25m2 Basement Storage Area in apartment complex - what's it worth

Will be settling on my new apartment in Brisbane (Milton) soon and have the opportunity to purchase a caged storage area adjacent to my car parking spaces. I have 2 car parking spaces next to each other one level down from street level.

The storage area is in a corner and boxed in by one of my car spaces and another car space belonging to another apartment. It's a decent size, 25 m2, but there is really no access to it except through either of those adjacent car spaces, so the area is really only usable by me or the owner of that other car space. I think this storage area may have come about because of some design changes in the building during construction. There was supposed to be some kind of machine room there.

There are about 60-70 apartments in the complex and most do not have a storage cage. I actually negotiated one when I purchased OTP 18 months ago. My storage cage is 5m2 and is actually a part of this larger corner storage area (the corner area is actually 30m2, my 5m2 cuts into that space).

I don't really have a use for it right now but who knows in the future. Would be good for resale I guess, having two car spaces and a huge storage area, over 60m2 in total. I don't plan on selling any time soon as it's a great location. If I rented out the 25m2 storage cage (which is what I would do initially) there is the access problem but I could work around that. The real issue I think is that I could only rent it to other apartments in the complex.

What's this 25m2 storage cage worth do you think and what could it possibly rent for. Brisbane is a long way behind Sydney and Melbourne but I'm hearing that storage cages like this are very much sort after as apartments become smaller and smaller.

 

I would estimate the value of that 25sqm storage space to be 10 % the value of your unit.

 

They are being cagey about it.

 

Initial asking price not too far off that mark.

Initial asking price was a bit under 10% of the the contract price for my apartment. But I consider that way too much for 2 reasons: 1. the space is really only usable by the owners of the adjacent car parks (me and the other guy). 2. Due to BC bylaws I can't rent it to the open market.

The space is not worth much to me right now. i do need storage space and that's why I negotiated 5m2 (golf clubs/surfboards/camping gear), but I have no use for 25m2 on top of that because I don't own a jetski/boat/motor bike/trailer and never intend to own those things.

I think this space would boost resale value by quite a bit (not sure if that would be 10%), would depend on the needs of prospective purchasers. But like I said I don't intend selling any time soon, this will be my PPOR for the foreseeable future.

If I bought it I would like to rent it out. A space that size might rent for around $500-600/month at a self storage place, but I reckon I'd be lucky to get $$200/month due to the limited market. I might not be able to rent it at all. So I have no real use for it and there's a good chance it might not generate any income.

Here's another question. Would you pay $5k or even $10k for it.

 

In an apartment, storage space is always worth something given how much money people spend on storage units to rent to store things they will never use.

If it is not too expensive, get it. Anything that differentiates yours from others in what is generally a pretty homogenous offering of units will add value long term

 

My advice would be to buy it if you can afford it.

Its scarcity value will be a great advantage in the future when you want to sell, and will differentiate your unit to the others on the market at the same time.
Marg

 

I would, it is the one thing lacking usually in unit blocks, 5k would be a no brainer IMO & it would at least set your unit apart, only think I would do is negotiate strata fees on living space, not on the storage area if it is useless to others assuming you both do not take it up.

 

Also, if you don't take it up the other owner might...

 

Work out how much it would cost to rent a similar storage unit pa less the extra BC and rates multiply this by 10 and that is what i think it is worth

 

$15,000 - $20,000 probably a reasonable price - I'd think its a sound investment if you can afford it.

 

What happens to the space if you or the neighbour don't want to buy it? If you two are the only ones who can access it, could it (or some of the space) default to your use anyway?

 

We have some common storage space in the basement of our building (accessible to everyone)- we considered dividing it and adding a portion to everyone's title and apparently it would increase the value of our property by ~$15k (of course that was only a guide). It would probably only be about 5m2 each.

If its not accessible though, the law of diminishing returns might apply- so 5m2 which you already have is super useful (surfboards, camping gear etc)- but how many people really need 30m2? (Unless you could put a boat, trailer, other vehicle etc in there.)

 

Hi

Interesting topic. Can you actually get a full sized road motorcycle into this space or a small 6 x 4 trailer?, if you can well $5,000 is absolutely a no brainer to pay for it as it would be worth a lot more than $5,000 for resale or lease when advertised as 2 car spaces and an extra space for a motorcycle. In my personal opinion I would probably pay $10,000 if I had to but wouldn't pay $20,000 unless the unit is worth a million dollars etc.

Is their any chance you can get a car into the storage unit?

Regards,

alicudi

 

This is one that had crossed my mind as well. The space is only accessible via either of the adjacent car spaces, so from a legal perspective any 3rd party would be trespassing to get access. And ofcourse from a practical point of view there would likely be a car in the way anyway.

So if either of the adjacent owners didn't buy it maybe both parties could make application to the BC to have it allocated anyway (perhaps split the space in 2). Would never know 'till the time comes.

Yes I'm wondering how useful that space would be too. It's not much use at all to me (unless I could rent it). But to the right person it could be worth a lot.

It's big enough for a car for sure, but access would be through an existing car space, so not practical. Could easily fit a motorbike or trailer etc. I'm also thinking between $5-$10k right now. My apartment is a 3 bed on the top floor but not quite the million $.

 

I'm looking at doing this. Basically asking that my existing interest and contribution lot entitlements remain as they are, even when/if this storage space is added.

 

Hi

If the car space is big enough for a car, can you easily drive a car into the space if your existing/usual car spot had no vehicle in it and the area was made clear of any existing structures? If the answer is yes, this type of arrangement could be considered a "Tandem" car parking spot which is perfect if you have a weekend car or a trailer of some sort. I was first made aware of "Tandem" car parking spots just this year at an apartment building that is currently under construction in Patterson Lakes, Victoria where a couple of units for sale had a "Tandem" spot and were priced higher as well.

Any chance you have a photo of the storage area you can post up?

Regards,

alicudi