Preparing current house for renting, garage conversion

[Ashley Wolfe]

The long and short of it is we are looking to buy a better house to live in and rent out our current house.  Our garage is already in need of drywall and new electrical.  My thought is to go ahead and finish it out the garage as a full conversion with a half bath so we can add to our total square footage and room/bath count.  This would help us charge more in rent.

Several questions:

1. If we are looking to moving out in 30-45 days, would this be enough time for a contractor to do a garage conversion?

2. Would the cost of the garage conversion be a tax deduction since we are doing this for our REI business?

3. About how much could I expect to pay for a two-car garage conversion and adding a toilet and sink (washer line and a sink line is already installed, we'd just need to tie in the toilet)?

Thanks!

[Jim Adrian]

I wouldn't convert the garage to a living space.  People like there garages for storing crap and cars.  Now if you have a detached garage on the property already then this is a different story.  You are now creating a niche market of people wanting your house. 

I would add insulation to the walls before adding drywall.  This will help keep the heat / cold out.