would you buy a house with no basement?

I don't have a basement. We don't really miss it. I had a basement growing up and all we used it for was storage.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

We don't have a basement. Our house is large enough with enough rooms that I don't miss it. We do have a big attic for storage. We lived in a townhouse prior to this home and it had a full finished basement that always flooded--I don't miss worrying about that.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

Only if I was on the water and had a garage + attic.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

We wouldn't...that was a must have for us, as well as a two car garage. Lots of people find other solutions for storage, but we wanted the ability to expand into it as well as for storage. We also didn't want a slab for various reasons. We were really only interested in a house that had a dry basement (we are on a hill so we know that we won't get water) since we have done the flooding thing in the past.

would you buy a house with no basement?

It wasn't a deal breaker when we looked, but we like having it. I think especially as our family grows and gets older, it'll be a great play room for the kids.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

depends on the house.

I grew up in a cape with no basement so I am not use to having one.

When I was house hunting I was not a fan of one level house so if it was a ranch I wanted a basement so it had two levels.

Any other house my requirements were that it either had 4 bedroom or 3 bedrooms and a basement. I wanted each of my kids to have their own room ( I have 2) and than one room dedicated to a play room.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

i grew up in a home without one and bought a home without one.

i don't miss it..but i guess i don't know what i'd be missing anyway

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

No

would you buy a house with no basement?

not a fan of levitt/ranch homes. I don't like that the boiler and everything is on the first floor/in the garage. So odd to me. I also worry about where the moisture would go if there is no basement!

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

Our first house did not have a basement. I had a huge attic for storage and a 2.5 car garage, so we had plenty of places to put stuff. It wasn't a must when we were house hunting this time either.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

Message edited 8/10/2015 7:50:48 PM.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

I did and we regret it every.single.day.
Never again

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

I wouldn't want a house without a basement. Storage, laundry, etc. For us it's necessary space. Maybe if I had a very large attic, that would be the only way I could do without a basement. We like to use our garage to put the car, so that isn't a storage option for us.

would you buy a house with no basement?

My three cents - many people mention attic as a substitute for a basement, or at least a place which can compensate for a lack of basement storage. While this is partially true keep in mind limitations – opening to attic is only as big as it is and you will not be able to store “big” items in there. This applies to size, as well as weight – remember, you have to use ladder to get there… there is a ladder weight limitation and also you can only carry as much. In addition, excellent point from my neighbors who are in their 50s – 60s, as you age your health problems develop – hip, knee – you know it. As these progress you are less “excited” and even able to visit your attic and bring things up and down. Couple points to keep in mind. It would not be a deal breaker for me, but I think it is quite important factor to consider.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

Deal breaker. Basement was non negotiable.

would you buy a house with no basement?

A huge basement was a must have for us. We made a few sacrifices on our house because we loved the basement so much. Our basement is storage, gym, laundry, playroom, man cave. Garage was also a MUST have. Attic would have been nice but it really doesn't compare and isn't as useful, IMO.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

Basement was a must for us and a full basement was a must for DH. We use our basement all the time so I am grateful we did not sacrifice on that.

There was a nice house in our area listed very cheaply with no basement and my dad tried to convince us that a basement wasn't necessary and that we should consider that house but we weren't interested and it sold for significantly less than similar houses that style on that street with a basement.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

A ranch especially without a basement would have been a dealbreaker for me. We wanted a 2 story house with a full basement. I might have been willing to consider a large ranch style house with an equally large basement (which is what my ILs have) but not a ranch with no basement

would you buy a house with no basement?

No this was one of our must haves. I'm so glad we did. Right now we use it for storage but eventually we will refinish it.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

I thought it would be a deal breaker for me and then we bought a house without one. Its been over 10 years and I'm perfectly fine without it. I feel like the more space you have, the more junk you accumulate.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

Yes! A basement was a must have on our list when we were looking at a house, BUT...we found a house we loved that had NO basement. Don't miss it one bit! We have a huge room upstairs that we use as a playroom. Laundry room is on the main floor. Oil tank is in the garage. Don't miss the basement at all!

ETA: We also have a very large stand up attic that you enter through a door...not a pull down staircase, etc.

Message edited 8/12/2015 1:21:04 PM.

Re: would you buy a house with no basement?

I grew up in a high ranch that did not have a basement, however there was an attic, garage, and shed. When we looked at houses a basement was not on our "must" list so as long as it had other storage space.

would you buy a house with no basement?

Well, I can't say yes or no without all the circumstances.

For instance, are there children, and how many? How many bedrooms? If you have 2 children, and 4-5 bedrooms, then you can use the extra 1-2 bedrooms as storage, a play room or guest room. If you have 2 children, and the house is 3 bedrooms, then a basement would come in handy for storage, guest space, etc. If the house has an attic and a garage, that might change things.

Basements are not must haves for us. They are great for storage but also encourage hoarding. The less extra storage space you have, the easier is it to get rid of junk you don't need.