Basement Dig Out in Philly worth it?

[Brittany Puzar]

Hi! Currently getting quotes from contractors to expand and finish the basement in my south philly row house (east passyunk). We have a portion of the basement unfinished with 6' clearance and a portion that is crawl space. Exploring options to get as much of it as possible to 7' ish ceilings. Will be finished to use as a den/playspace/storage/laundry. It will not be used as a bedroom. 

How should I think about the resale value gained from the square footage being finished? Just poking around zillow and redfin it seems like the neighborhood gets between 250-300$/sq ft (can any Philly agents chime in on this?) Would any finished space in the basement add this much value?  E.g. Finishing 300 sq ft adds 75-90k? This will be a major expense, so I want to make sure its worth it compared to other options to spend my money. 

Also, for anyone based in Philly, I've heard from one contractor that quotes of 20-30k were common a few years ago, but due to recent rule changes, contractors need to maintain excavation licenses/ insurances to do any dig out work and that cost is getting passed to customers. He's saying the cost is more like 40-50k now. Will be talking to many contractors to validate of course, but curious if anyone here knows anything about this or has done basement dig outs in the last 6-12 months? 

Thanks in advance for any advice or guidance! 

[Dan Powers]

Realized I'm late to the party here so maybe I can help @Jenna Hall in her decision. Your definitely not going to see the return your looking for in a 75-90k value add. Similar to what @Alan Asriants said you can maybe get 30-40k for a finished basement. Now the minimum standards your basement has to hit for it to be able to count as assessed sqft not estimated is a height of 7 ft, a point of egress (bilco doors) and a window usually in the rear, It's one of those things where if your going to go through the process of digging out a basement you might as well go for it and dig it deeper then 7 and closer to 8 ft so you actually stand out compared to the competition.

Now the other side of this coin which I would suggest is if you're willing to spend 40-50k on a basement dig, consider adding a 3rd story addition if your a 2 story (think master suite, walk in closet, master bath) or an addition off the back and add a roof deck if your a 3 story (either master suite or just additional bedroom). It's might run you slightly more but you get a hell of a lot more value out of it. Things to consider, if you are a 2 story, you can only build a flush 3rd story addition if you are an end row or next to an existing flush 3rd story, otherwise you will have to do a setback 3rd story addition.

Hope this helps!