Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
In the last 3 weeks or so I have been obsessively doing a feasibility study on whether to finish the basement or not. After all, it is a big decision to make since it translates to spending thousands of dollars. We have been faced with this decision because we do plan to sell the townhouse in the near future. Knowing that it is a buyer’s market right now, buyers can be more picky. We have thought about lowering the price less the “perceived valued” of the basement but then that takes away the control from us because it’s giving the buyer the power to decide how to value the basement and will be reflected on how much they would offer for the house. We need to make the house be on par with the other houses in the neighborhood and we only realized that all have finished basements. It only makes sense too because since we have a 1,200 sq ft town home, living space is at a premium. Being able to to sell the house for a good price will enable us to come up with a targeted down payment for the next home.
Frustrated Weekend Warriors
We have started a DIY Basement project about 3 years ago but due to varied reasons(job security issues, back problems, our dog was sick with cancer, we would rather be enjoying our free time outdoors, not enough time, lack of home improvement skills, etc). After realizing that buyers don’t consider wood paneling sexy after the fact that we were installing wood paneling was the real bummer. Why did we decide on wood paneling in the first place? We like wood and it’s more doable to install DIY than dry wall. There were also some important details that we didn’t know how to address like a weird plumbing rough in for the bathroom and we weren’t looking forward to doing the dry wall for the ceiling.
Building Code
I started researching about finishing basements and I realized that we actually needed to apply for a permit for adding a living space, plumbing and electrical work from the county. Most if not all the permits can only be pulled by licensed professionals. Pulling a permit automatically informs that county of any improvements. While most homeowners don’t want their real estate tax assessment to increase after an improvement has been done to the property, for our peace of mind we want our project to be done up to code. The county inspector’s job is to make sure that the building code has been followed. Not pulling permits may save some money but it’s not worth the risk. The homeowner’s insurance can deny a claim should something happen because of poor workmanship. There was a case with one of hubby’s co-worker’s house getting mold in the attic due to leaky roof and because of poor workmanship, the homeowner’s insurance denied his claim costing him to replace the roof and clean the mold(costing around $20,000) out-of-pocket. The leaky roof was installed before he bought the home. I wonder if he can sue the roofer?
Time to Call the Pros
We realize that we lack the time and the skills to finish the basement so we have to call in the pros. We don’t know nor can anyone refer to us an affordable and reputable general contractor. With the power of the Internet, we were able to find one but that’s for another post.
