In Australia there are a few options for car parking and the kind of parking available affects the value of the house, the better parking there is - the higher value the house has. Let’s go over them all, from the cheapest to the most expensive one.

Street parking

The cheapest parking is, of course, street parking. Houses that have only a street parking and don’t even have a right of way (meaning they don’t have an entrance from the street to a driveway) are considered less valuable than houses with a right of way (of course this comparison is only valid within the same area).

Driveway

The more attractive option is the driveway. A car (or cars, if there’s enough room) can be parked in a driveway, and if it is parked behind a gate, then it is called a secure parking.

Carport

A carport is the next best thing. We call a carport a roof supported by 4 posts, it can be either free standing or attached to the house. There are usually no walls, so the carport is a shelter for a car - although not an ideal one. It will keep the car protected from the rain and from the harmful UV radiation, but won’t protect you from the wind as you are getting in or out the car.

When I bought my first car in Australia and was getting it insured, I had trouble answering a very simple question: “Is the car parked in a carport or a garage?”. I simply couldn’t tell the difference between a carport and a garage - well, here is the explanation:

Garage

The best car parking is a garage. Garage is a building, a part of the house or a free-standing one, it has a roof and 4 walls, with a roller (or whatever else) door for the car. Normally there is access from the garage to the house, so can leave the car go straight into the house. A garage is often used as an extra storage space - in fact, many people don’t leave much room for the car

Double garage

And the ultimate best is a double garage - a garage for two cars. If there are two cars in the household and only a single garage, it means that somebody is always blocking somebody else, which is a nuisance and can cause lots of arguments. Double garage takes that headache away, because the two cars are parked side by side with neither one blocking the access to driveway.

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