Need separate entrance for basement hack?

[Betsey Biggs]

Hi all,

I’m a single parent looking to house hack via a basement suite rental in Boulder County, CO. Mostly looking at Louisville and Lafayette, for anyone who knows the area.

Most SFH don't have a separate entrance for their basements, and it seems quite expensive to put one in. Any thoughts on whether it's worth it, or if it's possible to make a basement suite work without one? Thanks!

[Steve K.]

This is such a high demand area, it's definitely possible to find a tenant willing to rent a basement without a separate entrance. It may limit your tenant pool a bit, and you may not be able to charge quite as much rent, but definitely possible. Another thing to consider is occupancy limits (Boulder has some pretty strict rules on this but they're talking about changing those right now). 

It depends on your personal tolerance of sharing space with tenants as well. Without a separate entrance and the ability to lock off the rental unit, you're basically living with roommates at that point. Since you have kids, you might prefer a separate space that is more of a dedicated rental. It will be hard to find that in Louisville for a reasonable price, but I've seen quite a few properties recently in Lafayette that would work. My buddy just sold one there. It was a bit of a fixer but the price was "only" $420k. It had a cabin in the back that is run down right now but could be fixed up and rented. Lafayette has better zoning (many downtown parcels are zoned for 2 units), prices, and available properties for what you're looking for compared to Louisville, by far.