Finishing basement - one or two finished rooms for resale value?
Should we go with one big room or one larger and one smaller room with a door?
We are talking to contractors about finishing our basement. Actually, half of it. The half that will be finished is 25' 4" x 11' 2".
It is a 1974 build colonial and in our area about half of the basements are finished, half our not. We want to increase the resale value of the home when we sell in 3 to 5 years. Plus we want to use and enjoy the finished part. The unfinished half is the same size and includes my husband's work room, the furnace and water heater units and related stuff, and the laundry room and storage.
We are planning to have the finished area done with all dry wall, probably luxury vinyl plank or cork flooring (with area rugs for warmth), a nice drop ceiling or dry wall, haven't decided yet & recessed lights, plus an under steps finished area with storage of room for desk. The biggest part will be a family entertainment area with seating and a TV, etc.
The question is, from a perspective of resale value, is it better to have one big finished multi-purpose room for the full size 25 x 11, or split it into maybe 15 x 11 and 10 x 11? The smaller room with door could be an office, a music studio room (my son would use it) or even a playroom.
What are opinions and thoughts about one big finished room or two smaller but still good size finished rooms?
I will attempt to upload a photo, but it's not that useful as it is completely unfinished. Two windows at one end (of the finished area, 3 more in the unfinished area)
Comments (15)
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Comments (7)I lived for many years in a house with a finished basement. Then we moved to a house with a finished, walk-out lower level like you are describing (large windows, sliding glass doors to patio). It is like comparing apples to oranges. It was on our list of 'must haves'. I overheard my kids referring to our old house as "the creepy house". Offended, I asked them why (I thought our other house was nice!) They said, because it didn't have big windows downstairs....so there you have your assessment from a kid, LOL!...See MoreBonus room or finished basement?
Comments (19)Our tract home has the space over the garage as a large bonus room in most of the homes. When we bought from the developer, we could go for one or two rooms over the garage. We are one of the few homes that went for 2 rooms. One was to be a playroom, and one was going to be a guest room. Noise goes down into the garage from these rooms and not into the rest of the house all that much. So neighbors tended to make these rooms for their teens. Before the house was finished, we had a surprise baby, so one of the rooms became a bedroom and the other a guest room for 8 years. Later still it became a bedroom because it was larger and we turned the smallest bedroom into a guest room. Those rooms are large and work well. One has a walk in closet with plumbing for a wet bar behind the drywall if anyone ever wants a bonus room. I think you would get more for your money if you finish the room above the garage. If you turn it into two rooms, one cold be storage and the other a den or bedroom. Or you could build a nice walk in closet and use that for storage and still use the room itself for whatever purpose you might want. I really do not like finished basements as much as the upstairs room. They are low in natural light and usually chilly and damp. Furthermore, they always feel like a basement, no matter how nicely they are finished....See Moremaking two bedrooms into one w/o decreasing value?
Comments (16)I was confused at first like the other posters about why you cared about the appraisal if it was before you did the work, but then re-read your post and at the end you explained you want to finance the remodel. That said, if you're going to change the 3rd bedroom into a bathroom plus walk-in closet, I can't envision how in the world you could "pretend" that's a bedroom as well. There's not enough room, Presumably this is an older house, in which case it's probably got small bedrooms to start with. There will be added value from having a second bathroom. Perhaps that would offset the lost value from a bedroom. I'd call an appraiser or two and run your plan by them. But rarely do any improvements return (or appraise for) what they cost you to do. I seriously doubt that your changes would increase the value $80K unless this is a $2 million house or something. While you should certainly make the changes that will make the home more livable for you, you should probably save up some more cash and pay for the remodel that way. Or make a bigger down payment and/or pay down the principal faster and create equity that you can borrow down the road....See MoreFinished basement sewing room
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