Tell me about basement flats

[franke]

I've seen one I might like to buy. It is part of a Victorian conversion and has one bedroom and a small garden. It is not in a flood area. I've heard basement flats can be dark and damp. Does anyone have any experience?

We are living in a rented one at the moment, also Victorian - very damp, very dark and I have serious misgivings about the plumbing as all the water needs to be pumped away. I'm glad it's not my responsibility.

It depends whether the basement is an excavated cellar type arrangement or what estate agents refer to as a "lower ground floor" - LGF's will probably have much more light and the plumbing may not be such an issue.

I lived in a modern one while my friend lived in a victorian one. Mine was fine, though not much light, and we did have mice coming through occasionally.
My friends was dire to be honest. Very damp, very dark, and no ventilation at all. No window in the bathroom would make it a big no from me. She had mice, crumbling walls, all sorts

I own one! Mine is dark at the front but is ground level at the back so the living room and back bedroom are really sunny whereas the master one isn't but I like that - easy to sleep in on summer mornings.

I did have a damp problem but only because the damp proof course was non-existent. I had one installed last year and now it's lovely.

So check whether there is a DPC, when it was installed and what the guarantee is like. They are expensive and messy to install so wouldn't recommend doing it yourself

Mine is Victorian too incidentally - they are not all damp and dingy - check out my kitchen and bathroom on my profile.

I meant get it done by the vendors rather than you fixing it rather than DIY - you need to use a pro company

I have a basement flat in a Victorian conversion - darker at the front (though not too bad) where the livingroom and kitchen are (north facing) but lovely and bright and warm and sunny at the back for the two bedrooms and the bathroom. There is probably always a risk of damp in these properties but nothing a good DPC can't fix. I don't find the darker side of the flat a problem, use a warm colour on the walls, rugs etc and have nice lamps and make it cosy. The only problem I have with basement flats is the potential noise from upstairs neighbours. We've never had a problem with mice (although 2 of the flats upstairs have) but ants can be a bit of a nuisance in the summer.

Thanks for all your replies. Yes, when I say basement, I mean lower ground floor, so as far as I can see it shouldn't really have more damp issues than your average ground floor. I'll check out the dpc situation though. But the dark might be an issue for me - I think the garden is NE facing, so the back of the flat would be potentially quite cold too.

We rented a lower ground floor (our windows were level with the driveway of the house IYSWIM - so the lower parts of our walls were underground, but the windows were level with the ground so plenty of light) Victorian conversion flat and didn't find it dark at all, but it WAS damp. I left a pair of flip-flops on the shoe rack with the toes touching the wall and within a couple of weeks of them being sat there they were green mould all over and I had to bin them. Don't know if it was just a problem that the landlord should have fixed e.g. rubbish damp course but it was definitely damp.

I've lived in a basement for the past 10 years and I love it! It can be a bit cold and dark in winter but it is lovely and cool in the summer. Never had any damp problems and like Ladybiscuit mine is also nice and sunny at the back. The advantage of a basement of course is having the outside space. Although the garden is quite small, we consider ourselves lucky to have it as we are in central London. Another benefit is we have our own front door - you come down the steps to our entrance whereas all the other flats in the building use the main front door, so ours feels a lot more private. I did feel a bit though when DS1 said cheerfully "Mummy we live in a hole in the ground!!"

Oh and another benefit in this weather - the flat is always blissfully cool. My bedroom is never, ever hot and stuffy. It's wonderful