My husband and I are thinking of turning our daylight/walk-out basement into an in-law suite which would include a bedroom, bath, kitchen, family room, library/office, game room and bar area along with several storage spaces. Total sq. ft: 1900. In the state of Georgia, what are the requirements for turning a space into a bedroom? We are getting conflicting answers. We are being told that any improvements to our basement would not add any value to our home. We are also considering addiing recessed lighting, laminate & tile flooring, a full kitchen (13x14) with upper and lower cabinets and a laminate countertop with double basin sink. The bath will include a pedestal sink, toilet and 4' shower with custom tile surround. The library will have wall to wall bookshelves and a corner desk unit. The bedroom will have 2 closets, a standard size window, room for a complete queen size bedroom suite, a desk unit and TV shelf. The family room will include a 40000 BTU propane gas fireplace which is rated to heat 1400 sq. ft. Will we get a good return for our investment or are we wasting our time and/or money? Your help will be greatly appreciated.

not an expert in this area, just my opinion...

I believe home improvements like that might add value, but its hard to measure. For ex, the neighbors house is similar to mine, except the basement was finished better and the upstairs had a little more updating. It sold for 40K more than what I paid for mine. I thought they were crazy for asking so much... but it was a sellers market at the time.

but I think they just got the right buyer, too... widowed with enough cash to do what she wants.

have you done any market research through your county assessors site? Not that its perfect, but you can get a feel for values of homes in your area with similar square feet.

everything I've read about remodels has said go middle of the line most of the time if you are looking for payback. That viking stove might turn you on, but many others might be content with a much cheaper remodel. Likewise, a whirlpool bath might be overkill for the return when a cheaper remodel might give better roi.

I've remodelled baths, kitchens, added patios, landscaped, etc in the homes I've owned. The approach I take is simply do a remodel for yourself and hope that it might help your home sell faster, not necessarily for more money.

then again, you are talking about a decent amount of space here... so if you do a decent job you just might get the buyer like my neighbor did... one who had the money to pay for an updated home they just had to have.

what added value do you want and are there other homes in your area selling for this amount with similar updates? Have you been to any open houses in your area? Not bad to do some market research... you can do all the add ons and remodels you want, but if its unreasonable for the area, then you are really just doing it for yourself.

Yes this will add value to you home without question. As for a bedroom, all you need is a closet and the right size window for a way out in case of a fire, (those both are codes)
Any time you add a kitchen or bath it is always to your advantage,
the only time this doesn't help as much is if the home around you aren't comparable in size, then it may be hard to get the extra rooms you've added to be as much value,
Improvement to you home is always a good investment.

Now I'm not saying go out and speed a lot of money on fixtures and highend carpets and tile, but using some common sense when picking out things will be more benifical than buy highend things, and it's the in laws to, how nice do they need it really.