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/