Your basement is in important but usually rather ignored part of your house because of its location. Many people’s basements are usually used as storage rooms or may not be used at all. You can actually change your basement into many things and one of it is actually getting it transformed into an apartment. It is not impossible and you can transform it into a whole living space on its own and then rent it out for a good stable income. There is enough space to allow for this transformation and with recent advancements, you can even place windows into your basement allowing you to have some fresh air and less cooped up look.

Starting with expert recommendations

Some basic recommendations revolve around these ideas. Firstly you can try to add more storage into your bedroom. You can try to convert the laundry room into a kitchen in the basement because there is already a good plumbing set up present there. To save yourself on room, you can get a heater and boiler which comes as a 2-in-1 and also you can get one of those washers or dryers which are stackable one over the other. The kitchen cabinets which open upwards are really good for basements with low while doing basement conversions into apartments because; you will avoid banging the kitchen cabinet door against the walls. Having an open shelving concept is a good space saver as well.

You can then make your new apartment at the basement more homely and warm by changing the colors of the wall paint and adding more rugs to the place. Ensure that the stairway down to your basement has handrails because safety is the most important. If you rent your new basement apartment out to people then there are going to be a plenty of them going up and down your basement so you need to make sure that they do so safely, with a handrail on the staircase. Put up some more accessories like a vanity mirror and more lighting into the bathroom to convince the female crowds!

How to get started?

First enquire around with the local authorities if what you are thinking to do is legal or not. Different places have different policies so try to work around them to achieve your aim. Even if the basement to apartment conversion is allowed by law, make sure that they allow you to sell your new apartment as a rental and living space to people. Think about having a separate entrance for your new tenants. It might be a really good selling point and you don’t have to worry about them having your main door house keys, but adding one separate door can come up to $10 000. Also think about how high your basement’s ceiling is. If your basement ceiling is low then you might need to get your floors done lower, and this would cost a lot of money and might not be worth the cost and effort sometimes.

Advantages and more advantages of having a basement turned into a rental apartment

Having for you a rental place would prove as beneficial at any kind of economy or market. Be it that the economy is booming or going down, you would still be able to sell off your rental spaces easily! Having such a rental suite is one of the biggest returns on your investment in the real estate. There are some pretty good returns from this. You get back a paint return of 250% or more, and other returns including your bathroom, having a kitchen, the tiles and flooring and also all the fixtures used like the light stands and door knobs. As long as you have done things right, these returns will stay with you and prove as a financial benefit for a long time to come.

Fulfill your responsibility on legal regulations

Ensure that everything that is to be done is safe and also approved by the law. People most of the time do renovations until just 90% and are unlikely to go the last mile to get things done so that they can cut down on cost. But when you are anticipating tenants to stay there, you have to go the full 100% so that your tenants do not feel the miss while being on your property. Ensure that you focus on having good wiring which is built to last and have a sturdy insulation. If anything goes wrong later on, your tenant is going to come back for you and honestly no one wants a tenant who is going to come up with a problem every week or every day! You have to plan and build it as safely as you can because any predisposition to fire or water accidents will naturally affect your apartment as well as it is just right above it. Remember, safety is always first.

Next, remember to pay close attention to the doors. They should be closed all the time in the right way. Also think about any electrical set up and try not to leave them uncovered.

Think about your investment made into transforming your basement and look to it that it returns you the money in at least two years. If let us say you paid $24,000 to renovate your basement, then renting it out for $1,000 to $2,000 every month depending on your location will get you back your returns and more within a year to two. This is what you should be aiming for!