how valuable a unfinished basement is (esp. for tornado)? (Fishers: sale, how much)

[tomorrow]

Hi there,

I am moving to central indiana and visited two houses on the market, say A and B in the same town. On one hand, house A has an unfinished basement and B doesn't. On the other hand, house B is in a better condition (A is dirty and needs new paint and new carpet) and B is $30K cheaper. But I heard in central indiana, tornado is a real concern. So I am wondering how valuable of an unfinished basement will be here, in terms of money and safety?

P.S. which one, A or B, you think may be a better deal for us?

Thanks much in advance!

[Mike Taylor]

Originally Posted by tomorrow

P.S. which one, A or B, you think may be a better deal for us?

Basically you are asking if all things are equal, it is worth 30K more for an unfinished basement, new carpet, and new paint?

How much value a basement adds to the property depends a lot on what the rest of the homes in the neighborhood have. If all the other homes in the same subdivision have a basement and yours does not, that is a huge problem. The same is true if your home is one of the only ones with a basement, you will not receive its full value as the basement would be considered an over improvement.

As far as tornados go, maybe I am just weird but I don't really worry about them at all.

[domergurl]

I grew up in a house without a basement and when we had a tornado hit us ... it was frightening. But tornados are frightening no matter what. As a result of that experience as a child, I will never buy a house without a basement, but not necessarily because of the tornado threat ... but for the storage and possibility of adding more living space when ready. I lived in a subdivision in Fishers that had a mix of basement/no basement ... guess which houses sold quicker, including mine ... that being said, paint and carpet are a no brainer when buying a resale house, for me anyway. Just make sure the basement is dry and check for foundation cracks ... be on top of your home inspector and ask questions.

[Southside Shrek]

If House 'A' doesn't have other significant problems such as a bad roof, rotten wood windows, old furnace/ac system, outdated kitchen/baths, etc., then I would go for A and deduct the costs of painting and new carpeting. Painting and new carpet can completely transform a home.

A basement definitely helps in a tornado situation.

[tomorrow]

Mike, domergurl and Southside Shrek: Thanks much for all your suggestions! This is a forum with great people :-)


The subdivision I am looking at has a mix of basement/no basement. So, Mike, what do you say the value of an unfinished basement?

Besides the money concern, I am wondering how often central indiana get hit by tornadoes? Is it often enough to definitely get an unfinished/finished basement when buying a home? As domergurl said, a basement may also help resale significantly?

Also, if we don't count the area of the unfinished basement, house A is a couple of hundreds sqft smaller than house B. A's kitchen is similar to B's kitchen; the main difference are that B has a stainless steel fridge while A doesn't. Both A and B are built in this century, so neither is terribly out of date.

Many many thanks!

[domergurl]

The bottom line is which house you like better .. you can always upgrade to stainless ... I'm kind of regretting doing it myself ... it's harder to keep clean! Especially with little fingers, of which, I have 30 of them always in and out of the fridge!

But for us, the storage aspects of an unfinished basement would be the clincher for us .... I wouldn't have a clue where in the heck we would put our stuff!!! The tornado thing is secondary for us. And again, as Shrek said .. carpet and paint are a given ... shave money off the sale price.

[Southside Shrek]

I have been watching a 5,000+ sq ft 2 story house undergo interior re-painting and it has transformed the house. New carpeting will be put in after all the painting is completed. The house still needs a lot of work including a new roof, repair or replacement of several rotted wood windows, new fixtures, a new air conditioning system, etc. It takes a lot of cash to fix up a house that has been neglected.

The basement smells 'musty' to me and I suspect that a good de-humidifier is needed down there.