Double garage or two large bedrooms

[DaveS]

Hey Guys
Chasing your opinions here, I have recently bought a property where the current owners have converted the original double garage into two large bedrooms. (I am not 100% sure if they could legally be classed as bedrooms though) The house is a mid 80's built brick and tile, slab on ground and was a 3,2,2, and is now a 5,2,0 and at the moment has no undercover parking. They have done a good job of the conversion and although my original plan was to convert back to a garage I am having second thoughts due to the cost of it (gyprock, plaster, paint and new roller doors.) and also trying to decide which way the property would return more rent while also securing a quality tenant.
I am going to replace the bathrooms, repaint the whole inside, put down new floor coverings and it already has a new kitchen so it will be like a new home on the inside once I am done.
Would you leave it as a 5,2,0 and maybe put up a shade sail for car parking or convert back to a garage?
Thanks
Dave

 

[skater]

Hey Guys
Chasing your opinions here, I have recently bought a property where the current owners have converted the original double garage into two large bedrooms. (I am not 100% sure if they could legally be classed as bedrooms though) The house is a mid 80's built brick and tile, slab on ground and was a 3,2,2, and is now a 5,2,0 and at the moment has no undercover parking. They have done a good job of the conversion and although my original plan was to convert back to a garage I am having second thoughts due to the cost of it (gyprock, plaster, paint and new roller doors.) and also trying to decide which way the property would return more rent while also securing a quality tenant.
I am going to replace the bathrooms, repaint the whole inside, put down new floor coverings and it already has a new kitchen so it will be like a new home on the inside once I am done.
Would you leave it as a 5,2,0 and maybe put up a shade sail for car parking or convert back to a garage?
Thanks
Dave

You don't have enough funds to turn a couple of bedrooms back to a garage? But you can put in new bathrooms etc?

FWIW, a garage does not need new gyprock & paint, so that's easy & cheap. BUT in saying that, I think you'd be crazy to do it, as more bedrooms often equals more rent, but have a talk to a local Agent to get a feel of what works in your area.

 

[RetireRich101]

depending on how it is partitioned..
I think you could even do it yourself in removing the wall partition, and repair the ceiling, and get someone to put the garage door back.

Or if the partition is vertically straight down the double garage, can you opt to have one single garage?

with current 5 bed, no garage, you might attract a higher rent, but it might be a BIG family that may not look after your property.

 

[DaveS]

Hey, thanks for the fast reply's. I probably could of worded the previous post a bit better. Skater - It's not so much of the cost of converting extra rooms back to a garage rather than putting money into something that might even reduce the potential rent instead of increasing it. I thought the same as you, generally more rooms means more rent although I do wonder weather not having undercover car parking might turn tenants off.
Retirerich 101 - Unfortunately the garage has been split across and not down the middle otherwise that would have been the perfect solution. A big family would not be ideal neither would a group of early twenty somethings which is why I was considering converting it back. It is pretty rough at the moment so I really have to do the paint and bathrooms asap. It will be quite a tidy place once its done so I want a tenant who will look after it.
Will make a few calls to agents tomorrow and try get an idea of what will be best.
Thanks again
Dave

 

[skater]

Skater - It's not so much of the cost of converting extra rooms back to a garage rather than putting money into something that might even reduce the potential rent instead of increasing it. I thought the same as you, generally more rooms means more rent although I do wonder weather not having undercover car parking might turn tenants off.

It all depends on what tenants expect, in the area that it's in. For instance, in an area near me there are mostly 3x1's. A 4x1 will get much more rent, and tenants are really not fussed whether they have car accommodation. Whereas in other areas if it's a 4 bedder, then it's expected to have a second bathroom & possibly living area.

Another thing to note, is that families expect more room. When I was young, it was common for siblings to share a room, but now, it's not unheard of for parents to expect each child to have their own room, plus a study/spare room. So, you could have a family with 3 kids renting it, exactly the same number of people in it, that you would have had in a small 3x1 maybe 20-30 years ago.

If car accommodation is an issue, but you'd like to keep the extra rooms, then a carport might solve that problem.