On Mar 1, 11:58 pm, Tony wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2007 04:23:15 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

wrote in message

MANY people finish most of the basement for added living area.....

But if you have the same amount of space on the same floor, the difference
is???? A square foot is a square foot.

I have a 1000sq/ft ranch with a full finished basement. So, in actuality, I have 2000sq/ft of living
space. When the house is sold, it can only be listed as 1000sq/ft. So, I am being taxed for
1000sq/ft.

You are being taxed for the value of the property as determined by the
tax assessors working for the state. It should be close to the market
value. You always have the option of challenging the assessment if
you really want to.

It is influenced by several factors including square feet. Location
being the most important factor, basement or not influences taxable
value also regardless of the amount of square feet listed.

The tax collector knows you have a basement and takes that into
consideration among other things. He doesn't go only by square feet.
My assessor visits my property each year to see if I have any taxable
improvements. If he cannot access your property he can use sattelite
photos to see your new barn.

There is a huge downside to improving your property when they want to
increase your taxes for every little improvement you make. There is
far less incentive to improve your property when they will tax you for
it till the day you die. Property taxes are the worst kind.

My collector is very interested in whether or not I have a septic
system. I wonder how much my taxes will increase when I get one. A
person can't even have a toilet without the vultures flocking in.

"Tony" wrote in message

I have a 1000sq/ft ranch with a full finished basement. So, in actuality,
I have 2000sq/ft of living
space. When the house is sold, it can only be listed as 1000sq/ft. So, I
am being taxed for
1000sq/ft.

I've never seen a tax based on square feet, but that does not mean it does
not exist. Value is what is used in most every town. What does your tax
bill read? There is probably a assessment for $xxx and a mil rate.

There is no advantage to either type of construction as far as taxes. What
does matter is what works for you. When building your dream house, you
decide what size kitchen you want. Then you determine how many bedrooms
you need and how big they should be, how many baths, etc. That same amount
of space can be configured many different ways, many different styles, with
and without a basement.

Look at some older houses versus new. Bedrooms upstairs and laundry
facilities in the basement. Dumb, huh? Seems even dumber as we get older
and have to carry things up and down the steps. Newer designs are finally
putting the laundry near the point of use.

Basements make nice work shops, Unless it is a walk out, you have to get
everything up and down also. That works hop on ground level sounds much
better. Some basements make good swimming pools, but that was never
intended. Dry basements may be nice, but wet ones present problems.

Small lot? Stacking makes a lot of sense. Saves on roofing cost also as
less area has to be covered. Better? Well painting up high is not as much
fun as painting the same house spread out low. Each house has advantages
To just say one is superior to another is silly as we all have different
needs.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
news:fFGFh.10086$2u.9725@trndny04...

"BillGill" wrote in message
...


Obviously you have a crawl space.

Obviously, you are wrong.

I have never heard
of a slab that wasn't poured on the ground. You may
have a concrete floor, but it must be different from
anything I have ever met.

Nope, poured like any other.



No slab has plumbing in the basement, because they don't
have a basement. If you have a slab either the plumbing
is under the slab or it is in the attic.

Nope, neither

Under the slab
means you have to dig a hole in the floor to work on it
and in the attic means it is liable to freeze in really
cold weather.

Nope, I can work on it in the comfort of the conditioned space.



So I prefer my piping in the crawl space or basement
where they can be accessed for repair and are
protected from freezing.

But there are other options. Open your mind, find out about other layouts
and don't get hung up that one type basement or no basement is superior.
Both have advantages and I've lived in both. Neither would be the
deciding factor for me as there are plenty of variations that may or may
not be suitable for my or your needs.
All right, Edwin- what is your floor system, if not slab or stickbuilt over
basement/crawl/piers? Rammed earth? Cave with internal plumbing run along
the walls? Bucky Dome with same? Inflatable? Inquiring minds want to know.

It wouldn't bother me living in a SIP or poured-concrete-in-foam-block house
with all plumbing, HVAC, electric, etc, exposed on the inside walls. Make
changes and upkeep a lot easier, and failure points easier to find.

aem sends...

"ameijers" wrote in message
All right, Edwin- what is your floor system, if not slab or stickbuilt
over basement/crawl/piers? Rammed earth? Cave with internal plumbing run
along the walls? Bucky Dome with same? Inflatable? Inquiring minds want to
know.

It wouldn't bother me living in a SIP or poured-concrete-in-foam-block
house with all plumbing, HVAC, electric, etc, exposed on the inside walls.
Make changes and upkeep a lot easier, and failure points easier to find.

aem sends...

I have a raised ranch. Sometimes called a split entry. If you come in the
front door, you are in a foyer and have to either go up to the living room
or down to the family room. Well, I guess you cold just stand in the foyer
but that is not very sociable.

The lower level is a slab. The lower level has a bedroom/office/
whateverroom and bathroom in the front of the house. On the back side is
the utility/storage areas of about 500 square feet. The large family room is
at one end of the house and in some designs would have been a two car
garage, but we have a detached garage instead. When I moved in, the walls
in the utility area were unfinished, as is the ceiling. Plumbing to the
lower level bath runs across the ceiling, into the finished part and down to
the fixtures. The kitchen, another bath, bedrooms are on the upper level.
Plumbing for the kitchen and bath are in the ceiling of the utility area
making them easily accessible. I have the water filter for the kitchen
mounted on the joists in the utility area, right under the sink. Very easy
to get at instead of trying to squeeze into a sink cabinet.

The raised ranch is a combination of slab and regular ranch basement
construction. You can walk into my family room on the lower level from the
driveway. The back of the house is at ground level. The front of the house
is graded in such a way that the windows are exposed, as is about a foot of
foundation below them. It is stick built on top of a 4' concrete
foundation.

In the back of the house I have a deck off of the kitchen. Since the
kitchen is on the upper level, the deck is also 8' off the ground. Given
the height, I have a shaded patio under the deck too, doubling my outdoor
living space. Gas grill up on the deck, wood fire pit right off the patio.

My wife has CHF and cannot take steps very well. With our configuration, it
is easy for her to spend the entire day downstairs where there is a
refrigerator, microwave, full bath and laundry. She only have to take the
steps once a day to go to bed. I could make my office back into a bedroom
and even eliminate that.

On Feb 27, 1:23 pm, " wrote:
A little off topic, but think those on this site may be a good
judge. What are the up and downsides of
a slab home other than the obvious storage advantage. My husband and
I are thinking of moving and have found some homes we liked that were
on slab. We have always lived in a house with basement , but now
could live without a basement. We live in metro Atlanta. Thanks
Liz

Liz,

One issue you may want to consider is with either type of house you
want to have storm protection. ANY house should have somewhere where
your family can go for an extended time when the weather is turning
dangerous. In a basement, everyone can go and sleep there until the
danger is gone...it is alot harder to sleep in a closet in a slab
house. Considering the destructive power of a tornado (note the latest
school disaster), I would consider it to be a requirement in any house
I would live in that is in an area prone to tornadoes.

Good luck with the house hunt.

TMT

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
One issue you may want to consider is with either type of house you
want to have storm protection. ANY house should have somewhere where
your family can go for an extended time when the weather is turning
dangerous. In a basement, everyone can go and sleep there until the
danger is gone...it is alot harder to sleep in a closet in a slab
house. Considering the destructive power of a tornado (note the latest
school disaster), I would consider it to be a requirement in any house
I would live in that is in an area prone to tornadoes.

Valid point, but . . . .If you live in Florida, you could drown in a
basement. Take a look at www.polysteel.com and look for "safe room" and
build like that. Personally, I'd rather be in a bunker of some sort without
a house collapsed on top of me.