I purchased a house that was built on a concrete slab, so there is no basement. There is no garage on the property either. Most of the houses in this area have a basement and a garage.

I plan on eventually adding a garage to the house. Would it be a wise investment to add a basement under the garage?

Thanks

Hello diyrepair, this is the opinion of a definite NON-professional here.

I've noticed over the years a rather "loose" correlation between improving and investing.

You always hear that you get most of a kitchen or bath "back" at resale--if not more. Well, maybe.

I think it depends more on factors such as your location and market timing (if you can factor "timing" into real estate--isn't "timing" more to do with day trading on the stock market, LOL)

With such factors in mind, I would look seriously at your NEIGHBORHOOD and consider whether such improvements are likely to be an "overbuild." Don't forget that most buyers would rather buy cheaper houses in more expensive neighborhoods than vice versa.

Then consider how long you're likely to live in your home and, what kind of benefits will YOU get out of those improvements.

If you're talking tens of thousands of dollars and are looking strictly at what it will do for home value in the shorter term, I probably would consider things like the kitchen, roof condition, major noticeable stuff--first.

But I know firsthand about storage and how valuable it is. My house is very limited on storage and we always grapple with where to put things, how to organize, etc.

You might also consider alternative ways to get storage (an outbuilding, perhaps). And will this be so expensive it might make more sense to add-on instead to give yourself "finished" square footage (typically more valuable than a basement--but add-ons need to be well-thought-out so as not to look like afterthoughts).

So although this doesn't answer your question directly, I'm not sure that a direct answer (from us, over the internet, without a complete picture and with perhaps different opinions) would really be a good idea anyway.

Hope this helps though, somehow(?) Please keep us posted!

Regards,
-k2 in CO

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