I'm with you on that one.
Actually, I don't appreciate ANY information being withheld.
I like when street adresses are included. I understand the other argument about security...just don't put down that the property is empty.

I would think extra phone calls would be annoying for realtors.
IF I like a particular property, you don't have to twist my arm to buy it. I'm too seasoned to be played games with like "bait n' switch".
I agree, please put as much info about a property as possible.

Our MLS does have this info. as a REQUIRED input (meaning, if nothing is checked, it will not accept a blank data space for the MLS) and it can be searched specifically for that, but I can't speak for others:
Basement/Foundation £ ___Crawl Space ___Full Basement ___Garden Level ___None ___Other ___Partial Basement ___Post and Pier ___Slab ___Tied-down Mobile ___Walk-out Level

In our state the local MLS service restricts street addresses from being used on realtor.com- not our choice- theirs.

Basements are a mandatory field meaning we must select something.

If it is not on flyers that is due to the software choice of the agent and/or the format selected to print the MLS info. In my state there are over a dozen formats for printing off the MLS info and notall of them include the basement info. To have all the fields print and not leave off any info would mean 4 pages of info so most opt with a 1 page synopsis.

On my software for printing flyers basements are an alternative which I can select but is not on the standard form. 95% of homes where I live have full basements so I don't bother to include it.

Bait n switch is not a legal marketing strategy so that should not be happening. I don't think any realtor posting on this site has suggested that they use that as a technique. That's a misunderstanding.

I'm sorry the realtor was rude to you- she might just be a you-know-what in real life or you might have caught her on a bad day.

Is she the listing agent? If she is she should know without a doubt what the basement is or should have been able to look it up in under one minute.

Is she your agent? If she is your agent- you might need an agent with a better attitude.

If you don't have an agent your local online tax information should provide info regarding basements if that is easier than making the call?

We just moved from Iowa (ALL houses have basements) to Kentucky (maybe 1/4 of houses have basements). So I can relate. Totally.

And I was almost to the point of doing the "slab versus crawl space" thing, because I had to discount three-fourths of houses for sale because they didn't have basements. And none of the listings distinguished betweens slab versus crawl. So, again, I can relate.

The area in which we are looking has a lot of 'starter homes'---2 Bd, 1 garage, built in the 50's on a slab.

Kansas City is also tornado country---a basement is a very very, very good idea.

Our "Must Have' list is short---central air and a basement.

About half of the houses in this area are listed as having a slab basement. (Translation---listing that way makes the listing show up on a search parameter listing Basement as part of the search)

Another entry is the 'Raised wood foundation'---translation---crawl space.

This will be a HUGE problem when we start looking in earnest.

If the house has an attic, it's not that hard to add central air. The compressor goes outside, the air handler goes in attic and the installer places vents in the sheet rock ceilings for the rooms on the upper floor. In a two story house the lower floor won't get that much cooling, but the bedrooms are usually upstairs. It's probably a $4,000 to $6,000 project depending on the house. Lots of older houses have central air done this way as a retrofit. So if you find a house that you love at a great price, you might be able to do this after you move in.

This is our first (and last!) house with a crawl space and I hate it, hate it, hate it!

I had to buy one of those dollies auto mechanics use just to get around in the darn thing. I feel sorry for anyone who has to go in there to do any work. Due to the high water table basements in this area are hard to come by but can be found.

Our new house has a crawl space. Thrilled to pieces to not have a basement anymore. I know from the disclosure that there were some moisture issues in the past so the former owners had it waterproofed. There's a large access panel inside the front closet and a hatch-type opening on the outside of the house. It's probably 4 feet tall inside, too, maybe a little more.

Apparantly I have the world's nicest crawlspace. I have yet to so much as look at it, but let me tell you, every man who's set foot on the property has been fascinated by this. Their agent, my agent, the inspector, my husband -- my teenage son wants to have a party down there with his friends.

Who knew a crawl space could have such allure?

The new "man cave" is your crawl space"? Thats pretty funny!
From some descriptions there seem to be some crawl spaces that are almost sort of low ceilinged basements? And then there are the others like secsteve has been contending with. One would certainly be more appealing that the other.

A lot of MLS websites look fairly similar, so I have to think the software is fairly similiar across the country and is probably bought and or run by one or two vendors.
So I wonder how it is that someplaces they can somehow bypass a foundation entry?

Could it be possible that it is a requreiment but there is some other feature that allows it not to be included on the public MLS?
Except that the realtor who check on the property I called on looked on the MLS and didn't seen an entry either....I assume she was logged on to her realtor account but maybe she just did a quick public look.

Who actually runs the MLS and the rules for inputting? I.e. Who do I email and plea for a change?

I emailed a realtor on another property with no foundation entry asking "slab or crawl"? and he replied that it was on a slab and that he would be happy to do a search for me for properties on a crawl space.
????????
How is that going to work if realtors LIKE HIM aren't putting it in the entry?
I did recheck the listing and he has added it now so good on him.

Mary

For fun a did a search of one area, ranch style and got:
3 crawl or crawl/partial slab,
1 partial,
6 slabs,
1 walkout,
2 Full and
5 with no foundation type listed.

Obviously most ranches in my price range seem to be on slabs and you can kind of guess basement vs. slab/crawl space based on price. But I don't like to guess and I can distinguish btw slab and crawl space based on price.

akkw - I don't know what price range you were in but in Michigan I found that 80-90% of houses seemed to have basements and pretty decent windows.
Did you also find that there were these cheap metal framed windows in a bunch of houses? I was so puzzled and appalled at the first ones I saw - metal frame? Isn't that what storm windows have? But have seen it again and again. It just seems like construction here in general does not compare to what I'm used in the same age, type, price market as Michigan and Nebraska and apparently Iowa.

The woman wasn't so rude, I just got the distinct impression from her words and tone that she didn't understand why I was insisting on the info which makes me feel like I have become an "irritational problem person" and that just gets a little exasperating because I really don't want to be.

I understand your problem with listing info. I was deleting listings left and right when we were looking for a townhouse near Raleigh, one of the requirements was a fireplace. I was shocked to see that there were so many in the upper six figures that didn't have one until a tiny thumbnail pic of a FP caught my eye on a listing that clearly said NO next to the fireplace option. All but one of 28 properties that we were interested in had fireplaces but were listed as not having one. An elevator is another on our list of requirements, although only 46, I have a lot of difficulty with stairs due to back problems. Several of these properties did have elevators and yet none of them were listed on the website I was using. It's one thing to leave out info to lure potential buyers but incorrect info is ridiculous!

Marys1000, I have bad knees and have never done well on concrete. When we moved to Baton Rouge a lifetime ago, I insisted on only seeing houses on crawls. That limited us to older homes. There were whole neighborhoods that were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s that had crawls. You "might" find that houses of that era are more likely to be built on a crawl. Also look for "pier and beam" listed. That is a crawl, too.

Isn't it irritating to ask a question and have someone try to argue you out of what you are looking for? It is not like we need to share our medical histories in order to find a house, after all. How many times did I hear how much better a slab would be?! And, NO, thick carpets with padding do not substitute for a flexible floor, and I do not want to debate the physics or the physiology involved in my preference! Sometimes male realtors would get so condescending in these discussions. Females never agreed with me, but the attitude was easier to take.