Ask the Builder: Can’t Trade Up? Finish New Space in Your Home

If buying a bigger house is not in your budget, creating more space in your current house is always an option.

I'm helping my son transform his basement into 1,300 square feet of wonderful finished living space. There will even be an old-fashioned speakeasy in it! Tim Carter/Tribune Content Agency/TNS

With home loan interest rates higher than they’ve been in years, you may not be able to move to a larger home. You might be able to obtain the added space you need by transforming unfinished space to delightful rooms.

Just a few weeks ago, I started to help my son increase the finished living space in his home by nearly 80 percent! Two years ago he bought a new home that has a full basement. Fortunately, the builder installed an outdoor bulkhead with a set of concrete steps. This created the all-important egress door required by almost all codes.