When I’m working with a buyer, one of the things they are frequently looking for is a home with a garage. Typically they don’t care if the garage is attached to the house or detached. They just want to have a garage. Most buyers think they will park their car in the garage. Buyers are always curious why many of the garages we see are filled with stuff, but no cars. Lawn mowers, bikes, sports equipment, patio furniture in the off season, strollers. It’s all jammed in there, with no room for a car. I explain that the sellers probably initially wanted a garage for their car too, but eventually life and all of its accompanying junk took over. The buyer says that will never happen to them. Sure, sure…
Over time I’ve learned that not all garages are created equal. Many people drive SUVs and when houses were built in the earlier decades of the 20th century, they just weren’t equipped for the behemoths that some drive today. Hence the buyer’s car will never fit in the garage, rendering it not-a-garage-but-a-big-storage-room to them. Other tell tale signs there will be trouble is when you see the wall of the garage lined with foam padding. That’s so the driver of the car doesn’t smash their door when they’re squeezing out because there isn’t adequate space to maneuver. So we continue searching for houses with a more sizeable garage.
I also scratch my head at garages that are advertised as 2-car, but are really only 2-car if you have 2 Mini Coopers. This is not a 2-car garage. Please don’t advertise it as one. You’re not tricking anyone.
A lovely garage, if there is such a thing, is one where you can comfortably open your car doors and also have some space for a storage area. I find that these are few and far between in most of the towns that I work in, but they are out there. Now, if sellers could just keep from completely filling them with junk so that they show well when they’re trying to sell their homes…