Thinking about not buying a house bc the basement scares me. Is that silly?

Toured a house yesterday that we love! Beautiful 1910 home with high ceilings, good layout, on a half acre, and good lighting.

The problem (that in some ways is not a problem; things I like about the idea of all the added storage) is the basement.

The home is in a flood zone so it was lifted and the entire first floor is a basement/ shop/ garage. There are 5 “rooms” down there. No doors, but heavy concrete wall divisions.

My partner was so excited to see this bc it could be a wood shop for him (something he has dabbled with in the past, but is not a true hobby, so not a must in the house), we’d have a two car garage, and plenty of storage with the different “rooms”.

All of which is great, but I felt like I did when I was a kid in a creepy dark hallways down there; it scared me. I know I would be scared to be down there alone even during the day (no windows) and a hell no at night for me. The fact that it has different rooms actually adds to the creep factor for me bc someone could be hiding down there and even with all the lights on I might not see them until it’s too late. Also in addition to the two garage doors, there is a ground level door for access. My bf can be forgetful and I have a feeling he’d forget to lock the downstairs door from the outside, so I’ll never be able to shake the feeling that someone could have gotten in and is squatting down there (am I crazy paranoid??).

Would this be a pass for you? I feel kind of silly about my fear, but it feels so instinctual to me to be creeped out in that kind of space, idk if I could shake it and it would stink to be scared of half the sq footage of your home.

One other item to add, although I mentioned my bf above, I’m the only one buying the house (I’ve got the down payment and at the end of the day would be the one responsible for the mortgage). I bring this is bc while it gets me excited that he was excited about the potential wood shop aspect of the basement (which is something that would happen as his mom has a bunch of tools she is ready to bring over once we have a space), there’s another part of me trying to remind myself that at the end of the day I’m the one covering the costs and the house has to work for me.

Thoughts? Would you pass on a house whose basement scared you? I’d like to be able to go down there bc my car would be in the garage, gear storage (outdoor enthusiasts with a lot of gear), projects, storing canned food, etc. but know id realistically only feel comfortable down there with someone else.

EDIT: in case it’s helpful as folks respond, because it’s in a flood plain, one of the stipulations for flood insurance on the lifted home is that the basement is not livable space. It’s for storage only. Could definitely spruce up with drywall, but would not convert it into livable space.

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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1cf4mmv/thinking_about_not_buying_a_house_bc_the_basement/