ᐅ Is a Basement Practical for a Single-Family Home or Usually Too Expensive?
Created on: 30 Jun 2018 21:56
A
Abzug86
Hello everyone,
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself briefly: my name is Michael, I’m 32 years old, married, (currently) no children, employed at an insurance agency in northern Bavaria, and my wife and I are planning to build a new single-family house in 2019. I will share more details in a separate thread once the concept is worked out in detail.
At the moment, we are getting inspiration from the catalogs of several general contractors and are considering which "type" of house is right for us. This raised the question: do we need a basement? And if so, for what purpose? I’ll explain this further with an example (both plots are level):
Single-family house 1: basement, ground floor, usable attic, footprint 100 m² (1,076 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 140 m² (1,507 sq ft).
Single-family house 2: ground floor, usable attic, footprint 130 m² (1,399 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 185 m² (1,992 sq ft).
Both options would cost roughly the same (~375,000 EUR turnkey). Single-family house 1 has a basement; single-family house 2 does not but offers significantly more living space. Both are heated by a heat pump.
In my understanding, there are three main reasons for having a basement: 1. as storage space, 2. for the heating system, and 3. for the utility/laundry room. Step by step:
1.) I can’t really think of much that I would need to store down there—at least not on a total area of about 50+ m² (540+ sq ft)...
2.) Since heating is provided by a heat pump, the "heater" itself would be located outside anyway. The basement would only house the controls (and the hot water tank?). I assume these could also be installed on the ground floor, right?
3.) If the utility room is in the basement and the bedroom is on the upper floor, my wife would have to go up and down two levels. Also, ventilation would be difficult when air-drying laundry. For these reasons, it might even make more sense to move this area to the ground floor.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on basements—perhaps I am missing important points or have a wrong understanding regarding the "heating room." Thanks in advance for your help!
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself briefly: my name is Michael, I’m 32 years old, married, (currently) no children, employed at an insurance agency in northern Bavaria, and my wife and I are planning to build a new single-family house in 2019. I will share more details in a separate thread once the concept is worked out in detail.
At the moment, we are getting inspiration from the catalogs of several general contractors and are considering which "type" of house is right for us. This raised the question: do we need a basement? And if so, for what purpose? I’ll explain this further with an example (both plots are level):
Single-family house 1: basement, ground floor, usable attic, footprint 100 m² (1,076 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 140 m² (1,507 sq ft).
Single-family house 2: ground floor, usable attic, footprint 130 m² (1,399 sq ft), living area (according to the Wohnflächenverordnung) 185 m² (1,992 sq ft).
Both options would cost roughly the same (~375,000 EUR turnkey). Single-family house 1 has a basement; single-family house 2 does not but offers significantly more living space. Both are heated by a heat pump.
In my understanding, there are three main reasons for having a basement: 1. as storage space, 2. for the heating system, and 3. for the utility/laundry room. Step by step:
1.) I can’t really think of much that I would need to store down there—at least not on a total area of about 50+ m² (540+ sq ft)...
2.) Since heating is provided by a heat pump, the "heater" itself would be located outside anyway. The basement would only house the controls (and the hot water tank?). I assume these could also be installed on the ground floor, right?
3.) If the utility room is in the basement and the bedroom is on the upper floor, my wife would have to go up and down two levels. Also, ventilation would be difficult when air-drying laundry. For these reasons, it might even make more sense to move this area to the ground floor.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on basements—perhaps I am missing important points or have a wrong understanding regarding the "heating room." Thanks in advance for your help!
T
Traumfaenger2 Jul 2018 23:25Denis L. schrieb:
Those who know what they want also place value on the size and having a basement.I can’t really agree with that generalization, but maybe that’s just me... For me, the location, surroundings, size of the plot and the house, the layout, the architecture, the condition, the technical features, and much more are important. Basement: I’m happy to have one if it’s there, but if not, so be it... To be honest, for all the existing properties we viewed before building our new home, a basement was never a dealbreaker for us.
Müllerin schrieb:
In the Munich suburbs, just a 20-minute S-Bahn ride to Stachus, so practically in the city, semi-detached houses were available for 800,000 euros, each about 160m² (1,722 sq ft) with a basement. The plot size was correspondingly quite small.
I didn't really note the specifications, so I assume it was standard quality, where most buyers would likely want to add extras.From a developer? Developers in Bavaria, especially around Munich, almost never build without basements. On one hand, space is indeed limited, and the local clients tend to be quite traditional. Private individuals nowadays often build without basements if the available space allows it.Traumfaenger schrieb:
So I can't quite agree with that generalization, but maybe that's just me... For me, the location, surroundings, size of the plot and the house, as well as the layout, architecture, condition, technical features and much more are important. Basement: I’m happy to have one if present, but if not, so be it... To be honest, when we looked at all existing properties before our new build, the absence of a basement was never a deal-breaker for us. I feel the same way, but a developer building a house in Munich will probably play it safe. For some clients, not having a basement is really a deal-breaker, so they exclude those options from the start. It’s also simply the case that with the prices achieved here, €60,000 for a basement is not such a significant factor anymore.
I just took a look on ImmobilienScout. Here, a newly built end-terrace house with 141 m² (1,518 sq ft) of living space and a 180 m² (1,938 sq ft) plot in Karlsfeld is listed for 920,000. On top of that, there are additional costs of 83,000. I know the area well since I often pass by there on my way to work or shopping. The location can only be described as below average. I don't understand why someone who can spend a million should settle for this.
The consequence is the "run-in to the outskirts." In the Munich surrounding area, especially towards the southwest, square meter prices have increased by 10% or more each year over the past three years. A colleague of mine bought a plot of land in Peissenberg four years ago for 240 €/m² (22.30 $/ft²), and today 400 €/m² (37.15 $/ft²) is almost the minimum price.
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