This may be slightly off-topic but it really is related to charging. Has anyone noticed with real-estate, at least in Southern California, that none of the listings (or nearly none) show the garage?
I reached out to an agent for a cool house within our price range about this, and here was his prosaic response;
"Typically people don't take pics of the garage because not many people are interested in them, in fact you might be the first person who has ever asked me for photos of the garage."
How absurd is this, and why does this person seem to agree with this silliness? I wrote back with some talking points to see if I could move his position. These are not my exact words, but my general arguments. Here, I'm leaving the spice in for full heat.
1. It's California. People love their cars, and they really love their EVs, and they love to keep their cars clean. They will want to know about charging solutions for the EVs they own when looking at pictures initially. Adding to this, they will also want to know about the electrical, the panel's amp rating, and the feasibility of adding EV charging and solar too. I daresay that they would value a garage that is bigger than average, especially if it's going to be accommodating two full-sized vehicles and perhaps a recreational vehicle, bikes, some storage, etc. It all matters.
2. If garages aren't important, then why does nearly every single family home (and many townhomes and condos) come with garages? People use them. They're part of the structure and cost of a house, so why not at least snap a few pics? The absurdity of this omission is just....glaring. Why would someone spend 30k+ on a car and NOT care about a garage? For EVs, it's pricier still.
3. There are many first-time buyers for whom a garage is a HUGE deal. It was for me, because this was a landmark moment when I didn't have to worry about my car being exposed to weather, flooding, theft, vandalism, accidents and door dings, and all manner of indignities that can and do happen when your car lives outside. Personally, I have had one car stolen, broken in to on return, another car had 6k worth of damage due to theft. We've had car windows egged, shot with BB guns, sideswiped, and generally just exposed to weather....and this is on top of not having a set place to park every night. Sometimes, that parking comes dearly (shout out to Koreatown, SoCal).
A car living outside is exposed to weather which makes it harder to keep clean, and washing it more often requires more labor and resources. Having a garage, for many of us, is not just a big deal for a new house purchase, but among the biggest of deals. Even for family members paying mortgage who 'don't care about garages', they're still ostensibly using them. Those who maintain cars for their significant others still want to be able to maintain or work on a car in peace and out of the wind and weather.
4. Some people want to buy an EV, but aren't sure how to charge them or how to begin the process of finding out about charging options. If I were a real-estate agent, I would be extremely proactive here to answer the objections that people have or have without realizing it. So, I'd mention the presence of chargers, the feasibility of a home-charging upgrade, whether a Tesla Wall Connector can be installed, etc.
5. A garage is not just a place for cars, motorcycles, storage....but it's a haven for work. Hobbies. Welcome isolation (man/woman cave), a respite from the daily grind. A space for which we are the stewards. A place to detail a car, fix something, adjust tire pressure, do basic maintenance....all out of the weather and the prying eyes of neighbors or overly-restrictive HOAs. For some, the garage is a sacred place, and a place we can further customize as an extension of our homes. Our cars are an extension of our homes too (and us, arguably), so keeping them well-secure is important to many.
6. Forcing people to inquire about garage pics sets up more work for the agent, exposes the inquiring shopper to all of the usual sales talk from a listing agent relating to showings, unannounced phone calls, emails, etc. I have a feeling a lot of people want to see the garage but are simply not bothered to ask when the pictures are omitted. Additionally, garage pics and the feasibility of electrical upgrades could easily make the difference between house A and house B. Why NOT show the garage, when some listing agent took pains to show a useless and fugtastic chandelier from 1978?
Anyhoot, this got me very annoyed that my main reason for looking for a new place (at least the initial impetus) is to get a better permanent home charging setup for my lifetime EV commitment, and almost no agents out there can be bothered to post garage pictures.
What do you all think?
I reached out to an agent for a cool house within our price range about this, and here was his prosaic response;
"Typically people don't take pics of the garage because not many people are interested in them, in fact you might be the first person who has ever asked me for photos of the garage."
How absurd is this, and why does this person seem to agree with this silliness? I wrote back with some talking points to see if I could move his position. These are not my exact words, but my general arguments. Here, I'm leaving the spice in for full heat.
1. It's California. People love their cars, and they really love their EVs, and they love to keep their cars clean. They will want to know about charging solutions for the EVs they own when looking at pictures initially. Adding to this, they will also want to know about the electrical, the panel's amp rating, and the feasibility of adding EV charging and solar too. I daresay that they would value a garage that is bigger than average, especially if it's going to be accommodating two full-sized vehicles and perhaps a recreational vehicle, bikes, some storage, etc. It all matters.
2. If garages aren't important, then why does nearly every single family home (and many townhomes and condos) come with garages? People use them. They're part of the structure and cost of a house, so why not at least snap a few pics? The absurdity of this omission is just....glaring. Why would someone spend 30k+ on a car and NOT care about a garage? For EVs, it's pricier still.
3. There are many first-time buyers for whom a garage is a HUGE deal. It was for me, because this was a landmark moment when I didn't have to worry about my car being exposed to weather, flooding, theft, vandalism, accidents and door dings, and all manner of indignities that can and do happen when your car lives outside. Personally, I have had one car stolen, broken in to on return, another car had 6k worth of damage due to theft. We've had car windows egged, shot with BB guns, sideswiped, and generally just exposed to weather....and this is on top of not having a set place to park every night. Sometimes, that parking comes dearly (shout out to Koreatown, SoCal).
A car living outside is exposed to weather which makes it harder to keep clean, and washing it more often requires more labor and resources. Having a garage, for many of us, is not just a big deal for a new house purchase, but among the biggest of deals. Even for family members paying mortgage who 'don't care about garages', they're still ostensibly using them. Those who maintain cars for their significant others still want to be able to maintain or work on a car in peace and out of the wind and weather.
4. Some people want to buy an EV, but aren't sure how to charge them or how to begin the process of finding out about charging options. If I were a real-estate agent, I would be extremely proactive here to answer the objections that people have or have without realizing it. So, I'd mention the presence of chargers, the feasibility of a home-charging upgrade, whether a Tesla Wall Connector can be installed, etc.
5. A garage is not just a place for cars, motorcycles, storage....but it's a haven for work. Hobbies. Welcome isolation (man/woman cave), a respite from the daily grind. A space for which we are the stewards. A place to detail a car, fix something, adjust tire pressure, do basic maintenance....all out of the weather and the prying eyes of neighbors or overly-restrictive HOAs. For some, the garage is a sacred place, and a place we can further customize as an extension of our homes. Our cars are an extension of our homes too (and us, arguably), so keeping them well-secure is important to many.
6. Forcing people to inquire about garage pics sets up more work for the agent, exposes the inquiring shopper to all of the usual sales talk from a listing agent relating to showings, unannounced phone calls, emails, etc. I have a feeling a lot of people want to see the garage but are simply not bothered to ask when the pictures are omitted. Additionally, garage pics and the feasibility of electrical upgrades could easily make the difference between house A and house B. Why NOT show the garage, when some listing agent took pains to show a useless and fugtastic chandelier from 1978?
Anyhoot, this got me very annoyed that my main reason for looking for a new place (at least the initial impetus) is to get a better permanent home charging setup for my lifetime EV commitment, and almost no agents out there can be bothered to post garage pictures.
What do you all think?
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