When it comes to home renovations, there are some ideas that will boost the value of your dwelling and other solutions that could decrease the value. While it might seem like a good idea at the time, converting a garage into a home gym or spare room could greatly affect how future buyers perceive the house as a whole. It may seem useful to you, but certain parts within a home, like the garage, are typically best kept in their traditional state. Most buyers will want to use their garage to park their cars or for storage. Fortunately, however, there are ways to utilize your garage for different purposes without making permanent changes that could affect your resale value — you just have to get creative with your solutions. Removable gym equipment, partitions for work spaces that can be taken out, and avoiding any big renovations are all good ways to keep your home market ready. 

Keep in mind that, while your garage doesn’t have to house your car, it should remain fairly easy to transition back to a carport. If you plan on doing a full renovation and using it for other purposes, having alternative parking options is essential to keeping your house value up. If you install air conditioning and heating units within the garage, this could also deter people, as that’s extra energy and utility bills — not to mention upkeep on these. While there are plenty of aesthetic garage remodel ideas to boost your home’s curb appeal, some upgrades should be avoided.

While it may be tempting to transform your unused garage into an indoor driving range, gym, or another sleeping space, holding off if you plan to sell could be beneficial. Depending on how many rooms your house features and the square footage, maybe utilizing any and all available space is productive for you. To some, it may even be odd that new owners wouldn’t want to take advantage of the new setup, but the fact is that many people prefer more traditional layouts. Whether interested parties have multiple cars, don’t like their vehicles out in the driveway or on the road, HOA rules prohibit leaving cars out, or for a variety of other reasons, turning your garage into anything other than car and extra storage could really diminish the value of your home.

Not everyone wants to use their garage as an exercise, work, or sleeping space. While it may be appealing for some, for many, a garage is simply a place to keep vehicles and a few excess items. This is especially true in highly populated areas where there’s not much parking space. Even homeowners in the countryside might desire more garage storage for equipment used outdoors. Unless you’re keeping that house for the long term, consider installing removable and temporary units rather than permanent or hard-to-remove ones. 

Rather than converting your whole garage, consider introducing elements that can be reverted should you decide to sell. For example, if you want to have a gym in your carpark area, use connectable mat flooring that’s easy to remove rather than fully redoing the garage floors. Invest in gym equipment that can be taken down and set up again in your new home rather than bolting pieces to the floor, too. Garage storage affects your home’s resale value as well, and adding more storage may improve your home’s value. However, you could pick shelving units that are separate from the walls instead of built-ins to give future homeowners options. You can also add in sliders on the ceiling where tubs can be held above the cars to save space.

Don’t build walls or partitions that aren’t easy to take down, either. Instead, opt for removable screens if you want to block off a certain section for an office. To create a spare bedroom or other space, you would need to add in HVAC systems, build walls, add lighting, and invest in some expensive renovations. This isn’t worth the money if you plan to sell and may need to convert the room back to a garage. If you really need the extra space, consider renovating to make the area smaller, maybe downgrading a two-car garage to a one-car option to build out a room in your house. However, keep in mind that if the homes around you all boast two-car layouts, this could affect your home’s value, too.