at what price point is basement laundry no longer acceptable?

[Anonymous]

We are putting some money into remodeling our home, which we plan to stay in about 7 to 9 more years. After the remodel I expect our house to be in the 900 to 1.1 selling range but as of right now (if we dont change it in the remodel) we still have basement laundry. My DH thinks its too risky not to add 1st or 2nd floor laundry, even though neither of us personally mind it being in the basement. Our two options are expanding the mud room to include laundry (leaving wayyyy less storage for coats, boots, cubies etc) or really up the budget and put in 2nd floor laundry. Im inclined to leave it in the basement but like I said DH is hesitant. Any advice?

[Anonymous]

I prefer basement laundry JUST IN CASE there is a freak flood or fire.

[Anonymous]

I guess I didn't realize that basement laundry was so unacceptable, but then again after living in apartments having to trek down several flights instead of just two to do laundry, I'm so glad to have my laundry in my own space, basement or otherwise!

I'd say at the price point you're hoping to be at, it could be nice to have the laundry on the main floor, but if your best option is spending $$$ to add it, I don't think you'll really recoup that. If the basement is finished, most people won't notice it's so terrible having the laundry down there too? I have not seen one house in our year of searching that has main floor laundry, now that I think about it. Full disclosure - we were not looking in the million dollar range though!

A further question, at what price point must one have laundry on main level and basement level?

[Anonymous]

We have a main floor laundry and are moving it upstairs. I hate having guests walk through our mud room with our laundry there. Even with nice machines it's an eyesore. I'd move it to the 2nd level ideally or leave it in the basement as the second option.

[Anonymous]

If 2nd floor laundry is definitely out, you can plumb the mudroom for laundry without actually installing the washer and dryer there, thus preserving your storage space but retaining flexibility for a future buyer.

Basement laundry would not be a deal breaker for me as long as it was still in a nicely finished space.

[Anonymous]

Laundry rooms over other finished space = problem. At the higher levels, you have someone doing it for you. At every other level, basement or first floor over crawl space is the only way to go.

[Anonymous]

We bought a house for $1M this year, with the laundry in the basement.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the age of the house. Most new homes have them on the 2nd and some on the first. It also depends on how many stories the house is. 2 stories is a lot to climb up and down, 1 not so much.

The worry about leaking is not high because by code you need to have a pan with a drain or sealed floor leading to a drain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are putting some money into remodeling our home, which we plan to stay in about 7 to 9 more years. After the remodel I expect our house to be in the 900 to 1.1 selling range but as of right now (if we dont change it in the remodel) we still have basement laundry. My DH thinks its too risky not to add 1st or 2nd floor laundry, even though neither of us personally mind it being in the basement. Our two options are expanding the mud room to include laundry (leaving wayyyy less storage for coats, boots, cubies etc) or really up the budget and put in 2nd floor laundry. Im inclined to leave it in the basement but like I said DH is hesitant. Any advice?

I would do it, you will love it (not just resale)

[Anonymous]

Buyers of our old colonial (~$850k) moved the laundry room into the kitchen pantry with their pre-move in remodel. I never really thought it was a drag, but to each her own.

[Anonymous]

A bunch of 1.2 milion houses sold in my neighborhood within days with laundry in the basement.

[Anonymous]

We were shopping in the $1M range and this was not a deal breaker for me. In fact, it never occurred to me.

All that said, we did end up getting a home that has a 2nd floor laundry and it's a nice feature.

[Anonymous]

I don't even know where the laundry is in my house - the staff take care of that sort of thing.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I would NOT put it in the mud room. Second floor would be my first choice, but I would much rather have my laundry in the basement than in the mud room - I like a big mud room with lots of storage, and I really don't want to look at laundry every time I enter/leave the house.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a waste of usable space anywhere except the basement. I wouldn't want an upstairs laundry room at any price.