I was strapped for cash so bought an old garage & turned it into my dream home – now I have 3 tiny homes & rent them out
A WOMAN has revealed that she bought an old garage to transform into her dream home.
Anna, from New Zealand decided to buy a plot of land that just had an old garage and an outhouse on it.
Instead of building a house on the land, due to her lack of finances, she decided to convert the garage into her home.
She said that the plot of land had everything she needed, such as sea views and proximity to the forest.
Anna said she wanted to keep the outside of the property looking like a garage, so that people would be shocked when they saw inside her home.
One the plot of land that the garage is situated on, Anna has built three more tiny homes, which she now rents out as Airbnbs.
She said that it cost her around £50,000 to do up the garage, and said that she wouldn’t be able to live in it if it wasn’t for the money she gets from the Airbnbs.
The first thing she did to convert the garage was remove the garage door and replace them with patio doors.
She had to insulate the garage and double-glaze the windows to ensure she didn’t get cold in the winter.
The garage has everything Anna needs, including a living room, kitchen, bedroom and an en suite bathroom.
Anna described herself as a “collector” and has decked out the garage with vintage and recycled furniture.
She had to get a custom-made sofa that was small enough for the garage and said she doesn’t have anything round in the garage, as they won’t fit in the tiny space.
“Living in a small home has made feel secure and like I’m wrapped up in this cosy little space”, she told the Living Big In A Tiny House, Youtube channel.
“I’m always grateful for what I have here”.
“My home is perfect for me”.
Youtube users raced to the video’s comments section, to praise Anna’s tiny home.
One person said: “This is easily one of the coziest looking tiny homes on the channel.
“I would live here in a heartbeat”.
Are you allowed to convert a garage into a bedroom?
USING average house price figures from Zoopla, Admiral Loans crunched the numbers and worked out that each square foot of living space is worth £350 on average.
Typically, the size of a small single garage in the UK is 128 square feet making the additional space worth £45,000.
A standard conversion costs between £4,995 and £7,500 depending on what work you have done, according to householdquotes.co.uk, which will of course eat into your profits.
If the garage is attached to your home you won’t even need to pay for planning permission, which currently costs £206.
The work falls under “permitted development rules”, which allows you to make certain changes to your home as long as it’s within limits.
This is because you’re not really altering the outside dimensions of the building.
But you will need to apply to the local authority if your garage is separate to your house, you live in a flat or maisonette or in a listed building.
It’s worth checking before starting any work that there aren’t any planning conditions attached to your property – you can do this by writing to the local authority.
If you plough on with building work that actually required permission, you may be ordered to take it down.
A second person said: “I think walking into that space would feel like a warm hug.”
A third person said: “An Absolute Inspiration!
“It’s Like walking into an Enchanted Painting!”
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