<p>As long as there is an egress directly from the basement, then basement square footage is counted here where I live in Ohio. (Egress window - not really sure what that even is - is not enough. There have to be stairs and a door directly out from the basement for it to be counted.)</p>
<p>Here in NY whether a basement counts or not (for zoning not for how realtors count space) varies widely from town to town, but generally it’s a question of how much of it is above ground level. It becomes an issue because attic or basement renovations sometimes cause a building to have three stories and then may be required to have sprinklers. You can put a bedroom in a basement as long as light and ventilation rules are followed and an egress window is provided. A kitchen is usually a stove. You can put a microwave and sink in the basement without raising red flags.</p>
<p>artloversplus==and we all know the world revolves around NY :D. I guess since I am not in NY, yes, I am in a different country, but still in the good old USA. Here if the basement is finished it is counted in the finished living space, egress window or not. Real estate listings show main floor sq ft, upper level sq ft and below grade sq ft. </p>
<p>An egress window is simply a window large enough to get in and out of safely. It has to be a certain size minimum and can’t be farther than so many inches from the floor–basically big enough for a fireman to get into a basement room in full equipment.</p>
<p>As a realtor in VA, one other thing comes into play, even if the public records acknowledge the lower floor (basement) with egress and walk out doors is:</p>
<p>We consider it subterranean.</p>
<p>It gets less bang for your buck. If it is 100 per sqft above it may only be 65 for the finish basement.</p>
<p>Gorgeous, but, still an egress window is not the same as the window you have in your bedroom on the 2nd floor.</p>
<p>Buyers will see it as a finished basement no matter how you “pimp” it out. The word basement will be there and they will not pay top dollar if it comes down to your home with an in law suite, or theater room, or whatever above ground compared to the one that they walk “down” into.</p>
<p>It is a mental image we all have. We don’t walk downstairs for our everyday living unless that means from our bedroom to our kitchen.</p>
<p>Real Estate is about perception of how the buyer views the property. An egress window can be smaller than what you have in your upstairs bedroom, as stated a person must be able to fit. We have egress, but sure as sheaat they are not the same size as our “true” bedroom upstairs and buyers know that. You can dig out the area and have a quasi window well. </p>
<p>Walk out can mean you walk out to flat level, no steps, or it can mean you have double doors and can walk out, but there is a stair case to get to that flat level.</p>
<p>No offense Steve, but part of the RE agent compared to Zillow is they know this market regarding competition and are not throwing the info in and allowing the computer to spit out a number.</p>
<p>In the end of the day, an appraisal will be required. Appraisers will take every aspect and use only the last 6 months of actives and solds within a small radii to determine the number. They will look at hardwoods/granite/tile compared to carpet/laminate. They will place a dollar sign on above and below sqft. </p>
<p>Sellers and buyers don’t understand we don’t set the price to make a buck, you all set the price to make your buck, or save your buck.</p>
<p>Legally by NAR it is against the law to ever tell you sell at this price, or offer at that price. We can only show what the current comps in your area are going and closing for. Zillow is not NAR. Zillow has that option of buy it now. You can list your home for a million on that option, even though RE’s say 750K is realistic.</p>
<p>Zillow is facebook in the RE world.</p>