Is it worth it to convert garages to living space?

[Tracy Munger]

Hello fellow BP'ers!

We just had an offer accepted on a 4 plex. This will be our first rental/investment property. It is a newer duplex that was converted to a 4 plex. The upper units are 2 bedrooms and fine as they are.

My question is around the lower units. They are rather small 1 bedrooms with 1 car garages (15'x13' each) that are part of house on that level. The living room/dining area/kitchen (15'x17') are all in one room and they feel fairly small to be used as a living space. The previous owner rented these mostly by the week which I do not plan to do. Overall I feel these are not competitive units in this market.

I'm looking to value add on these units by possibly converting the garages to living areas instead and hoping I can bump the rent by doing so. I assume I would convert to living rooms even though I know a bedroom might be worth more, however with the current layout as described I think a living room makes more sense.

If I do convert this would mean the tenants would park outside. My question is basically, which is worth more generally? More living area or a garage? Which would add more appreciation? As this is early in the buying process I haven't gotten any quotes to do the work yet so I can't speak to how much it would affect the returns. I am just curious if it is even something that I should even be considering since it most likely won't be bedrooms.

Thank you!