Homes for Sale with a Basement in Burlington, NC

• North Burlington in 27217: Older homes on streets like Rainey, Attica, Durham, and Chandler, many under $200,000. Some of these basements are partial or unfinished.
• The historic district near West Davis Street: Large older homes, including an eight-bedroom house of more than 4,500 square feet listed under $275,000.
• Newer homes: A Reading Court home in Kernodle Landing with a basement and more than 3,200 square feet listed at $500,000.

Under the NC Real Estate Commission guidelines, a finished basement counts as living area only if it has a permanent heat source and meets ceiling height rules. Unheated or partly finished space does not count. Many MLS listings also report below-grade area separately, and appraisers usually treat it separately from above-grade space. Compare above-grade square footage when you weigh two homes at the same price.

• Water stains, efflorescence, or a sump pump, since Piedmont clay holds water against foundation walls
• Grading and gutter downspouts that carry water away from the house
• A radon test. The NC Radon Program has found radon above the EPA action level in Alamance County homes, and a basement is the part of a house in closest contact with the soil.

On every Burlington basement listing, I check whether the basement has its own heat and ducts and ask the listing agent how the square footage was measured. That shows whether the price per square foot holds up.