Skip to main content

Finished basement with no emergency exit... major concern or no?

FTHBs under contract on a recently built (<10 years old) home. Recently did our inspection and aside from some minor things we might want fixed there were no major issues. However with this being our 2nd time in the house we did notice that the finished basement had no emergency exit. The basement consists of 1 large open room with 2 small rooms in the corner of the footprint. 1 being a half bath and the other being the hot water heater, heating/ac unit and electrical. There are no windows in the basement.

We have no plans to use the basement as a bedroom or anything of that sort. Potentially planned to use it as overflow sleeping if we couldn't fit everyone upstairs but the lack of a 2nd exit would probably mean we would do our best to avoid having anyone sleep down there. At the same time the basement is finished very nicely and would be the 2nd "living" space and certainly larger than the primary living space on the 1st floor. The basement is setup with a home theater layout and has a bar area and an area perfect for darts. It was a big selling point for us on the property and we definitely plan to use it on a regular basis.

We brought up the lack of a 2nd exit to our home inspector and he said that a 2nd exit would be required if there was a bedroom but he was not sure if it would be required just for having a finished space. He referred us to the local building department. I looked up some of the building codes online (for this town) and it did not appear to mention that a 2nd exit was required for a finished basement (it did state that a bedroom in the basement was not legal). We plan to double check w/ the town on the regulation and confirm with the sellers that the basement was done w/ permits (not sure if the basement was done at the time the home was built or finished later).

So my question... assuming the basement is up to code and doesn't need to be changed. How much would the lack of a 2nd exit bother you? Enough to put in a 2nd exit? Is this normal? Would it impact resale value? Appreciate any input.

submitted by /u/Mysterious_Truth
[link] [comments]

source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/hztcb7/finished_basement_with_no_emergency_exit_major/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aren't comps/CMAs useless with buyer credits at close happening now?

I'm looking into buying a new construction townhouse in my HCOL US city. I'm seeing builders offering interest rate buydowns worth $20k-$60k on $800k homes (rather than just lowering prices) in order to keep their comps high for their other units, now that buyer demand has been declining. I asked my agent about these, and he said these buydowns aren't even the full story: buyers can write all kinds of other credits into an offer, like their closing costs, prepaid sewer fees, etc. Apparently cash buyers can just write in a "buyer credit at close" for any amount in their offer. So a new townhouse that appeared to sell for $800k in the MLS might have actually been a cash offer with a $100k+ buyer credit at close, meaning the buyer only spent $700k or less in total, but to the rest of the world they can only see the $800k! So that made me realize I can't trust comps/CMAs for other new construction townhouses. The sales prices could be way lower than they appear
1 comment
Read more

Fast Rising HOA Fees on NYC Condo, No Budget Provided

My wife and I are first time homeowners and could use some advice on a situation we've been having with our management company and Board. We bought a condo in Brooklyn two years ago, and since then our HOA fees have climbed dramatically. In August of last year, our fees were increased by ~30% and just yesterday we received notice that this new figure would be increased by 16% as of June 1st. The by-laws for our building state that ten days before such a change goes into effect, the Board must provide unit owners with the itemized budget upon which the new numbers were based. This didn't happen last year, and when I asked the management company about it, they just kept vaguely insisting the Board had done due diligence. After I kept pressing, they finally sent a budget that was several years old, so obviously not the one that the new numbers were based on. When I asked the management company for contact information for the Board to get further clarification, I was told that th
Post a Comment
Read more

How to create fidelity investments current bank statement for lender during escrow

I transferred a certain amount to my bank account to complete the minimum down payment required. The bank wants a current statement of the transaction. Unfortunately, fidelity only does quarterly statements so a December statement is not available and we are due to close next week. I called fidelity and they they can only provide a letter but the bank said that won’t suffice. Any way I can find or make one of my own that has my account number/name along with all the recent month’s activities? submitted by /u/bodaciousbeans [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/zmnnqo/how_to_create_fidelity_investments_current_bank/
Post a Comment
Read more