23d (edited) • General discussion
A visit yesterday that really stopped me in my tracks!
I’ve just come back from viewing a property in St Albans, Hertfordshire UK. It is an aspiration Cathedral City to live in on the outskirts of London, that’s undergoing a full renovation. From the outside, it’s a beautiful and a relatively conventional house.
What you’d never guess is what’s underneath.
The owner has excavated a 2,500 sq ft basement. To put that into context, the average UK family house I would estimate is 1,500–1,800 sq ft above ground. This basement alone is larger than many family homes!
At shell-and-core stage, it already includes:
- A swimming pool (excavated, not yet filled)
- Sauna
- Gym
- Cinema Room
- Substantial additional living space
Standing there, it’s genuinely impressive to realise how much space, cost, and complexity is hidden below ground.
Which brings me to a question for the group...What are your views on basements as an investment?
- Do you see below-ground space as equal to above-ground in terms of value?
- Have you seen a pricing discount per sq ft applied to basement accommodation on resale?
- Does the end use (cinema, pool, wellness, staff accommodation) change your view on value?
- And in today’s build-cost environment, do basements still stack up financially?
I’d be really interested to hear from anyone who has built one, financed one, valued one, or sold one.
The photos attached give a bit of context, but they still don’t quite capture how surprising it is to stand in a space like this beneath what looks like a “normal” house above.
And I might add the owner of this transformation is in the group...Will he raise his head above the parapet?
A true inspiration of a home with a man with big plans. Have a great weekend all.
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A visit yesterday that really stopped me in my tracks!
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