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Updated over 10 years ago on . Most recent reply
What is more important in your rental houses, a basement or a garage?
I have been looking for sfr deals for at least a month now and the agent I've been working with has been adamant that we only look at properties that have a basement and a garage. The problem with this however is that the houses that have both of these are usually priced much higher and the numbers don't really make much sense.
I understand the agents point about having both for resale value and for commanding higher rent, however the deals just aren't making sense. The taxes are higher on these homes as well which directly eats into the added rent totals that you are collecting.
In your experience, which feature between a garage and basement is more important if you can't have both?
Anyone like @Tom A. and others from the Metro Detroit area specifically want to chime in?
Thanks everyone for the help!
Most Popular Reply

Hey Nick,
If I had to pick one I'd go with a basement. But I'll only buy a house in my areas with both a garage and a basement. While the resale and higher rent part are definitely true, I wouldn't do it because the quality tenants that I want to rent to in our markets (mainly South Redford) expect the house to have both.
But it totally depends on the demographic that you're renting too. It's mostly families/ people with kids that rent our houses and they fill the basement and garage (they never park their cars in there) with all of their stuff. And to me that's great because it most likely means that they're planning on staying awhile. I would never buy a 2 bedroom or a house that's less than 1000 sq. ft. for mainly the same reasons
However, where I live in Ferndale I know many investors that buy 2 bedroom houses on slabs/crawl spaces with no garage. They rent just fine because the main demographic are single people without any kids. That's not my model but it works in Ferndale.
So long story short, just know the demographic that you're renting too. If the numbers don't work they don't work, but I'd take a higher priced home with a garage and a basement over a cheaper house without a garage or basement all day long. You'll get better tenants and have less turnover/vacancy.
Hope this helps- Good Luck!