@Luke Masaschi, while the pathway to easing the ADU conversion process is underway in NY, I believe CA is leading the pack.That said, NY law requires a minimum ceiling height of 7 ft. and requires 2ft to be above street level.

The ceilings aren’t tall enough, and I know that you can dig out a lower foundation to make the ceilings taller.

No one likes low ceilings.

About the basement: It's partially finished (drywalls and ceiling only) with no bathroom or kitchen.Since it's a considerably smaller house, I am not sure if this would add significant value to the house if we sell it say 5 years down the line.

Replaced floors, scraped popcorn ceilings, repainted inside and out, remodeled bathrooms, updated fixtures.

I will be doing almost 3' undercut as aiming for 9' ceiling.

After spending 20K on a remodel prior to move-in, the tenant chose to hang more than 50 items from the ceilings and walls.

I have an unfinished basement with 8-foot ceilings.

On the inside, the apartment was left pretty dirty..greasy stove from oil being over heated, dust all over ceiling and walls(an impressive amount), wall stains from what looks like candles or incense burning?

I believe that may be the first step to coordinating the bridge to shopping for homes with your agent as you'd have a more definite price ceiling.