Repurposing Your Garage For Home Buyers

It’s a natural tendency to relegate “junk” around your home to the garage.  We certainly do it in my home.

Last fall we started to clean out our 2 car garage. I was amazed how much junk we were able to fit in there and we fit both cars in there as well!

But, when selling a home, don’t forget the buyers pay as much attention to garages (basements too, but that’s another post) as to most other rooms in a house.

When touring your home and viewing your garage, these are just some of the questions that a buyer may have:

• Will I be able to pull my over-sized car into this garage?
• Will the doors open on both sides of the car so I can put the kids in their car seats?
• Is there room to hang a bicycle from the ceiling?
• Is there room for an extra refrigerator in here? 
• Can I build out this garage for a workshop?

To help buyers visualize their own garage arrangement, keep your garage as clean and organized as possible — just like every other room in your home.  It’s hard to imagine the garage as their own space when there is so much of your stuff around.

Keep the garage clean as clean as the rest of the house whenever you can.  A garage is a big selling point, so you want it to looks its best as much as any other part of a house. 

New sealer and a coat of paint might also be in order, but more than anything it should be clean.

Thinking of Moving to Columbus?

Here is what you need to know.

Location, Location, Location . . .

 

• Located within 600 miles of 60% of the U.S. population.
• Delaware County is the 13^th fastest growing county in the U.S.
• The Region has a younger demographic profile than the rest of the State or Nation with 35.1% aged 24 years or younger and a larger prime working age population with 44.9% aged 25 to 54.
• Columbus boasts significant location savings and is among the top 10 lowest cost real estate markets in the country, according to Conway Data.  According to the National Association of Realtors, the median house price in Columbus of $153,900 is 31% less than the national average.
• The Columbus Region has one of the most stable major metropolitan housing markets in the U.S. rated by PMI Group with home prices remaining stable or increasing for most of the region when housing prices nationally have been falling.

 

Highly Educated . . .

 

• Nearly 40% of Columbus professionals have a Bachelor’s degree or higher.  This rate is 9% higher than the national average.
• The Region’s 20 colleges and universities are currently attended by 110,000 students.  These institutions confer more than 21,000 degrees annually, 5,600 of which are advanced degrees.

 

Business Thrives . . .

 

 

• A thriving metropolitan area with a population of 1.7 million in eight counties – Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway, and Union – the Columbus Region is a launching pad for corporations and inventions known worldwide.
• The Columbus Region is home to the headquarters of 15 Fortune 1000 companies, six of whom are Fortune 500 companies.  Among the flagship enterprises born here include Limited Brands, Wendy’s International, Nationwide, Bank One, Worthington Industries, Longaberger Baskets, Cardinal Health, and the Scotts Company.  The Columbus Region is also home to several internationally-recognized research institutions, including:
  • The Ohio State University, Ohio’s flagship research university.
  • Battelle, the world’s largest contract research and development organization, where Xerography, the bar code, the sandwich coin, and the technology for the compact disc were invented.
  • OCLC – Online Computer Library Center, with more than 60,000 client libraries in 112 countries.
  • Chemical Abstracts Service, which provides the world’s largest and most current collection of chemical and related scientific information.
  • Edison Welding Institute, North America’s leading organization dedicated to research and development of welding and materials joining technology.

 

 

What Others are Saying . . .

 

 

• Eleventh Best City for Singles (Forbes, August 2006)
• Eighth Best City to Live (Money magazine, August 2006)
• One of America’s Top-Rated Cities (Grey House Publishing, May 2006)
• An All-America City Finalist (National Civic League, April 2006)
• Top 10 Shortest Commute Time Among Major Cities in the Country (U.S. Census Bureau, February 2004)
• Top metros in U.S. overall for public schools (Atlas & Guide – Expansion Management Magazine, May 2006)
• One of the nation’s best metro areas for the arts ranked by The Places Rated Almanac.
• Top 10 City for Art (American Style Magazine, April 2006)
• Shape Magazine ranked Columbus as one of the nation’s top five cities with outdoor appeal and activities (June 2007).
• fDi magazine ranked Columbus third among “Large Cities of the Future” and fourth among “Most Business-Friendly Large Cities” as well as “Most Cost Effective Large Cities” (April 2007).
• CBS Morning News’ medical report ranked Columbus as having the “best breath” and “most-kissable” community (March 2007).