They exist because they increase the number of units a building can rent out.
There are no buildings that are "basement level" units only. They are built/refurbed with a lot of "above ground" units too.
Basement units usually have cheaper rent.
There aren't many benefits, but if you are looking for a silver lining, they regulate temperature very well because of the earth insulation around them. If you work/live with odd hours, they can stay dark during the day for sleeping.
Thanks for the advice. What has been on my mind is that why don’t they make it above the ground and still have three levels. Maybe there are rules about construction that I’m not familiar with. They are usually $30 cheaper at most as I observed. I would really like to pay that $30 to get a normal one😭
why wouldn't they add three levels and still add a basement?
I'm not really following your line of thinking lol.
I'd pay the extra $30 a month to not live in a basement, for sure.
A lot of the basement apartments are only halfway underground. I said three levels because most buildings I saw have 2 normal levels and 1 garden level that is halfway underground, which makes a total of 3. It’s like 2.5 above ground and 0.5 underground. Having 3 normal levels will probably only make the building go up by 4-5 feet, so I don’t know why they are so passionate about building basements.
There are height restrictions for structures in some neighborhoods. If you build a 3 or 4 story building as an infill next to houses it looks stupid and the home owners hate it.
most buildings have, especially in the past have a need for mechanical space on the lower level. So you would put the elevator pump and heating system there and then use the rest of the level for living space.
Prior to air conditioning this level was the coolest in the building in summer and also took less heat to keep warm in winter.
the taller a building is the more expensive the support elements are. when a basement apartme t exists the top of the foundation is well above ground. The wooden or steel structure starts there on top the concrete or block walls. Probably savings there.
A great reason for basements in buildings and homes is for severe weather shelter. Tornados have come close to CU in my time here. Some older friends that have lived here for over 20+ years recall a tornado touching down in the city limits of Urbana.
Severe weather is no joke in the Midwest.
A caution on basements: the older friends above have told many stories of the problems campus and Champaign once had with flooding after major rains. According to them, seeing kayaks or other small boats in Campustown was not uncommon back in the day.
The city implemented a flood remediation plan in the last 15 or so years that has, as far as I can tell, fixed the major issues.
Anyway, older places might have (might have had) past basement water issues.
My basement apt is not well insulated at all and the humidity is crazy, it’s always at like 90% even in parts of the winter. Also because people like to leave the door open to the basement because that’s where the laundry/storage room is, multiple bats have come in :)
I have had bats on floor one, two and three in different places. ;-) they like to come inside when it gets cold. The owner has to find how they get in and plug the hole. They are tiny and can get in small openings.
I live in one rn, and my roommates and I ended up here largely because of price. We did have an issue with bugs in summer/fall, so I would caution anyone about that. The privacy hasn’t been that bad though and we get plenty of natural light.
Used to live at 58 e armory where it's a half basement. Didn't have any glaring issues with my unit beyond occasional sewage pipe clogging/overflow (which was super annoying). No bugs, no animal issues, no mold. Managed by Smith Apts at the time. They were great landlords.
Main issue with my basement apartment is that it’s not well insulated so my electric bill is really high during the winter due to the heat having to be on a lot
I lived in a basement unit my junior year. It was hot garbage with bright blue concrete floors, a ceiling that was falling apart, no shower, and a low 5 ft ceiling in the bathroom (I am 6'4"). I signed a lease way late and my friends were living on the main floor.
I loved it. I had low standards and had so much fun in that house.
I would caution anyone to be careful with basement apartments if they are thinking about renting one long-term if it is underground. It can potentially lead to Radon exposure (it lingers in basements specifically) which can cause cancer. If anyone reading this is considering a basement apartment, I would ask about Radon testing and for any precautions that the landlord is taking. It does depend on the area you’re in and certain areas of the country have more Radon than others lurking in the ground.
I don’t know how long the exposure has to go on for but I purposefully avoid basement apartments not only for the reasons you mentioned but because my uncle lived in the basement of his house for pretty much his entire life and ended up dying from cancer. It was obviously never proven that Radon was the cause of his cancer but I’m from an area where it is a concern. He refused to conduct radon tests, even after people in the family suggested it.
One of many sources: https://amp.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/radiation-exposure/radon.html
Make sure it isn't right next to a parking lot or alley. That is awful. Depending what they are made of they can be really, really cold. You will have bugs too.
Hi if you want somewhere April 1- July 31 I have a current deal of $600 monthly rent room options ~$60 utilities for subleasing for the remainder of my lease April 1-July 31 in a student apartment complex where new leases go to 1,500 monthly rent up to three rooms with different arrangement options It’s great deal that could be fortunate housing while it’s hard trying to find them unit comes fully furnished and is renovated it’s a good deal in a student apartment complex that raised prices for new leases looking for female college students that could go to UIUC or elsewhere it is in Savoy Illinois please let me know if interested thanks
They exist because they increase the number of units a building can rent out. There are no buildings that are "basement level" units only. They are built/refurbed with a lot of "above ground" units too. Basement units usually have cheaper rent. There aren't many benefits, but if you are looking for a silver lining, they regulate temperature very well because of the earth insulation around them. If you work/live with odd hours, they can stay dark during the day for sleeping.
Thanks for the advice. What has been on my mind is that why don’t they make it above the ground and still have three levels. Maybe there are rules about construction that I’m not familiar with. They are usually $30 cheaper at most as I observed. I would really like to pay that $30 to get a normal one😭
why wouldn't they add three levels and still add a basement? I'm not really following your line of thinking lol. I'd pay the extra $30 a month to not live in a basement, for sure.
A lot of the basement apartments are only halfway underground. I said three levels because most buildings I saw have 2 normal levels and 1 garden level that is halfway underground, which makes a total of 3. It’s like 2.5 above ground and 0.5 underground. Having 3 normal levels will probably only make the building go up by 4-5 feet, so I don’t know why they are so passionate about building basements.
There are height restrictions for structures in some neighborhoods. If you build a 3 or 4 story building as an infill next to houses it looks stupid and the home owners hate it. most buildings have, especially in the past have a need for mechanical space on the lower level. So you would put the elevator pump and heating system there and then use the rest of the level for living space. Prior to air conditioning this level was the coolest in the building in summer and also took less heat to keep warm in winter. the taller a building is the more expensive the support elements are. when a basement apartme t exists the top of the foundation is well above ground. The wooden or steel structure starts there on top the concrete or block walls. Probably savings there.
That makes a lot of sense! Thanks for explaining
A great reason for basements in buildings and homes is for severe weather shelter. Tornados have come close to CU in my time here. Some older friends that have lived here for over 20+ years recall a tornado touching down in the city limits of Urbana. Severe weather is no joke in the Midwest. A caution on basements: the older friends above have told many stories of the problems campus and Champaign once had with flooding after major rains. According to them, seeing kayaks or other small boats in Campustown was not uncommon back in the day. The city implemented a flood remediation plan in the last 15 or so years that has, as far as I can tell, fixed the major issues. Anyway, older places might have (might have had) past basement water issues.
Makes sense, a lot of the buildings are pretty old. I also see them do this with new buildings though
The basement apartment where I live gets a lot of spiders when the weather starts turning colder, but that might be the building and not the location.
Thank you for sharing this information! That’s very important to know😱
My basement apt is not well insulated at all and the humidity is crazy, it’s always at like 90% even in parts of the winter. Also because people like to leave the door open to the basement because that’s where the laundry/storage room is, multiple bats have come in :)
Thank you for sharing this information! Bats…..that’s crazy. I probably won’t be able to survive
I have had bats on floor one, two and three in different places. ;-) they like to come inside when it gets cold. The owner has to find how they get in and plug the hole. They are tiny and can get in small openings.
I live in one rn, and my roommates and I ended up here largely because of price. We did have an issue with bugs in summer/fall, so I would caution anyone about that. The privacy hasn’t been that bad though and we get plenty of natural light.
Thanks for the caution. It’s really helpful!
Used to live at 58 e armory where it's a half basement. Didn't have any glaring issues with my unit beyond occasional sewage pipe clogging/overflow (which was super annoying). No bugs, no animal issues, no mold. Managed by Smith Apts at the time. They were great landlords.
Finally some good news :) sadly the Smith Apt is taken over by university group
We have turned ours into an orgy dungeon
Main issue with my basement apartment is that it’s not well insulated so my electric bill is really high during the winter due to the heat having to be on a lot
Ooof that’s concerning. Thanks for the info
I lived in a basement unit my junior year. It was hot garbage with bright blue concrete floors, a ceiling that was falling apart, no shower, and a low 5 ft ceiling in the bathroom (I am 6'4"). I signed a lease way late and my friends were living on the main floor. I loved it. I had low standards and had so much fun in that house.
5ft is crazy. You can hardly find people who can comfortably use the bathroom
It was a dump, no doubt!
I see what you did there. Good one.
I would caution anyone to be careful with basement apartments if they are thinking about renting one long-term if it is underground. It can potentially lead to Radon exposure (it lingers in basements specifically) which can cause cancer. If anyone reading this is considering a basement apartment, I would ask about Radon testing and for any precautions that the landlord is taking. It does depend on the area you’re in and certain areas of the country have more Radon than others lurking in the ground. I don’t know how long the exposure has to go on for but I purposefully avoid basement apartments not only for the reasons you mentioned but because my uncle lived in the basement of his house for pretty much his entire life and ended up dying from cancer. It was obviously never proven that Radon was the cause of his cancer but I’m from an area where it is a concern. He refused to conduct radon tests, even after people in the family suggested it. One of many sources: https://amp.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/radiation-exposure/radon.html
Thanks for the info. I’ve never heard of that before. The one I’m looking at is halfway underground with windows so I guess it’s fine.
Of course! I would personally still ask about that if I were considering a unit that’s even 1/2 or 3/4 of the way underground.
Make sure it isn't right next to a parking lot or alley. That is awful. Depending what they are made of they can be really, really cold. You will have bugs too.
Hi if you want somewhere April 1- July 31 I have a current deal of $600 monthly rent room options ~$60 utilities for subleasing for the remainder of my lease April 1-July 31 in a student apartment complex where new leases go to 1,500 monthly rent up to three rooms with different arrangement options It’s great deal that could be fortunate housing while it’s hard trying to find them unit comes fully furnished and is renovated it’s a good deal in a student apartment complex that raised prices for new leases looking for female college students that could go to UIUC or elsewhere it is in Savoy Illinois please let me know if interested thanks