Question about Raleigh-area homes and basements/attics

[meanieme]

Agreed, the lot is the most important aspect whether a basement home is desirable or not.
Should look at a few things: (1) how sloped side of house is (2) does backyard continue to slop where basement starts to tail off (3) how much backyard space is left

[don6170]

Originally Posted by meanieme

4) Cooler in the summers and warmer in the winters - save on A/C and heating!

Since cool air sinks and warm air rises, I'm not sure how it would be warmer in the winter. I grew up with a basement, where we finished it off with a bedroom on one end. It was definitely cooler in the summer, but also colder in the winter.

Another difference is that finished bonus rooms can have walls that slant in (because of the roof line), which can make placing tall furniture and entertainment equipment more difficult.

[danmcb26]

Originally Posted by don6170

Since cool air sinks and warm air rises, I'm not sure how it would be warmer in the winter. I grew up with a basement, where we finished it off with a bedroom on one end. It was definitely cooler in the summer, but also colder in the winter.

Another difference is that finished bonus rooms can have walls that slant in (because of the roof line), which can make placing tall furniture and entertainment equipment more difficult.

underground stays warmer then about ground when its cold.

[poppydog]

Originally Posted by mlw12345

What kind of closets do you have here that you would have massive, spare closets to store holiday decorations?

Well, I don't go way overboard with holiday stuff, but in my BASEMENT (the walk-out one with the water damage that needs all the carpet ripped up and new sheetrock, etc) I do have a decent sized built-in closet/armoire that I store holiday stuff in. It's as wide as a double closet, but not as deep. I keep some art/craft stuff in there, too, but other than that it's all Christmas and Halloween (the only holidays I decorate for). We do a real tree every year (not a fan of plastic trees) so no need to store that.

My mom kept a lot of holiday stuff in her hall closet (as well as the vacuum, sewing machine, etc), but she also put a lot of stuff in the attic.

FTR, the basement is definitely cooler in the summer, and I can't tell any difference in the winter if the power is off, but if the heat is keeping the main level toasty it's definitely cooler downstairs in the basement.