Should I finish an unfinished garage before selling my house?
Finishing an unfinished garage with drywall and insulation costs thousands of dollars upfront. Homeowners hesitate because they worry they will not make a profit or recover those costs when selling the house as is.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Selling the house as-isDid this help you?
- 2Focusing on other improvements like landscaping insteadDid this help you?
- 3skipping cosmetic repairs and relying only on a deep clean and tidy lawnDid this help you?
- 4letting the buyer handle painting or repairs themselves after purchaseDid this help you?
- 5Staying put and investing money into an IRA, high-yield savings account, or stocks instead of real estateDid this help you?
- 6Doing smaller home improvements without friction while keeping the current homeDid this help you?
- 7doing the bare minimum to make it liveableDid this help you?
- 8ripping down wood paneling and skim coating drywallDid this help you?
- 9saving money to build an actual house instead of investing in the trailerDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I was wondering if I should knock the walls down and replace them or just leave them up.”source ↗
“Not to sure if an electrician can fully inspect without me doing so. I was also thinking I could check behind the walls and replace the insulation in case it’s any hidden mold.”source ↗
“I understand the price is fair, I’m just curious if knowing that I won’t make a profit in the house does it make sense to spend the $$?”source ↗
“Do you think an electrician could verify if it’s safe to live in with the walls still up? It had a rat infestation which has since been dealt with… I believe at least. I just wanted to make sure it’s safe. Is it common for mold to spread behind the walls?”source ↗
“I’m torn about making significant improvements to some of our home versus moving.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 9Should we renovate our aging home or buy a new construction house?
- 4Last-minute home repair flagged by inspector before closing
- 2Is paying for a home reappraisal worth it if you aren't selling?
- 6Should I buy a house with conflicting roof damage reports?
- 11How to decide if we should sell our house first?
- 151Is it worth fixing an old car when repairs cost more than it's worth?