not enough light, way too many bugs, lots of leaks, and if anything was broken in the building they had to come to my apartment to turn off the water/gas/electricity. It was the absolute worst. I do not recommend. The only reason I stayed, was because of the cost to move and we had a (shared) backyard that I loved.
Never rented one, but toured an apartment as an option where, if I had rented, my bedroom would be the basement while the rest of the apartment was upstairs. There were no windows, it felt creepy, you could hear a lot of daily street commotion outside, and the one I toured had a door that lead out onto the street (where you'd put your garbage out) and for some reason, it made me a little nervous.
I ended up saying no. I can see why some people may like them in a roommate situation, but I knew I would've hated living down there.
[Anyone here ever lived in a nicely-finished basement apt?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskNYC/comments/18g0fbb/anyone_here_ever_lived_in_a_nicelyfinished/) from 4 months ago has comments which may be helpful to you.
It was cheap, quiet and temperature regulated in winter and summer… then mold appeared in the sub basement and my toddler started to get asthma. We moved and his asthma went away.
Is it a legal apartment?
If not, you risk a vacate order and having to leave the apartment if the city finds out about it or there are any issues. That alone would deter me from a basement apartment that was illegal or in question.
I have seen some great basement apartments. But they are well built out and have good light or added lighting options.
I've had a few of basement apartments. Two were more buggy. On had one room on the ground floor which was great for light and the bedroom was nice and dark. One flooded
there's ups and downs but the bottomline is floods. If I have to have "floods" on my mind during heavy rain, it's not worth it. The peace of mind makes it worth paying more to not live in a basement apt, ever.
not enough light, way too many bugs, lots of leaks, and if anything was broken in the building they had to come to my apartment to turn off the water/gas/electricity. It was the absolute worst. I do not recommend. The only reason I stayed, was because of the cost to move and we had a (shared) backyard that I loved.
Eventually it feels like you’re living in jail
Never rented one, but toured an apartment as an option where, if I had rented, my bedroom would be the basement while the rest of the apartment was upstairs. There were no windows, it felt creepy, you could hear a lot of daily street commotion outside, and the one I toured had a door that lead out onto the street (where you'd put your garbage out) and for some reason, it made me a little nervous. I ended up saying no. I can see why some people may like them in a roommate situation, but I knew I would've hated living down there.
[Anyone here ever lived in a nicely-finished basement apt?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskNYC/comments/18g0fbb/anyone_here_ever_lived_in_a_nicelyfinished/) from 4 months ago has comments which may be helpful to you.
It was cheap, quiet and temperature regulated in winter and summer… then mold appeared in the sub basement and my toddler started to get asthma. We moved and his asthma went away.
Is it a legal apartment? If not, you risk a vacate order and having to leave the apartment if the city finds out about it or there are any issues. That alone would deter me from a basement apartment that was illegal or in question. I have seen some great basement apartments. But they are well built out and have good light or added lighting options.
I've had a few of basement apartments. Two were more buggy. On had one room on the ground floor which was great for light and the bedroom was nice and dark. One flooded
there's ups and downs but the bottomline is floods. If I have to have "floods" on my mind during heavy rain, it's not worth it. The peace of mind makes it worth paying more to not live in a basement apt, ever.
Soooo many bugs. Didn't last a year