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Hi - We live in NC and have a new brick home with a partially finished off basement. I am curious which side of the basement would be better to finish off for resale should we not be able to do it all.
Our home is potentially 5500 sq. feet when finished. The first floor is finished off and has 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath, kitchen, family room, dining room/office & laundry. The basement is divided logically into 3 sections. The middle is finished and has a bar and surround sound and is used as the media room. On one side of the basement we have the framing for a 2nd large master bedroom and a full bath. The other side of the basement was going to be for my mom in law, but unfortunately she had to go into assisted living. It is framed into a small family room area on one side and a small bedroom on the other side. In between these two rooms it is framed for 2 closets, 2 toilets and 1 shower - we thought it could either be a mom in laws suite, or would be good for two teenager bedrooms.
For resale purposes, it is better off to finish off the section containing 1 master suite (it could also be another media room, a bonus room, office, etc.) or the section containing the 2 smaller rooms which can be marketed as bedrooms.
I'd agree with manderly on that one. You never know what a potential buyer might want to use the space for. I don't think finishing it will necessarily make it anymore attractive to a potential buyer than not finishing it.
Hmmm, that is interesting. I agree with you about letting a potential buyer decide what they want to do. I was told it is better to have 3 bedrooms for resale. We only have 2 on the main level now and thought we would lose potential lookers with only 2.
I didn't notice the bedroom thing either. If given the choice, then why not go with the section that can be turned into 2 bedrooms with a 3/4 bath and a 1/2 bath. That way the home could be listed as 4 bedroom 2 full, 1 3/4 and 2 1/2 baths.
Another idea might be to list the property as is and specify what the potential is and offer to finish either section based on the buyers need. It will unfortunately be dictated by the real estate search engines. Unless your realtor is willing to list what the potential bed/bath count is, the house will only be searchable as a 2 bedroom which would limit the people seeing your listing.
The downstairs has the potential for about 2500 sq. feet. I agree with y'all about finishing off the 2 bedroom section rather than the 1 large bedroom, I think that would be better for marketability.
Unless you have a full daylight walkout basement with possibilities of a patio or covered porch down there, I would not expend any money due to this economy, in taking a chance. Of course, it will depend on your motivation to move and how long you can wait for a buyer. It will also depend on how high your out of pocket expenses are going to be, because you will certainly want to recoup that money.
My friend has a listing very similar to that right now. She is going on a year and a half with it. Gorgeous house, but 2 BR on main level, another room w/o a closet that owner refuses to put a closet in. Duh. Open space inlaw apt. on lower level with dead end balcony and a view to die for, and owner's only basement storage behind the so called apt. Guest suite over the garage only accessible from outside. It's a screwed up mess. For just under $500K.
I would price the house according to the market conditions in your area with "potential" for more bedrooms or in law etc. Or you could try "allowance" for finishing the partially finished area which could work also. People like to do their own thing to suit their needs.
All in all, what does your Realtor advise? They know your market best and what type of buyers would be interested.
Luckily we can do most of the work ourselves (hubby used to be in construction and we have both done remodels) so the main expense is materials, but I agree we should not put too much money into it. We have not spoken to a realtor yet, just in the thinking stage right now. We both thought we should have 3 bedrooms but did not agree which side should be done first so I wanted to get some opinions here. The idea of an allowance is a good one also, we could always go that route when we decide to put it on the market. Thanks!
Are you allowed to have bedrooms in the basement in North Carolina? Do you have the proper egress to escape in case of fire? Usually the basement is not included in the square footage and the room count for the house.
You don't always get a good rate of return on finishing the basement. I would contact a Realtor first and see what other comparable homes in your area have finished basements and what they are listed or sold for.
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