Basement development risks

[joegrang]

I'm looking at purchasing a home that was built in 1989 and I need some advice. The two upstairs floors were recently renovated (last 5 years) but the basement seems like it was a DIY job done in the 90s. I am currently getting my realtor to pull the permits.

First question: what barriers might have prevented the owners from renovating the basement along with the rest of the house? The renovations to the house above were extensive, including in floor radiant heating, removal of walls, new kitchen cabinets, new floors, new washrooms, new windows, etc. The basement contains a illegal bedroom, a media room and a bathroom and has basically no windows.

Secondly, can anyone on beyond recommend a basement developer who would be willing to provide a consult on what the risks of purchasing that home might be and maybe give us some rough numbers for the cost of a renovation? I would be willing to pay for the assessment.

Thirdly, is in floor radiant heating more reliable, efficient than forced air?

Thanks in advance

[Mitsu3000gt]

I've seen so many houses like this now and nothing turns me off a purchase faster than a crappy DIY basement 'development'. I'd much rather it be completely undeveloped. They do it because they don't want to pay for a proper job, which can get quite expensive to finish it to a similar standard as the upper two floors. Or maybe they just don't use the basement often and don't care that it is a bad job so they didn't bother to do it when they could afford to renovate the upper levels. Any number of reasons. The DIY basements also almost always smell musty in my experience.

I don't have any contacts for you but I'm sure any contractor would be happy to come by and give you a quote for gutting of the current situation and a proper development. The one piece of advice I will give is get A LOT of quotes - every big job we've ever paid someone to do, the quotes have ranged from X dollars to at least double that, if not more, for identical workmanship. Cost will depend heavily on the size of the basement and how nice you want it to be, probably $10K-15K for a basic development up to $20-$40K+ if you go all out.

[jwslam]

1) lots of reasons why they weren't renovated at the same time. Maybe the homeowner is proud of his first DIY job and not willing to tear it down. Maybe it was done in the late 90's and they think it's new enough not to reno. Maybe there ARE hidden issues they don't want to uncover / don't have the money for.

3) Not sure about reliability but it's tooted to be more efficient than forced air.

[RealJimmyJames]

Cheapskate who blew his wad on the upstairs and had no money left to bring basement up to same standard.

[Kloubek]

Or perhaps the owner was cheap.

In my case, I was cheap (didn't want to do the permits), but I also didn't want the city knowing I had what may be construed as a suite. Yet, I had a journeyman plumber and a master electrician do all the work behind the walls.

[topmade]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Or perhaps the owner was cheap.

In my case, I was cheap (didn't want to do the permits), but I also didn't want the city knowing I had what may be construed as a suite. Yet, I had a journeyman plumber and a master electrician do all the work behind the walls.
Ditto ^^ cost is #1 and time is another factor. Even just a basic basement with a bathroom can set you back 25k. I did mine myself but pulled permits for the electrical and plumbing. Had it inspected before dry walling and was given the green light. It just had one 3 pc bathroom, 1 large bedroom, 1 large living room and a couple of storage rooms and a furnace room that was left undeveloped. I used ceiling tiles, flooring was carpet with extra heavy underlay and I matched everything with the upper levels so it all looks the same. All in all, it cost me about $7k and about 2 months of evening and weekends. Builder quoted $25k

[Kloubek]

Nice.

Yeah, I am wondering if I'm going to regret not getting permits when it comes time to sell. *I* know the work was done right, because I wasn't going to screw around with such important aspects of a development, but that doesn't mean much to a potential buyer.

We're actually considering selling in the next few months, so I guess I'll see. Jordan, care to chime in here?

[loweg]

Same thing here... Pulled homeowner permits. Had electrician friend help me with everything that needed to be done , or double checked my work. Did the basement myself and saved huge cash.

Just a thought, if they had pulled permits to re-do the basement, would they have had to bring windows up to code? Maybe that was an expense that they did not see the value in before they sold they sold the house .

Sounds like a flipped house where a cost-benefit analysis may have been done on the basement. Doubt they are hiding anything with that. I'd have the home inspector take a look
At everything with a focus on the basement. And bring someone in to Reno the basement to how you'd like it.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Nice.

Yeah, I am wondering if I'm going to regret not getting permits when it comes time to sell. *I* know the work was done right, because I wasn't going to screw around with such important aspects of a development, but that doesn't mean much to a potential buyer.

We're actually considering selling in the next few months, so I guess I'll see. Jordan, care to chime in here?

It will be development in progress....... It's a double edge sword, some will shy away for lack of permit, some will love it for lack of extra property taxes.


Originally posted by loweg
Just a thought, if they had pulled permits to re-do the basement, would they have had to bring windows up to code? Maybe that was an expense that they did not see the value in before they sold they sold the house .

As long as it's not a bedroom (I last recall) it shouldn't matter.

But bring everything else up-to-code tho may be costly. Especially plumbing.


Originally posted by joegrang
First question: what barriers might have prevented the owners from renovating the basement along with the rest of the house? The renovations to the house above were extensive, including in floor radiant heating, removal of walls, new kitchen cabinets, new floors, new washrooms, new windows, etc. The basement contains a illegal bedroom, a media room and a bathroom and has basically no windows.

Secondly, can anyone on beyond recommend a basement developer who would be willing to provide a consult on what the risks of purchasing that home might be and maybe give us some rough numbers for the cost of a renovation? I would be willing to pay for the assessment.

Depends on what you want but I would estimate it as around $40-$80 per sqft of developed space. Added cost of radon mitigation if you area needs it.

[InRich]

Original Post Removed. (Please read the Forum Rules and Terms of Use (http://forums.beyond.ca/articles.php?action=data&item=1) before posting again, or risk getting banned).

[ExtraSlow]

I have...
or
I have got a ...

[blitz]

Originally posted by InRich
*snip*

Maybe you should pony up and become a sponsor since at least 50% of your posts are self promotion.

[msommers]

If you don't pull permits, would this cause issues for insurance coverage if there was ever a problem?

[ExtraSlow]

If anyone bought that $51k used half ton of his, he would need to . . . .

[InRich]

Originally posted by msommers
If you don't pull permits, would this cause issues for insurance coverage if there was ever a problem?

YES! Pull permits!