One thing that never changes for growing families is the need for more room. A lot of families see the need for more space as a sign it’s time to move and find a bigger home, but this doesn’t have to be the case. For a young growing family, or someone just trying to get the most value out of the space they have, choosing to finish the basement of your home can prove to be the perfect solution. With a much lower cost and stress load than moving, added home value, and a fantastic return on investment, finishing your basement is a great solution to get more room out of your home.
Spend Less and Improve What You Have
For many, home improvements can be a daunting task. The process of planning what you want to be done, hiring the people to do the job, and then turning your home into a construction site is not very appealing. The biggest benefit of renovating, over moving, is that you’ll be spending way less on average than you would by moving to a larger home. The average cost to finish a basement is between $2,800 to $34,500 with a national average sitting at around $18,398. For many, especially growing families, these prices are much better than the costs and stress of moving to a new home.
Of course, this project will still need to be paid for. Many consider taking out a loan, which would give you the money faster than trying to save up, but there are different options available to you. If you’re able to extend your home loan with 30-year mortgage rates, you’ll have a lower monthly payment, meaning you can free up more of your money to go toward the renovation of your basement. Using this method to free up money may extend the timeline of the project, but it will also allow you to keep another bill from taking more of your income. You can also consider paying in cash if you can afford it. Contractors find cash preferable because there are lower processing fees, meaning they can access more of their money faster. This is also great for the homeowner since they won’t have to worry about being locked into loan repayments.
Help Your Growing Family
There are many ways to help your growing family by finishing your basement. You could find yourself in a situation where zoning codes don’t allow for a typical home addition. In this case, you’ll want to use the basement space you have to achieve your goals. You could add bedrooms to your home to help your growing family. Doing this will require both a form of egress (a window where a firefighter in full uniform can fit through) and a closet. Your kids will thank you for this as it is important they have their own rooms as they grow. Having both of these will allow the room to be considered a bedroom in most areas. You could also consider adding an additional bathroom to give your family room to grow into. Adding another bathroom has the potential to stop a lot of family issues before they happen since it would reduce the waiting time, though this can get costly since you will have to install plumbing. Both of these are wonderful options to help increase the space your family has to grow in.
The other big renovation you can make in your basement is to add an in-law suite. Doing this can add value in many ways. Historically used for aging family members to live close to their family while maintaining independence, there are other ways to use this space. You could rent it out and use the income generated to make other home upgrades and further increase the value of your home.
Improve Your Home’s Value
On top of the joy of having an expanded living space, you can relish the fact that your renovation will bring up the value of your home drastically. Depending on the way you finish your space you could be looking at a return on investment of up to 70% of your initial investment. This raising of value can aid with selling your home either now or in the future. Adding more bedrooms in your basement may not always be accounted for in the estimate of your home, but it can lead to a lower property tax than if the addition was on the ground level or above. Adding a bathroom is also a great way to add value to your home, with the average bump in value sitting between 10-20%. Any of these projects can greatly increase the value of your home on the market and expedite the selling process when that time comes.
Best Home Improvement Options for a Flood-Prone Basement
