Making a House Hack in North Jersey?

[Joshua Moyer]

Hey BP Fam,

My wife and I are starting to look for our first home in North Jersey. I found a move-in ready HomePath SFH in a great neighborhood in Hawthorne that fits our budget

Considering that it's already zoned for 1 and 2 family, I was looking at it as a possible house-hack.  The basement looks like it has real potential for a 1/1 apartment.  Has anyone done something similar?  I know lots of homes in the area will have second floor apartments, but there's something about basement apartments that can be undesirable.  It has several south-facing windows, and at least from the pictures it appears that they meet egress requirements.

An unrelated question - what about underpinning the basement if the height isn't adequate?  I know that underpinning is a HUGE cost.