The Positioning of Your Garage

The positioning of a home's garage is an interesting topic, and one about which I hear quite a bit when I am showing houses to buyers. But before we get to the various garage positions, something to keep in mind is that when you are buying a home, the choice for how your garage is positioned is usually not your own, it's what you inherit. And yet, depending on the specific lot and home characteristics, you can sometimes change its placement if it's not to your liking. On the other hand, if you are building a new home, you can happily design your garage any way you'd like.

Here are some of the basic garage positioning options:

Front-Facing Garage - I feel that many of the homes in our neck of the woods (Weston, Wellesley and the like) were built with garages facing the street (as pictured here). The problem with this positioning is that when you look at the house, you take in the garage as well. And the garage is not usually quite as aesthetically pleasing as the rest of the home. The good news about this placement, however, is that you enter the home on the first floor rather than from the basement or level below.

Garage Under (the Home) - You often see this garage positioning in homes in our area as well. This garage under option can either be facing the street or sideways to the street (as pictured here). The criticism with this placement, however, is that it means entering the home from the basement and having to walk up a flight of steps to get to the kitchen and the other rooms in the home. This is particularly unappealing for those who have difficulty climbing steps.

Sideways-Facing Garage - This seems to be the most preferred positioning for the garage as it basically allows it to be camouflaged or hidden (as pictured here). This way when you are looking at the house from the street, you can't see the garage as it sits sideways and is therefore shielded from the street. Many times, because of the way the garage has been designed, it looks like another room of the house. New construction is often built this way because of the many homeowners who prefer this positioning.

Rear-Facing Garage - This is another way to "hide" the garage, but we don't see it often in this area. The criticism of this placement is that the driveway further extends to the back of the house thus using up that valuable green grass and backyard space.

Attached Garage - Where we live with our rough winters (except for this particular winter), garages are mostly attached to the house allowing easy access into the house without having to encounter all of the nasty weather elements. Therefore an attached garage, however it is placed in relation to a home, is almost always preferred to a detached garage.

Detached Garage - Detached garages are often featured in older homes. Many times, you will see home buyers, who inherit a detached garage, trying to find ways to ultimately attach the garage to the house. But sometimes given the distance from the house, this is not a possibility. And in these cases, it's prudent to always have a hat, umbrella and boots with you in the car so you are prepared for whatever weather element confronts you when getting from the garage to your house.

What are your thoughts and preferences for your garage? And is the positioning of the garage something about which you have strong feelings? In other words, if you bought a house and weren't happy with the placement of the garage, would you try to "move heaven and earth" to change it? I can't wait to hear.

For more information or with any questions about the real estate market, please contact me (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com).