How to finish basement that has moisture

[Drew Ander]

Hi All,

I am flipping my first house in a Cleveland, OH suburb. Paid 73k for the house and put roughly 30k into it. My realtor and I both agree that we should list it at $160,000 and see what it does in this market. 

I am about to tackle the dreaded basement that has moisture. We waterproofed the one side from the outside, and put a cement based paint on all of the exterior walls hoping that it would help with moisture, which I think it has about 80%. My question is, if I'm looking to finish the basement, do I install the cheap MDF/HDF "wood panelling" or spend the extra money to install mold proof drywall? Obviously the panelling is way cheaper as I would have to hire someone to finish the drywall for roughly another $1,000. Or is there another product that someone would recommend? 

I am convicted knowing that likely within 3 years that cheap panelling will start growing mold and start flaking0. We have had several family members/ church friends inquire about buying the house. I know this is a loaded question with a few parts to consider. Any suggestion or tip would be much appreciated!

[John Teachout]

Having lived and worked on properties in several parts of the country, I wouldn't recommend finishing that basement. It will be extremely difficult to make it dry enough to accommodate the same type of finishes you'd put upstairs. Basements can be versatile spaces but as soon as you start covering concrete walls that weren't originally intended to be finished space with paneling or sheetrock, trouble will ensue.