Basement to studio conversion questions
Hi there, I am in contract to close in 3 weeks on our second investment property—yay! It has some unique features that I’m really excited about. I had a few questions and hoping for some experienced wisdom. Thanks in advance!
The property has the potential to have a studio space in the basement if we add a bathroom and a kitchenette. There is enough space to do so, and there is a separate entrance to the backyard. The upstairs has two bedrooms and one bathroom. The two units would share a laundry area. We are considering medium term rentals for this space.
1. Are there any regulations that I should consider about renting out the studio in the basement separately? we are planning MTR, but would we have different constraints with an LTR?
2. We could add separate laundry, but there is a possibility of renting the entire house to one group for busy summer event times. Worth it or skip it?
3. The property has three garage spaces. A single older garage, and then a double. We were considering splitting the double garage in half and renting out one or both sides for storage or parking etc. There’s alley access to all garages. I have no idea how to market that or price it.… or if it’s a good idea 🤪
4. We will have a window professional come when we close and look at this… but it’s also on my mind and I would love to know more now. There’s a 24 x 24 window in the basement, but from the exterior that window is 2 or 3 feet off the ground. Would that size be considered egress or do we need to have it widened more? Also right now it’s double hung. We were anticipating needing to change it to maybe casement for egress?
5. For utilities we are planning on footing the bill since we’re planning on it being an MTR. But there would only be one thermostat for the property. We have a Nest and can use that to control remotely or at least set limitations. For the person in the studio, they would not have access to that. Any advice or solutions?
Lots to do and think about and I’m stoked 😊 love the potential of multiple income streams—let’s go
Thanks for any advice, and for being here for the community.
Oh, and if anybody has furnishings, they would like to sell on the cheap in the Omaha, Des Moines or Kansas City area shoot me a message.
Kim
1. In Des Moines the city regulations will need to see a rental license to have a rental. Each city does the rental license process differently.
2. Yes add separate laundry as long as the cost is less than $5K to make that transition. Will also help with cleaners if you ever moved to STR.
3. Yes absolutely charge for the garage space, commonly MTR will want a garage though especially in Omaha with the snow.
4. Egress is going to be determined by the city code in most cases. If you google egress window code into google you'll get the dementions.
5. Have an electric space heater available for the basement unit because the basement in the Midwest will be cold :)
Just my two cents! :)
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Quote from @Darson Grantham:
1. In Des Moines the city regulations will need to see a rental license to have a rental. Each city does the rental license process differently.
2. Yes add separate laundry as long as the cost is less than $5K to make that transition. Will also help with cleaners if you ever moved to STR.
3. Yes absolutely charge for the garage space, commonly MTR will want a garage though especially in Omaha with the snow.
4. Egress is going to be determined by the city code in most cases. If you google egress window code into google you'll get the dementions.
5. Have an electric space heater available for the basement unit because the basement in the Midwest will be cold :)
Just my two cents! :)
Thanks for the insight. Omaha has a rental registration and inspection program. My other rental has been inspected and it was no big deal for a newer property but this one's older. I'm not sure if I need anything from the city to essentially turn a SFH to a up/down duplex. I have more homework to do 😜
The rest—great points/ideas, thanks 😊
@Kim Parker
There are a number of things to consider here:
Does the city zoning allow duplexes in your zoning district?
Does the basement have enough ceiling height? In general, it is 7 feet minimum with some exceptions around beams and duct work.
Yes you need an emergency escape window. Your current size is to small. See section of the International Residential Code 310.1.
Where is the electrical panel located?
You will need permanent heat, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors (if gas heat or other gas appliances).
I am assuming it’s currently unfinished. Lots of rules to meet compliance.
Check with your local building department on any amended rules.
I did some more homework last night, and the zoning might support an ADU, but not a duplex. I'll talk with the zoning office to double check.
My next thought would be to keep it as a single family home, but market the MTR as a basement suite with separate entrance. Thoughts?
The basement is finished with drywall ceiling. There are some things we would need to modify for usability — and we would put in a small kitchenette.
The ceiling is probably between 6 1/2 to 7 feet tall. That’s another question I had that I wasn’t sure about. Would my strategy of an MTR basement suite be OK with a ceiling height like that? I wouldnt mind, but I’m 5’5 🤪 What about Airbnb?
The electrical panel is in a shared utility/laundry area. We were thinking about potentially needing to get a bigger panel, but not modify it otherwise.
Thanks for the feedback and guidance
Kim
A basement suite with a separate entrance is the same as another unit. If it’s part of the unit upstairs no problem, but if you rent it separately to a different tenant then it’s a 2 unit building. If the ceiling height is 6’6” it’s to low unless the city allows it. You need to check with them. The height is measured from the top of the finished floor to the ceiling. If you are measuring from a concrete floor, when you finish it with carpeting or flooring the measurement will be from that surface, which actually reduces it somewhat. I’ve seen some inspectors who are ok with it lower while others are sticklers.
It is truly a single-family home. If I were to describe it as a single-family home, I would call it a two bedroom one bathroom with storage/laundry in the basement with a large bonus/flex room. The laundry/storage area walks out to an enclosed lower level porch with rear yard entrance and the upper level has a sunroom on top of that space with additional outdoor stair access.
Regardless of any modifications, i would probably want to be able to Airbnb the whole house during certain events, and I wouldn’t want to modify it so much that we couldn’t do that.
I’m trying figure out what the best use of the space is…. and also, I’m trying to be smart about trades coming through. We are updating the upstairs kitchen and will need plumbing work for a dishwasher. So if I am doing that I would rather have them rough in the basement for a bathroom and kitchenette sink at the same time if that’s the plan. Our first order of business is to get the top floor ready to rent. It probably needs around 7 to 10k to be ready—unfurnished.
I’ll definitely check about the ceiling height. It might be best to rent it out as storage space or leave it as a flex space.
Oh and the window— even if we have to widen it I think it’s worth it to put in. Same with the second bathroom. Even if all we do is increase the beds and bath from 2/1 to 3/2 that’s a pretty big change in home value.
so many things to think about!