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Garage apartments, garrets, converted stores and quirky lodgings are not just for TV shows and movies. A repurposed building can be a great place to make a home.
Garage Apartments
Many houses have a freestanding garage with a second story apartment. A garage apartment can be a great place to live for several reasons. First, the homes that are wealthy enough to have a freestanding garage are likely to be in nice settings, on a big lot, maybe with some flower gardens and elegant landscaping.
Living right next to the landlord can be a convenience rather than a vexation for the right pair of people. It is easy to contact the owner for repairs, and hand in the rent check, even at the last minute. Garage apartments are small enough to maintain easily and come with small utility bills.
Furthermore, if your family is small enough to comfortably live in a garage apartment, the landlord's address is probably a ticket to good schools for children without paying exorbitant rent. Single parents especially should search for such an inexpensive, advantageous arrangement.
But like any rental arrangement, a tenant can never build up equity or own his or her home. And a garage apartment is usually small, some would say even "tight", but there are other bigger and more unusual places to make a home.
Converted Stores And Factories
As cities move away from manufacturing toward knowledge industries, they leave in their wake massive buildings, many quite interesting looking and livable. Developers are making good money carving up factories, mills and stores into loft apartments.
Lofts are great from an aesthetic point of view. Many have huge windows from the days when factory lighting was partially provided from the sun. Anyone with a desire to design finds a great canvas in a loft. Rooms can be set up with temporary barriers and shifted at will. Thick brick walls can support any kind of massive artwork.
However, living in an old factory or store can have its disadvantages too. Generally, these sorts of places are set in industrial areas and may be in dilapidated neighborhoods far from parks, shopping, or good schools. And just as the windows let in light, and soaring ceilings make the room feel spacious, these big spaces are hard to heat and cool. And if your loft is one big room just divided by screens, privacy can be a problem if the family is very big.
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