Flipping Fixer Upper Homes

If you hardly use your garage, you may be thinking that transforming the space into an apartment to bring in a little extra income is a good idea. This change to your property can definitely be one that provides advantages. However, this is not a simple change that you should take lightly. The truth is that there are some issues you can run into when you take a single-family home and add on an attached apartment. Here is a look at a few things you should know about the process and what could happen before you install an apartment in your home's garage space. 

Transforming the garage into an apartment can make your home harder to sell. 

If you go ahead with your plans to add an apartment to your home, you should know that if you ever decide to sell the house, this change can be one that is a bit of a downfall. Not everyone will like the idea of having an apartment instead of a garage space attached to their home. Therefore, your home will have to be marketed to a select group of individuals. It is not really that your home will be less valuable; it will actually be worth more. But finding the right buyer can be trying. 

Transforming the garage into an apartment can be prohibited in some areas. 

If your house is located in an urban location, it is highly likely that there are limits on what can be done with the property, even though it is yours. Oftentimes, these stipulations are overlooked until a homeowner decides to make a certain change and discovers there are contingencies, restrictions, or zoning issues that prevent them from moving forward. For example, you may be restricted from:

• using your property for any kind of income purposes,
• having more than a certain number of vehicles in your driveway,
• or renting part of your home to someone other than you.

Before you fully decide on making this change to your home, make sure you know that it will be an allowed change according to the deed to your property, local zoning laws, and even your local homeowner's association. 

Transforming the garage into an apartment can bring about changes in your homeowner's insurance. 

When you have an additional living space in your home that will be rented to a secondary resident, this can change everything about how a homeowner's insurance company sees you as a customer and as a risk. Therefore, your current insurance provider may not be able to cover you, and you may have to get a special policy that can be a little more expensive to carry. 

For additional info, contact a contractor that is experienced in garage apartment conversions or real estate agents that are experienced in selling properties with garage apartments.