Buying a new house for the garage space ...

Am I a selfish bastard for wanting a new house so I can have my own garage? My girl and I have our own place now that is alright, but we have no space for my car(s) much less a garage or shop to work on them and store my tools. Right now I have to drive across two towns to my Dad's garage - and I have to fight him for every inch of shop space there.

We've been talking about getting a place out in the boonies for a while, but have just now gotten serious about it. I stated that the only way we'd move is if it was to a place that had all the things we both needed (me, a garage, her, a music room).

We're going to look at a place this afternoon that we can just barely afford, and I'm wondering if I'm making the right decision. If she keeps being so damn accomodating and understanding of my car obsession, I might just break down and propose to her ... someday.

So am I alone in this? Has anyone else changed their living situation to be closer to their cars? I kinda feel like a spoiled child, but damnit, I want to have my cake and Edith too.

 

I'm in a related scenereo. We are planning to sell our house and move out of the area. I find myself slow-rolling the process because I don't want to give up my workshop. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a nice place with either an existing workshop or the space to build a new one.

 

Nope, not at all. My garage now @ my house is 11x30 or so, which isnt horrible, long enough to do motor/trans swaps (tightly) in the winter with the doors shut (being I have 2 boxes, 2 benches etc etc) and realize it could be alot worse. Also have a 1 car garage, BUT the street is on a steep hill, and Ive lost or come close to losing a few non registered/no brakes type dealies. So...with that said I too have been using my parents yard/garage whenever possible, but am looking to move south (2 counties) by the beach (girlfriend) and 2 acres or so for 50x50 or so shop (me). You arent alone at all.

 

I bought a house just for the shop. (couldnt buy one without the other) I rent the house and use the shop. It has worked out way beyond my expectations. After 2 years the house rent covers the payments on the whole deal. A FREE 45 by 45 SHOP !!!
My renters are super people and I couldn't be happier. After 25 years I got to move out of the old 17 x 20 garage, and my wife can now use it to park
her car in the winter.

 

Gentlemen, Thank you... Do you know what this means? I'm Not Crazy! Or at least I'm not alone in my insanity.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that with 4.3 acres ... there is plenty of room to stash a few more projects (shhhh ... don't tell her, okay?! She'll find out soon enough.) Wish me luck.

 

I bought my house about 2 months ago because of the garage... House is about 850 sqft, the garage is about 500 sqft... works for me. I literally told my agent I was looking for a shop with a house. He did good.

 

almost 5 years ago i bought my place (i told the agent the same as 52pickup) iended up gettin a 24 x 32 garage with a pretty decent size lot. with projects scattered all over the yard there is no need to mow the grass, seeing as most of it is now dead. But ideally a place with 5 acres (atleast) and a shop that you have room for atleast 4 cars would be nice. The amount of stuff you collect is directly proportional with the size of yer shop (in most cases). we all got friends with the overflow problem!

 

Nah, I bought my house for the garage. In fact, I gave my realtor a budget and told him to find me the biggest garage for the money with a house next to it. My house is 1,100 sq.ft., the garage is 900 sq.ft. I was single then though.

When I got married my wife and her son moved into my house because I refused to go to her place (no garage). We're looking to buy a bigger place next summer, but the new house needs at least a two car detached garage for me to even consider it. Hopefully the housing market will slow down a bit...we can't afford anything in this market, which is part of the reason we stayed put as long as we did. Between that and the damn vinyl village HOA neighborhoods that don't allow outbuildings larger than an 8'x8' shed make it tough for a car guy to find an adequate place! Good luck man.

 

One of the big selling points for me about our new place was the nice 2 car detached garage. Right now half is the shop for my business and the other half is junk that is being cleared to make room for the Buick. In a year or two we are going to put a second floor on the garage and move my business upstairs and I'll have the whole thing (like 700sq or so) for the cars and tools... I wouldn't have even looked at a house without at least a 500sq garage area.

 

After 25 yrs. I had 2 houses and 2 16x24 garages with 15 acres. Sold them to buy a house in town (wife), and build a 40x40 garage. Best thing about it I don't own a dime for any of it. I took a big hit on the acreage and both places but ....

 

Of course not!

We did it too... moved from a townhouse to a single family with a smokin 20x40 garage. I mean the house is swell, but the garage is what sold it.

Stacey

 

If you are a car guy there is truly nothing selfish about having your own garage/shop. It is like a musician that doesn't have a case to keep the instrument safe, or a gardener who feels guilty having a herb garden. Cars need garages, there is no way around that.
I bought an old farm, and converted a portion of one barn into my house, and still have a 2200 square foot garage. The other barns are rented and make a big chunk of the payment. Oh, and my wife thinks this is all a great idea.
Move out to the sticks, you wont regret it.

 

At the moment we are getting our house ready for sale, I thought a 1050 sq ft carhole would be large enough, it isn't. We are going to be moving in with my wife's parents and helping to take care of my father in law during his final days. I will have a 2000+ sq ft shop there for our son and I to work in. We are giving up a big house, but we will get to spend more time around her mom and dad which is a plus.

 

Dude... nothing crazy about what your doing. The most common reason for people upgrading there home is to gain more space. Space for clothes, pots/pans, or cars... it's all the same.

Watch out though. The more space you have, the more stuff you find to fill it.

 

Buy your next place with plenty of room for your hobby. We bought a house 3 years ago that had everything we needed, in a really cool neighborhood. The garage is 2 1/2 car and is o.k. , but a pole barn would be alot sweeter. Now we're looking again.

 

In the prosess of building a new home now that should be done in the next month or so, She got the single stall in the basement and I got a 1500 sq ft pole barn. The old house has a single car port and a 20x20 workshop. The big pain in the ass is moving all the crap.

 

our house is for sale now, me and all my friends will miss the space but family comes first,I told my wife the only way I'll go back to tract living is a 2 car garage and RV access to stash the car trailer and one car. am I asking too much?

 

Hell, we just bought several acres and put the house IN the shop. Sorry, no pics until I figure out this new Mac

 

Be VERY careful there, man. I don't know how you are with money, but real estate agent and mortgage brokers will try to convince you that you can afford way more than you really can. When my wife and I qualified for the motgages on all 3 places that we have bought, they told us, "based on your income and your current debts, you can afford a $XX,000 loan." We still laugh at that... yeah, we could afford that, but then we'd have to give up some luxuries we've gottent kinda used to... like having vegetables AND meat at dinner.

Just saying be careful that you don't spend so much on your garage... errr... house--- that you don't have anything left over for building cool Chevys or going to events or whatever.

 

Buying a house is always a compromise between location, size, space yada yada yada, sometimes you have to give up some of this to get more of that and the size of the garage or workshop is all part of the decision

So unless you looking for that perfect workshop with enough room to build a couple of small bedrooms in the far corner, I think your pretty normal

 

Thanks for your help slide, first Mac pic from me.

What he said about being affordable. We are building this place with creative financing and sweat. I worked so hard on it this weekend I literally had no energy yesterday. When we are done, we wont owe more than a fancy new SUV. We spent 8 years in a place with no garage and parlayed that into double our money. Sometimes you cant get everything you want right now, and you appreciate it more in the end.

See those campers? That is home for the last few months.

 

I lucked out, we found a house on .4 acre, 1 attached, 2 car detached garages, level/big driveway, IN the city, IN our price range, and so far, I have been able to handle all the remodel work. My girlfriend and I compromised and got what we wanted.

 

I'm on my 3rd month of owning a 5 unit apartment complex. It had a 5000 sq. ft. garage attached to it. It was an absolute no brainer to buy. I don't have a wife to run things by which really helps. Anyway, one third was being rented for storage already, the other two thirds are mine. For this winter I've been renting spaces for cars to help with the taxes. Next summer I'm filling it with my stuff. Good luck.

 

Wow! Thanks for all the support and advice, y'all!
The nice thing is, my girl is good with money, and if she says we can do it (I've seen her figures and it all checks out) then we can do it. Worse case scenario, we sell our current place (a 2 rental unit in-town). What's the sense of getting the space but not having the flow to actually further said car project(s)?
Action Girl - thanks for your female perspective. You're a car nut, I know, but it's still nice to have the other gender tell me I'm in the green. I know a lot of cats on here think about their cars first and buckle down for their signifigant other's shit storm after the fact! I'm guilty of that too. "Oh... that $300? ... Well, there was this great bumper, and ..."

 

Tman-- that place is pretty cool!

 

I'm not sure if you're sane in your desire to want a shop over a house, I think you're crazy like the rest of us . I know exactly how you feel, I stripped a car to bar metal and did body work and paint at my dad's house...that, along with various stains in the driveway over the years assured me a tresspassing ticket for any future projects at that location. I finally got my own shop...just a two-car garage, but I feel like a king. I am wanting more space already, but who doesn't? My girl shot down the idea of taking my 3 bed, 2 bath, 2-car garage place and turning it into a 1 bed, 4-car garage.

Good luck with the purchase.

Bryan

 

Thanks Slide. Now that I am back able to post pictures, I will update the thread I started on it previously.

Gigantor, it sounds like you and the woman are on the same page, just be patient, the best will come of it.

 

We just move from the city to the country for 7 acres and a 1500 sq. ft shop. I can bearly make payments, but have no regretes

 

When I moved out of Michigan, I had to sell the house with the 28 x 32 garage. Now that I'm in Taxachusetts, my stuff is split between parts of two garages and my basement--it sucks.

Just think of the money you'll be able to save in abandoned vehicle tickets by being able to park them inside!

 

were house shopping now. Looking at homes on corner lots so that I can expand the garage to accomodate my ever growing shop equipment. school zoning is also a factor for us as we want the right schools for our son....