basement apt....

we are currently renting at my parents house...no apt just living iwth them and we pay rent..buy food etc. My IL said that they would make a basement apartment in their house until we find a house this way we have our OWN space...own kitchen etc. They said we wouldnt have to pay rent so that we can save more but im still not sure about that my question is i have an 18 month old. The apt would be a 2 bedroom with a living room and kitchen and bath. Nothing to big...wwyd? stay in a full house with DD and DH or move to our own smaller basment apt? All opions are welcome.

We would still be looking for a house....it wouldnt be permanent

Re: basement apt....

do you get along well with your IL's? is privacy something you're looking for that you're not getting at your parents house?

just the idea that you dont have to pay rent and you could save all that extra money would be a huge plus to moving IMO. but obviously, i think whether or not you get along with your IL's would be a huge factor to making the final decision.

Re: basement apt....

i do get along with them....and we already discussed that if we were to move in they arent going to be down in our apt all the time and we wouldnt be up there all the time....sometimes is ok but we want our own space as well.


we want privacy as well as we want to be on our own...right now i have to worry about them for dinner, we cant hang out in the living room alone etc

Re: basement apt....

My biggest concern with basement apts is the egress routes. Are the bedroom windows large enough to get out in an emergency?

As far as who to stay with, I would weigh which set of parents you and DH can stand living with more. I don't think DW and I could live with EITHER set of parents....

Even with a separate apartment, your ILs are still in the same house, so there will be lots of interaction no matter what. If you aren't paying rent, will they think you "owe" them? Will they be telling you how to do things, stopping in your apartment all the time, etc?

ETA:
Sorry... I was typing my response when you posted the above statements that pretty much answered my questions....

Message edited 9/11/2009 7:48:09 AM.

Re: basement apt....

we could def get out of the windows...that was my main concern as well.

As for owing us thats why i would want to pay rent but i think the main reason they are doing it is so that they can see DD more they always say how they want to see her and i think it bothers them that we live wit my parents and they see her all day

Re: basement apt....

how much money would the ILs need to pour into this basement to make it a home for you? I wouldn't let them spend lots of $$$ for something you'd only use short-term. You posted about the bathroom redo--are the ILs paying for that, or are you? With that money you could just get your own apt, which to me would be the ideal choice.

Message edited 9/11/2009 8:37:11 AM.

Re: basement apt....

Re: basement apt....

we live downstairs in the basement apt from my inlaws.......we do pay rent though but less than what we were paying in our old apartment.....

i dont mind living downstairs from them at all.....my ILS are pretty awesome though...but we have tons of privacy and they never really bother us.....*if* we had a kid i think they might be a little more intrusive though