Add unit in unfinished basement

[Demetrios Kalligerakis]

Hello all.  I am looking at a property that has an unfinished basement with an external entrance.  What I was hoping to do is to convert that space into an additional unit.   What are the steps I would need to take to understand if this is possible/allowed and what the costs associated would be?  I was thinking that there would need to be an additional electrical and water meter but not sure if there is anything else required and what the steps are to figure out the costs associated.  Any help to push me in the right direction is appreciated.

[Brandon Plombon]

The first step would be to check with the city/building code to see if they would allow a conversion type like that for an unfinished basement. Some cities have restrict codes vs others are more relaxed. Second would be to get a contractor in there to get you some estimates of what it would cost to convert to a functionally unit - he might even know if it is allowable if he is local.