Buying a Home With a Detached Garage or Outbuilding in Marion, MA: What to Know

I am Susan Gorden Ryan, and in Marion, a detached garage, barn or workshop can be a genuine selling point, but a general home inspection does not always evaluate a separate structure with the same depth it gives the main house. I make sure it gets its own look.

Check whether the structure was permitted when it was built, since an older or unpermitted outbuilding can create complications at resale or with insurance. Look at its actual condition separately, roof, foundation, electrical if it has power, and whether it was built for the use you actually intend, storage, a workshop, housing a vehicle or something else.

If a workshop, extra garage space or barn is part of why a particular property appeals to you, confirm it can legally and physically support that use before you count on it. A structure that looks right from the driveway is not the same as one that is documented and sound.

Get in touch and I will help you evaluate any outbuilding as its own piece of the property, not an afterthought.