Living in a basement?
 

I'm looking for a new place, and prices for basements hook me... What are the main problems you have when living in a basement? I will appreciate if you share your experience!

spiders and other bugs :heckno:

It can be difficult to locate a basement suite with a good landlord because they aren't professionally run like usually is the situation with apartments and the light is limited, but other than that I've never had any trouble with it. In the past eight years I've lived in two apartments and two basements, and overall, I preferred the basements.

Kids running/jumping around directly above you. Guess that problem isn't limited to basements...

the boogieman visits bedrooms in the basement on a semi-regular basement -- so I'd be wary of that.

Also if there's an earthquake, that's where you're gonna die.

Oh, and if you live near a busy street, a car might drive through your front window (happened when I was a kid)

Some basements in older homes I've seen have low ceilings and hanging vents so if you are tall it might be a problem.

Also, it may be prone to flooding or leaks if there is an issue with the foundation so make sure it is dry.

One of the biggest problems with basement suites is along the lines of what Mindbomber said, they aren't usually legal. When you go look at them, ask if the suite is legal and double check the bylaws for the city. If it has it's own heat controls, fire and sound proofing, it's most likely legal. I say this because the city kicked me out of my last place. Lesson learned, always check before renting a basement suite.

Other than that, it's freezing in the winter, spiders everywhere and not a whole lot of light. Plus if you have obnoxious neighbours upstairs, get ready to be REALLY irritated all the time.

Depends on the basement. We rented our basement and kept it pretty good. Lot's of light because there are lot's of windows. Is cool in the summer and warm in winter (the furrance is right next to the basement). Not much noise because there are no kids. The only bad thing I could think of is that when is time for laundry we usually use it during weekends.

my experience with the suite itself has been great. its a nice suite with plenty of light and storage. previous landlords were quiet so no issues there but current landlords have kids.. so it gets loud sometimes.

you will have trouble finding a suite with a decent layout/parking/storage

asides location, i have been pretty happy with it

I noticed a lot of basement suites were an afterthought in the places we were looking at recently. This meant funny locations for light switches, doors that open the wrong way, little storage space or closets etc. when looking for my current place, we realized we couldn't have absolutely everything we were hoping for, but part of our list included:
Normal landlord
No kids
Easily accessible laundry
Lots of Windows
Ample storage/closet space
Well thought out layout
Good parking options.
The place we found was a huge step up from our old place, night and day difference and only $125 more a month. We looked at 9 places (don't know if this is considered a lot or a few) but we were patient because we saw that price didnt ways reflect quality, some were out to lunch compared to others. The suite we ended in didn't even have pictures on Craigslist, we just got really lucky finding it.

I would also suggest posting an ad in the wanted section of craigslist. Some of the nicest places I've found have been from people contacting ME asking if I was interested in their place.

I lived in a very comfortable 2br basement for 10 years. The only scary part were the stairs about 6of them when it was snowing but it had a railing. Other than that, it was always comfortable. No spiders, No leaks, every room had a small window. This was a below ground basement.

Where do I start. I prefer an apartment but it's way more expensive.

- children stomping and a fucking woman who wears heels in the house on hardwood
- 3 car driveway yet they park only one in the driveway and the other two on the street, so I have to find parking a mile down the street
- Internet ad stuff is under their control. Sometimes he turns it off not realizing it turns my internet off too.
- they don't understand how cats work. Not kidding.

Not sure about your last one but:
1) Nothing's stopping you the equal the chance of having neighbours above you doing the same if you're in an apartment. Unless you're in Penthouse / top floor.
2) Exaggerated example. Plenty of people who rent have no problem finding parking in front of the house within a reasonable distance.
3) Then pay for your own internet. Like you would in an apartment anyways. They are sharing their WiFi with you just as an added 'bonus'.

Are you personally offended about what I wrote? That is my personal experience with being in a basement suite. I prefer apartments and have lived in a few. But my girlfriend was firm on wanting a basement so here I am.

FFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

^ I believe it's more of a

"WHOOOOOPAH!"

People saying the noises from the floor above can happen in apartments as well are mostly incorrect.

In an apartment building you have a slab of concrete 8+" thick, and in many places you have limits on hardwood and tile floors to prevent sound transmission to the floor underneath.

In any traditional house you have some 3/4 plywood, 12 inches of dead space between the joists, and some gypsum. Not really the same kind of noise barrier as a reinforced concrete slab...

Unless you have a hippopotamus or a tap dancer living above you in an apartment building, its never really been a problem for me.

Any condo unit 4 stories or under will be wood though, and those will have the same sound problems as a basement except you usually have people on the sides as well.