Basements

I never thought I would even consider buying a house with a basement but in this market things changed.

So I ask the pro and cons.

If you have basement it is great storage, foundation, possible apartment for income
what else?

If you do not have a basement please let me know the pros and cons of it and if you really feel that you need one looking back. TIA

Re: Basements

We have a half basement... that's one of the things I had to compromise on for this model house in this neighborhood.

For us it was a necessity, DH is a part-time musician and he needs a studio. When we get the basement redone it will be redone with that in mind and he'll be able to start recording again.

It's also really great for when you have kids and they are old enough they can go down there by themselves and make it their primary playroom, especially if you don't have a livingroom and a den.

Re: Basements

We have a half as well, but truth be told, I'm glad that it is not full...when we had that awful rain in October - our basement flooded (we are close to the LI sound)

I accept it as our utility room and DH's work bench. and am happy they don't have to be on a main floor

Re: Basements

I grew up on a slab so the thought of a basement, to be quite honest, scared me a bit (But I base this on my Dad's basement in his 106 y/o house)

We said our house had to have either a basement or a garage - we lucked out with both! - and in the end, I'm glad we have the basement. It is great for storage and down the road, it can be divided into a utility area and the other half can be finished off as our den/playroom.

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We have about 1/2 basement and while it is very important to FH, basements scare me so i will rarely, if ever go down there..... we are having it redone in the fall, but i still dont think i can get over my fears.

Re: Basements

I always grew up with a basement and could never imagine not having one.

We rent our basement out now - but I can't wait to take it over - it will not only be storage but we will use it as another hang out room.

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Storage was a necessity for us so IMO if the house doesnt have a basement then it should have an attic.

Re: Basements

My basement is storage, laundry room, pantry and dh's workshop. When we were buying, I wouldn't look at any houses without basements.

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Never had a basement. Don't have one in my house. Doesn't bother me can't miss something you never had.

We have a LOT of storage in the eaves upstairs

Re: Basements

a house i am looking at is very small, so if it had a basement i would be all over it.

but the house is on a huge piece of land, so there is pleanty of room to expand.

the house i grew up in has a basement and we use it for storage only. its creepy down there!

My sister doesnt have a basement or a garage ss she uses her shed and attic.

unless you need it for a specific use (like people said their DH's build stuff, musicians, etc) and you have other storage areas, its not a necessity.

Re: Basements

We have a partially finished basement. My husband made a room into a bar, I have a laundry room, there's a work room/storage room and then there is a great unfinished room, which hopefully one day I'll get around to finishing. I could never imagine not having it.

Re: Basements

I grew up in a house that had a basement and then lived in a house without one, and missed it.

Our basement had so many uses.

Laundry room, office when we were younger, "apartment" for my brother when he got older, and now my dad has a HUGE table set up down there with his Lionel trains on it --- basically takes up almost all of the space --- and also uses it for storage.

Re: Basements

I ABSOLUTELY love and NEED my basement. It is fully finished and serves as the playroom for my 2 boys. I have like Toys R' Us down there and it is totally child-proofed. Plus I have a full bathroom and a seperate (huge) laundry room. Whenever there is a playdate to be scheduled, it's always at my house because the mom's love having all the toys in one safe area where we can all keep out eyes on the kids yet we can sit and be comfortable.

My favorite part is that at the end of the day, if we're all too pooped for "clean up time", we just go upstairs and close the door. Nobody sees any mess. My upstairs always stays so clean and neat. I LOVE IT! I would never buy a house without a finished basement!

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If a house doesn't have a basement, I won't consider it. DH sells aquarium plants on ebay, so that will be his workspace!

Re: Basements

We would only look at ones with basements.

Ours is full-finished and we have our laundry room down there.

When we redo it we will put a bar, card table and a nice tv. That is going to be DH's hang out room.

Re: Basements

Re: Basements

We have a finished basement ( Its finished but needs to be redone - hopefully soon) I love it, I grew up with one and have always had one.

Our finished basement ( It's huge!) is a laundry room, large office, large playroom and LOTS of extra closets ( 3 huge closets), plus storage, and we have another full bath down there.

Message edited 7/17/2006 4:39:16 PM.

Re: Basements

We have a basement and an attic. We plan on using our attic for storage and are going to finish the basement later this year. We are going to have a TV room (where DH and his friends can watch football - our of my hair) and an exercise area, and maybe put a computer desk down there. We want to add a 1/2 bath too.
Also down there is the washer/dryer and oil burner.
We have an apartment in our house.. it is not in the basement, it is where the "denn" would be... this is why we are finishing the basement to be our replacement den! An apartment in the basement wouldnt be legal.

Message edited 7/17/2006 8:18:08 PM.

Re: Basements

I grew up with a basement and it was one of the things on our must list.
Right now we have our washer/dryer down there, oil burner, hot water heater, etc.
We are planning on finishing half of it and FH wants to have a den down there to watch the hockey games...which is cool with me!
I like the idea of separating the nice part with the not nice part and having an area to do laundry.

Re: Basements

The pros of a basement are amazing. Storage, pantry, extra entertainment room, work side, laundry. Easy access to your storage if you don't want to use your attic.

Re: Basements

I grew up with a basement and now live in a condo without one. I miss it. The laundry was downstairs. My brother lived downstairs when he wanted more "privacy". My dad has a workshop down there as well as his music studio (Dad is a musician and used to give lessons in the house). My friends and I played down there. I miss having a basementl.

I can't see anything bad about them