Hey @Billy Farley, couple thoughts here as a realtor in Richmond. It would also be a good idea to get some advice from an appraiser, as they are the ones responsible for valuing your property.
Will you have the work permitted, and will you have egress? If so, then you'll likely be able to have the tax record updated with the appropriate square footage, and beds/baths. You'll also need at least heat to be considered finished, so I'd recommend running the duct work.
When listing a property like this on the MLS, we will include the total finished square footage in the listing, but will indicate how many of those sq ft are in the basement. For example, 1600 sq ft home, 800 of which are in the basement. That's 800 ABOVE grade (ground level and above) and 800 BELOW grade. Appraisers generally give much less value (to the tune of 25-50% of the value) to below grade square footage. So you can't price your 1600 sq ft home with a basement the same as you would price a 1600 sq ft rancher (which is all above grade).
Let's say comps in that hood are selling for $250/sq ft. When valuing your property, you may need to give 800 sq ft the $250 value, while only giving $100-150/sq ft value to the sq footage in the basement. Or, when running comps, only compare your property to others that also have a finished basement.
Happy to chat further, don't hesitate to reach out!
