Basement Square Footage Question

[Dan12]

I have a house in NC with a basement. The basement can be accessed from a staircase from the main floor and a door to the backyard.
When you come downstairs, you step into an unfinished basement that does have a vent for heat. Through the unfinished basement you can go into a finished portion that has 3 rooms. A kitchette/living room with fireplace, a bathroom, and a bedroom with closet (no window but has two doors leading to the kitchenette and to the unfinished basement. There is one vent providing heat from the hvac upstairs in the kitchenette/living room. No vent in bedroom or bathroom. Floors, interior walls and ceiling are finished but outside walls are still painted center block. There is exposed plumbing. I did not include the finished basement as hla but realtor thinks we should.

 

[Surf Cat]

I have a house in NC with a basement. The basement can be accessed from a staircase from the main floor and a door to the backyard.
When you come downstairs, you step into an unfinished basement that does have a vent for heat. Through the unfinished basement you can go into a finished portion that has 3 rooms. A kitchette/living room with fireplace, a bathroom, and a bedroom with closet (no window but has two doors leading to the kitchenette and to the unfinished basement. There is one vent providing heat from the hvac upstairs in the kitchenette/living room. No vent in bedroom or bathroom. Floors, interior walls and ceiling are finished but outside walls are still painted center block. There is exposed plumbing. I did not include the finished basement as hla but realtor thinks we should.

So what's the question?

You have a partially finished basement and that's all there is to it. When you say HLA, is that GLA ( gross living area)? It doesn't matter if it's heated and cooled.... it's still below grade.

Who cares what the realtor thinks.... you know the rules (or you should) about what is and what is not above grade living area. Hopefully, you have a comparable or two with finished basement area to gauge the market reaction.

 

[Tom D]

non GLA. but the good news, you got a basement adu. You have mislabeled the sketch. Should be living room, bath, kitchen & bedroom. Looks like you are trying to hide an adu, be very careful.
Read the fannie newsletter about what an adu is. You got one in da basement. You gonna get burned saying rec room & room with a kitchen & bath..

 

[Dublin ohio]

non GLA. but the good news, you got a basement adu. You have mislabeled the sketch. Should be living room, bath, kitchen & bedroom. Looks like you are trying to hide an adu, be very careful.
Read the fannie newsletter about what an adu is. You got one in da basement. You gonna get burned saying rec room & room with a kitchen & bath..

It has interior access from the first floor. Doubt that it would be an ADU. Unless nobody but the occupants of the ADU control access from the rest of the house. Which would create only one point of ingress/egress.

 

[Tom D]

It has interior access from the first floor. Doubt that it would be an ADU. Unless nobody but the occupants of the ADU control access from the rest of the house. Which would create only one point of ingress/egress.

The basement has a door to the back yard. Isn't that a point of ingress to the finished part.

 

[Dublin ohio]

The basement has a door to the back yard. Isn't that a point of ingress to the finished part.

The door to the backyard is in the unfinished area and if that area outside of the finished area has a fire...........................................

 

[Overimprovement]

It doesn't matter what it is called as much as how the market values it. Here are some general considerations that go into below grade space that I have posted before. I know some of these aren't applicable to your question, but others may read this and appreciate the thoughts...

• How FINISHED is the space? Concrete floors and walls? Is it all heated and cooled? Is it completely unfinished, but capable of being useful IF finished—this would require ceilings to be high enough at least? Will the space ever ONLY be storage space and for mechanicals housing—more like an old cellar?
• If it is finished, what is the level of finish, COMPARED to upstairs/main level? Is the upstairs sheet-rocked, but downstairs is acoustic tile ceiling and wood paneled walls? How about flooring (carpet vs rolled vinyl)? Fixtures? Trim and doors? Are the quality and condition of improvements comparable to the upper level?
• Does it flood? Is it waterproofed? French drain? Presence of dehumidifiers?
• What is the size of the space, as more space offers more utility, even on a $/SF basis.
• What is it used for—does it contain 2 of the 3 bedrooms in the home, or just a 2nd family room? Does it contain 1 of 2 bathrooms in the home, of 1 of 5? In other words, is the space INTEGRAL to normal living, or could it just as easily be done without?
• What, if any, access is there to the outside, and what IS outside when you get there? Are there sliding glass doors that open up to a nice deck, in-ground pool and veranda...or is there interior access only?
• What is the ceiling height compared to above ground level? There is a pretty big difference in ‘feel’ between 7’ and 8’, especially for adults. Does ductwork/pipes/wiring extend down from ceiling? Even if the ductwork is boxed in and drywalled, this takes away space.
• Are windows present, and in general, how much natural light is available? Is one side of basement well lit, but most of it more like a dungeon?
• How far below grade is it? Is it 10 sqft that is 3” below grade, or is the entire level 5’ below grade, with one peephole window 7’ off the floor?
• How much of the basement space is actually below grade? Entire level or just one corner? ANSI considerations require the entire space to be called below grade even if it is just that 10 sqft that is barely below grade level. But how would market perceive that?

 

[Tom D]

Don't believe your eyes. They have a summer kitchen in the basement where it's cooler, then they have a full bathroom to take a shower after eating dinner. And 2 other fin rooms. Hopefully, the other rooms didn't have furniture like a bed. And i bet the owner didn't have someone living there, or we didn't ask why this setup.

We don't have enough photos to further determine finished basement, or the perception of an adu. But that drawing gives a perception of an adu. Let us know what happens with whatever choice you make.

 

[ucbruin]

All the Q&A....
And at the end of the day....
No change to GLA....
It's a basement....

 

[sputnam]

I have a house in NC with a basement. The basement can be accessed from a staircase from the main floor and a door to the backyard.
When you come downstairs, you step into an unfinished basement that does have a vent for heat. Through the unfinished basement you can go into a finished portion that has 3 rooms. A kitchette/living room with fireplace, a bathroom, and a bedroom with closet (no window but has two doors leading to the kitchenette and to the unfinished basement. There is one vent providing heat from the hvac upstairs in the kitchenette/living room. No vent in bedroom or bathroom. Floors, interior walls and ceiling are finished but outside walls are still painted center block. There is exposed plumbing. I did not include the finished basement as hla but realtor thinks we should.

The Realtor's job is marketing. The Appraiser's job is providing information and value conclusions to Clients... usually Lenders. The 'rules' about what is and isn't GLA haven't really changed in decades. Finished, heated, above the ground, and contiguous. The tricky part for some is if any part of the floor of a level is below the level of the ground outside, the entire level basement... regardless of how well finished it is.