Getting the most out of the Garage

[kmor110]

Hi all,

Recently posted about the decision to rent or sell our 2 bedroom home in Orewa (avg rent 378, looking at a return of 3-6 percent currently after costs)

Renting is the preferred option for us after the discussion. Now looking at our options to maximise the rental income.

We have renovated the inside completely, and fenced/landscaped. We will paint the house shortly.

We were going to add a front door/pergola/porch to add some street appeal but now we are thinking of renting it is probably not worth the investment. Might save this for one day down the track when we sell.

I'm looking hard at our 1 1/2 car detatched garage currently. I'm aware you need consent to turn this in to a legitimate sleep out. I am wondering if it's worth looking in to insulating/lining this and adding some garage carpet to make it in to a sort of workshop/office space to avoid consent. Or is it worth going down the road of consent and turning it in to a sleepout with a toilet/kitchenette? Or is the impact on rental value not worth changing it at all? There will still be one off street car park and we live in a fairly safe and quiet neighbourhood with on street parking available almost always.

Appreciate any advice.

Cheers

[gavinc]

I would say it is not worth doing, Orewa is not South Auckland and I doubt that having a "sleep out" would attract the right type of clientele!
Also there was some press recently about a Landlord who was fined a fairly large amount for doing exactly what you propose i.e unconsented sleepout -If you go down the consent path the costs would probably not be recovered either when selling or improving the return significantly.

[zerorentalsdotco]

I would say it depends on the size of garage and whether there is space for extra parking. I just converted our garage (56m) into a minor dwelling on North Shore - total cost incl all council fees etc was $135k and was funded by lender as we had equity in home. It returns $450pw so it was well worth it.

I agree with other writer that demand for a sleep out may be limited but given property is 2 bedrooms, a third has the potential to add real value - costs would be quite low even to do legally. Adding extra bedroom will add more rental return than landscaping.

Your costs and compliance issues will jump if adding running water or toilet but simply adding a bedroom and or office and changing property from 2 to 3 beds will add value and appeal to the growing number of work from home professionals.

The most important this would be to do the work well - don't cut corners and plan project well. Costs are always higher than you think but returns are likely to follow.

[gavinc]

I would say it depends on the size of garage and whether there is space for extra parking. I just converted our garage (56m) into a minor dwelling on North Shore - total cost incl all council fees etc was $135k and was funded by lender as we had equity in home. It returns $450pw so it was well worth it.

You get 450 a week for the converted garage? or the garage and house together?

[zerorentalsdotco]

Yes - $450pw is for what was the garage - it is now a 2 bed, 1 bath 56m minor dwelling in forrest hill. We live in the other part of the property and effectively pay $280pw (the $450 subsidises our mortgage) for our original 4 bedroom home. The minor dwelling has separate entrance, separate deck - we hardly see each other.

Small 2 bed units around milford - takapuna are going for $600 a week.

[gavinc]

Yes - $450pw is for what was the garage - it is now a 2 bed, 1 bath 56m minor dwelling in forrest hill. The minor dwelling has separate entrance, separate deck - we hardly see each other.
Small 2 bed units around milford - takapuna are going for $600 a week.

Well I am stunned - good on you, you did the sums and got a good result. Just curious but do you know the sqm size limit for a minor dwelling on the North Shore?

[zerorentalsdotco]

Technically it is under 60sqm, however, as I discovered this is negotiable and if you can show what you are doing produces a better living environment you can go above that. Be careful with the measurements as it is taken from the outside of the walls, in a block concrete garage you can lose 5-6m of space in cladding materials. i.e ours was 57m of floor space but actually 62m of building.

All the best.

[Maccachic]

This is what I was advised by a frirendly local planner when I was looking into minor dwellings (this one was 64m2) and this is in regards to Western Bays District Council rules:

"When it comes to building the new dwelling Council will require you to apply for a resource consent identifying the smaller dwelling to be the subsidiary dwelling. If the minor dwelling is over 60m2 the activity status for a consent may fall to a more difficult category, possibly Discretionary or non-complying. However I would not expect Council to decline an application of this nature."

[kmor110]

Thanks for sharing experiences here all, some interesting reading I agree that the extra informal bedroom/office may add value to our house especially as it is a 2 bedroom. Probably wouldn't go down the road of full conversion due to the fact that the garage is only 1 1/2 size so probably couldn't fit all the things in there to justify a minor dwelling.

[Leftette]

I live in Orewa, and as already said, it's not Mangere. Please don't do it, at least not without the proper consent. If you do, you'd better hope I'm not your neighbour

[Rosco]

Hi All,

Obviously if you are adding a minor dwelling, turning a garage into a seperate house / minor dwelling, or renting it seperately with a stove etc, then you need a consent.

But if you are just converting a garage to a bedroom, do you need a consent?

I suppose this leads onto, if you are converting a second lounge into a bedroom, do you need a consent?

If the garage come bedroom is just rented as part of the house, I didn't think you needed a consent as no major building work, same sqm area etc as before and no seperate tenancies. I'm pretty sure you don't need the consent for the lounge to convert to a bedroom!

Does anyone know the actual rules?
Do these vary around the country too?

Ross

[Davo36]

If the garage come bedroom is just rented as part of the house, I didn't think you needed a consent as no major building work, same sqm area etc as before and no seperate tenancies. I'm pretty sure you don't need the consent for the lounge to convert to a bedroom!

A lot of people take this approach. So many houses in Auckland having these extra bedrooms created.

But there has to be issues around things like fire egress, light and ventilation (i.e. windows). There must be a reason you have to get a building consent for a new house. It's so that they can check all these things.

In my opinion, if you just go ahead and make these sorts of changes, then you could have trouble further down the line.

[speights boy]

In my opinion, if you just go ahead and make these sorts of changes, then you could have trouble further down the line.

The WoF scheme will catch the rental property in this regard I reckon

[Simmo]

Maybe...^^^^^^, but I reckon there'll just be a lot more detached "hobby rooms" being advertised. Might have to buy a sewing machine...