We were strapped for cash so moved my mum into the garage to help with rent – it’s saved us loads but there’s a downside
A WOMAN has revealed the she moved her mum into her garage, to help out with the rent.
Stacy Lince and her widowed mother Lee Riech were both strapped for cash, after spending a combined £3,000 a month to rent both of their homes in Santa Barbara, California.
So, to save money, Stacy and Lee decided to pool together to buy a home with a detached garage, which they converted into a tiny home for Grandma.
The 380-square-foot garage is less than a fifth of the size of the home that Lee had shared with her late husband, but she loves it, telling Youtuber Kirsten Dirksen that the cozy space feels like a “hug”.
The converted garage has a spacious bedroom and bathroom, separated by by a sliding door from the living room and kitchen.
Lee had to give away lots of possessions before moving into the garage, such as her king sized bed, but now fits comfortably in the space.
The one downside of living in the garage is that it doesn’t have a dishwasher, but Lee said that she is happy to hand wash the same bowl every day.
It also doesn’t have a washing machine, but Lee can nip over to her daughter’s whenever she needs to put a load on.
Stacy, who lives in the main house with her husband and kids, said that when they first moved in, the one car garage was a mess, and was just being used for storage.
The family set to work straight away, and after 9 months were able to transform the place into a cosy home.
“We’ve covered just about every inch of space in here to make it useable”, said Lee, showing off a desk and bookshelf that has been built into the walls.
Despite technically living on the same property, Stacy and Lee treat each other like neighbours and don’t enter each other’s homes without texting.
Lee said: “I spend a lot of time in here and I never feel confined.
“What I feel is that I’m living in a hug”.
Kirsten’s video has likely left many open-mouthed, as it has racked up over 1.7 million views.
YouTube users raced to the video’s comments section to share their thoughts.
One person said: “This is what we should do for our aged parents instead of dumping them in nursing homes.”
Are you allowed to convert a garage into a bedroom?
USING average house price figures from Zoopla, Admiral Loans crunched the numbers and worked out that each square foot of living space is worth £350 on average.
Typically, the size of a small single garage in the UK is 128 square feet making the additional space worth £45,000.
A standard conversion costs between £4,995 and £7,500 depending on what work you have done, according to householdquotes.co.uk, which will of course eat into your profits.
If the garage is attached to your home you won’t even need to pay for planning permission, which currently costs £206.
The work falls under “permitted development rules”, which allows you to make certain changes to your home as long as it’s within limits.
This is because you’re not really altering the outside dimensions of the building.
But you will need to apply to the local authority if your garage is separate to your house, you live in a flat or maisonette or in a listed building.
It’s worth checking before starting any work that there aren’t any planning conditions attached to your property – you can do this by writing to the local authority.
If you plough on with building work that actually required permission, you may be ordered to take it down.
Another person said: “That’s so sweet of you to do this for your mother in law. I can tell she absolutely loves it”.
A third person said: “Very creative and family friendly.
“Love the respect they have for each other.”
A fourth added: “Love that you converted a garage into a nice apartment, with way more privacy for your mum. Beautiful!”
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