Maybe do a breezeway connection or something to build continuity between the two structures? Good luck!

d15b > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 11:44

DO IT!

Rainbow > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 11:54

I’d have the second floor sealed off from the garage below, with its own entrance. Make sure it has a bathroom with at least a shower and a minimalist kitchen area. That way, when it comes time to sell, you can pitch it as a guest house and/or rental property.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 11:59

Do it. Just make it look good. I know I’d rather have something like that in my neighborhood than a poorly maintained house. You could also add a breezeway between the two buildings.

DynamicWeight > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 12:14

No pissing the back yard? I THOUGHT THIS WAS AMERICA!

Oh, and as far as the house garage goes, I think it’s a really cool idea, and many others on this car enthusiast website will also think it’s a good idea. However, none of us have the money to buy your property when you’re done with it. For the right people, they’re going to love it, but for most, I think the extra big lot or traditional garage would be more enticing. I’d love to be wrong about this.

Does your house not already have a garage?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 12:22

Would the second floor and the small apartment need to be brought to the same code for habitation though if you did all of that? I definitely like the garage idea, you could even just make it a one car space with the other area being for maintenance (an installed lift, air tools, the whole nine yards!). But yeah if you can swing it, having some living area on the second floor would be sweet. You could turn the whole building into a man cave of sorts and call it a Garage-Mahal.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 12:47

11/10 awesome.

Somethin' 'bout a truck > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
05/16/2016 at 13:02

This is the right answer.

adamftw > OPPOsaurus WRX
05/16/2016 at 13:06

This. Sounds like an awesome project, something I would definitely be into doing.

JRapp: now as good as new again > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 13:15

I can’t find the article now, but this reminds me of the old man that built a garage door to look like existing front of a house on some small English street.

shop-teacher > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 13:45

It’d be cheaper to give the historical society the house, let them move it, and then build a new garage from scratch. You can then make it bigger as well. That would be a win-win.

Bonus would be a nice tax deduction for the donation.

Quadradeuce > OPPOsaurus WRX
05/16/2016 at 14:30

We would merge the two lots. We’ve kicked around the idea of connecting them, but ultimately it would be more cash than it’s worth. It’s close enough to the mudroom on our house that it would make more sense to just treat it like a detached garage.

My neighborhood is kind of weird. My street is a riverside drive, and there are a couple blocks of old mansions that command 7 figure prices. The normal houses on the street get a bit of a premium as a result. Doubling our lot and adding a carriage house could potentially net us a return. Who knows? But we assume this is a money loser, which is OK because we plan to be here for another 2o years.

Quadradeuce > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/16/2016 at 14:31

Yes, the apartment would have to be brought up to code, but it would end up being about 1/3 of the work and cost of fixing up the whole structure.

Quadradeuce > DynamicWeight
05/16/2016 at 14:34

Actually it does already have a detached garage. A pretty nice one too. Coincidentally, the backdoor neighbor needs to rebuild his garage. The plan would be to have him buy my detached garage for a very reasonable sum and move it across the alley, which is not as hard to do as it sounds when you only have to go 100'.

Quadradeuce > shop-teacher
05/16/2016 at 14:39

That is the cheapest option, if they would be game to do it. I am going to talk to them on Thursday after we close on the house.

shop-teacher > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 14:44

I think it would be not only cheaper, but a better result in the long run. Keep us posted!

DynamicWeight > Quadradeuce
05/16/2016 at 15:16

I’m liking the idea more and more. That will net you a much larger yard space. It’s kitschy, but could really work out nicely if it’s kept nice and tasteful.