Garage rent or conversion?

[Donald S.]

Hi Guys, 

I'm under contract with a triplex in South St. Louis, and it has a nice 2 car garage, not a stick frame one but concrete and stucco. Apparently it is really nice, nice enough that the seller really doesn't want to sell the property, but he's retiring and is offloading all of properties. I say it's apparently nice because he didn't want to let us see the inside, but the outside is in great shape and one of the tenants told us he's been inside and it's "gorgeous and huge" with no interior walls. 

So 2 questions, if you're a landlord in the city, how much rent can you get for a nice 2 car garage from a tenant? I plan on calling around to some PM groups and landlords to ask the same questions, but thought I'd ask in here first. 

The second question is, would it be worth my trouble to try and convert the place into a 4th unit? I know I'd need to add water, sewer, more electric, a kitchen, and walls (at least to wall off a bathroom). The garage is probably a good 550 sq ft, so it'd be a smallish apartment, 1 bed or possibly studio. Rent for a 1 bed or studio would be 550/400 a month in this area. It does have tall ceilings, tall enough that I could convert it to a loft maybe, which would probably bring 550 or 600/month. Thoughts? 

Thanks.

Cheers!