Sara posted the following question on Trulia.com and I responded to the question and I hope this is helpful to both buyers and sellers.

Is a finished basement (400 sq ft) part of a 2000 sq ft home or is it separate like a garage?

Sara. The valuation for a finished basement will be different than the main portion of the home and it will be higher than the value you would see for a garage. To give you an exact ratio in values between the main house and the basement is difficult since the quality of the finished basement may be less than the rest of the house. I work for a builder and we have discussed this many times and depending on the quality of the finishing you could put a value of anywhere from $30 a square foot to $60 or $70 a foot and maybe even more from my experience. But probably more important than what my experience shows, I do not know of any appraiser that will put the same valuation on a finished basement when compared to the main portion of the home, it is less. I hope this assists you in your decision. Thanks, Don.

Website: www.donroth.com