When renovating your home and especially the garage, you may be thinking of features that work for you now while you're in the home, but also features that would help you to sell the home down the road. In many areas, the real estate market is very competitive, so giving thought as to how every change you make will affect a home's value is important if you ever do decide to sell. Note a few garage features that may actually appeal to potential new homebuyers, and remember these when you're ready to renovate your garage.
1. Organization and storage features
A garage may function as more than just a space to hold the family cars; many homeowners want to use it for storage and for keeping tools, cleaning supplies, and other items organized. If you invest in some organization and storage features, this can make your garage more appealing. At the very least, you should have hooks on a board for hanging gardening tools, some shelving for tools or bins for storage.
2. Durable flooring
When someone works on their car in the garage, this can mean spills of gas, oil, and other fluids that stain the garage floor. Adding an epoxy coating to the floor can mean not allowing those fluids to get absorbed so that stains don't appear. A coating with a decorative finish can also make the garage seem cleaner overall, so consider adding this during any renovation work.
3. Lighting
People who work in their garages will often need more than a small overhead bulb. If there is a workbench in the garage, add lighting over this space and swap out the overhead bulb for track lighting, a brighter spotlight, or another kind of lighting that makes the garage brighter overall.
4. Insulation
An attached garage can allow heat and air conditioning to escape the home and out the garage door, raising a homeowner's utility bills. Adding insulation to a garage can mean lower utility costs; consider upgrading to an insulated door when you renovate your garage, as a start. This door will usually be made of two sheets of metal with an insulator in between those sheets. If you have the budget, you can then consider finishing the interior of the garage by adding insulation to the walls. This will not only reduce energy costs but can also cut down on the noise of the garage door opening and closing and the noise of anyone working in the garage, also making it appealing to potential homebuyers.
