Midland Garage Conversions

home office

Moving Home vs. Converting Your Garage: Which Is the Right Choice?

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When you find yourself in need of extra space, you face a significant decision: should you move to a larger home or convert your existing garage into a functional living area? Both options have their pros and cons, and understanding these can help you make the best choice for your needs and circumstances. Here’s a comparison to guide you.

1. Cost Considerations

Moving Home: Relocating to a new property involves substantial costs, including estate agent fees, solicitors costs, remortgage fees, moving expenses, and potential renovations to the new home. Additionally, buying a larger home often means a higher mortgage, which can significantly increase your long-term financial commitments.

Converting Your Garage: Garage conversions generally offer a more budget-friendly alternative. While there are costs associated with building control, materials, and labour, they are typically lower than the expenses involved in buying a new home. Furthermore, a successful garage conversion can increase your property’s value, offsetting some of the initial costs.

2. Disruption and Time

Moving Home: Relocating can be a lengthy and disruptive process. It involves packing, organising utilities, and adjusting to a new area. This might mean family disruption such as new schools or childcare, longer commutes or forming new support networks and friends. The time and effort required to find and move into a new home can be substantial, causing significant disruption to your daily life.

Converting Your Garage: A garage conversion, while involving some disruption, is considerably less invasive than moving. The construction phase is typically shorter, mostly just a few weeks, and you can continue living in your home during the renovation. However, living with a construction project can still be inconvenient and it is worth talking to your contractor about how long and what the disruption will be like.

3. Personalisation and Location

Moving Home: Relocating gives you the opportunity to choose a property that fits your exact needs and preferences, from the number of bedrooms to the area. However, finding the perfect home can be challenging and may require compromising on some desires.

Converting Your Garage: Converting your garage allows you to customize the new space to your specific needs, whether it’s a home office, extra bedroom, or playroom. It also keeps you in your current location, allowing you to stay close to your existing community and amenities.

4. Long-Term Impact

Moving Home: A new home can provide long-term satisfaction and meet growing needs, but it may come with higher ongoing costs and a potentially lengthy adjustment period.

Converting Your Garage: A garage conversion can enhance your current home’s functionality without the commitment of a new mortgage. It’s an effective solution for immediate space needs, but it’s essential to consider whether the converted space will continue to meet your needs in the long run.

Both moving home and converting your garage offer distinct advantages and challenges. Your decision will depend on factors such as budget, disruption tolerance, and long-term goals. Assess your needs carefully to determine which option aligns best with your lifestyle and financial situation.

Need more room?

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Has space been tight this Christmas? Would another bedroom or reception room help? Perhaps a larger open plan kitchen diner to entertain?

A garage conversion is a cost effective way to utilise dead space. On average it’s around half the cost of an equivalent extension and adds value to your home. Most people increase the value of their home by almost double the cost of the garage conversion. It’s therefore a financially safe and efficient option if you are running out of space.

The average single garage in the UK is 9ft x 18ft which is a lot of space to store old cement and bikes! Most people park their cars on their drive or the roadside for ease of use and tend to use the garage as storage. For a modest outlay, you can buy a good sized, quality shed and store your equipment in there and free up the garage for more living space.

As the structure is already there, a conversion is cost effective, quick and mess free. Most conversions are completed in two weeks with minimal intrusion into your home.

So if Christmas has been made more stressful by a lack of room, and you’d like to expand your home before next year, consider contacting us for a free quotation on 07729 437217 or info@midlandgarageconversions.co.uk.

Working from Home

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Working from home has become increasingly popular since the pandemic. While it began as a temporary solution for many, it has become the norm for a large percentage of the population. In 2023 research from The Home Office Life showed 85% of office workers were taking a hybrid approach to work, with at least some days a week working from home.

In the early days of the pandemic when many people were forced to work from home for the first time, people had to adapt quickly. Dining room tables were taken over with laptops and spare bedrooms were hastily rearranged to accommodate desks and phones. However, now this is becoming a more permanent part of our working lives people are looking for longer term solutions.

Some people are lucky enough to have an office or spare room in the first place this can work perfectly. However, if not, converting your garage can be an excellent solution. There will be an initial outlay, but the conversion will increase the value or your home significantly. This usually not only covers the original outlay but adds further value.

At Midland Garage Conversions we can convert a single garage to a home office in two weeks. We will deal with all the building control, certification and inspections on your behalf so you can sit back and let us take care of everything. Contact us for a free no obligation quote.