I saw one house with these expensive egress windows, and built in ladders to the surface, but the grate at ground level had a padlock to prevent burglaries.Basements can be cold and damp, and often times have limited ceiling height with low hanging ductwork, pipes etc.If you are use to living in a single family detached house you will hear your basement neighbors and most basement apartments have little to no sound insulation.In general I don't even like finished basement in SFHs.

If you are going with forced air (sure sounds like it), then you will need ductwork.

Terry's numbers are about right (looking at about $2500-3500 for materials and whatever local labor is for heat pump).In total, I'd pay less than that in Atlanta, more than that in Wisconsin and about that in Maryland (given the specs he listed).Ductwork estimate is about right in all of my markets.

Located in Tomball, TX (suburb of Houston very close to Spring, TX - within reasonable driving distance of Exxon's brand new building)ARV $103kRent $1350/mo (Avg DOM 16)Needs $5k in repairs (miscellaneous cosmetic inside/out)All major systems in good or excellent working order.Includes laminate flooring for front and master bedroom.Roof replaced and re-decked in past 6 months.AC replaced in 2008 in/out.AC ductwork replaced same time as roof.All interior re-painted in past 6 months except master bedroom and bath.I've got it under contract but I'm not sure what I should be selling it for to a buy-and-hold investor.Lowest price home in neighborhood in MLS priced at $75k then a jump to $93k - both pending, then another at $100k and they go up from there.Any input greatly appreciated.

i take it floors and ceilings have no room for ductwork, so you're going with that. how do people feel about mini-splits in your area?

Generally, if the insulation on the tubing looks "dirty" it is because the conditioned air is flowing out of the ductwork.2a.

The property has an accessible crawl-space that could accommodate the ductwork and it is a one-story building.

The house is small and according to the local inspector, there is nothing against code in doing this - just makes it less efficient - but some HVAC contractors I called would not put a new one in without also adding the new return air ductwork, which obviously increases the cost quite a bit.

Replacement is the issue.Additions Bedroom Bathroom Deck Garage Porch Patio Heating & Air Conditioning Heating system Central air conditioning Furnace Duct work Central humidifier Filtration system Lawn & Grounds Landscaping Driveway Walkway Fence Retaining wall Sprinkler system Swimming pool Miscellaneous Storm windows, doors New roof Central vacuum Wiring upgrades Satellite dish Security system Plumbing Septic system Water heater Soft water system Filtration system [b]Interior Improvements[/b] Built-in appliances Kitchen modernization Flooring Wall-to-wall carpeting Insulation Attic Walls Floors Pipes and duct workThis is not a finished list this is just an example.

Ductwork, unit, everything.Am I crazy or does that seem really low?