is basement apartment ok with a baby?

Hi all

We are looking for a house/ apartment for rent. Is it ok to go for a basement apartment cos i am expecting baby by the month of december. What are the advantages and disadvantages of going to a basement house.

What all should i look into while searching for a house like heater, A/C, washer-dryer(optional),with carpet or without carpet, ventilation, separate entrance and so on...

Pls advice me.

p.s: people here call even individual house as apartment when giving it for rent!!!!!!!!!!! so i meant the basement of the house.....

Thanks
san

hi,

if the apartment has elevator then basement or anyother top floors may not be a problem. but if there is no elevator go for basement apartment only. and other thng is look for ventilated one. with carpet is best i think as with my baby i often feel this whenever she fell down from bed she dont feel much hurt. gud luck

There are some sites like Apartmentratings.com,rent.com etc where you can go and check apartments in your area and see the ratings.You can even check the feedback given by the existing or previous residents and that will help you a lot.Recently,we almost booked one apartment and then checked the ratings which said that the parking and maintenance is a problem.Immediately,we cancelled the same.It really helps to check such sites.

It is always better if a washer/dryer is there within the unit,atleast you don't have to go outside in the cold winter just for the laundry.I think it depends on state to state.In Sacramento,almost all apartments come with W &D,microwave,refrigerator and cooking range.Here in Columbus,W & D and microwave is almost always not there in apartments.Some apartments provide the same if you ask for it.I think heating and a/c also come in most apartments.I don't know much about basement apartments since I've never seen the same,but I think you will definitely have to check for ventilation in such cases.

If you are planning on getting dishnetwork,you might want a patio or garage facing the south direction so that you can get the dish installed.It is best to have a first floor(ground floor) apartment if you are planning on staying there for a long time.Once your baby becomes a little big,he or she will keep jumping around and that might create a lot of noise if you are on the second floor and it will create a lot of disturbance for the people on the first floor .

Well,that's it...we just finished getting our place here and these were some of our concerns.Luckily,we got a townhome and that solved all our problems.

Hi San,

When you said basement apartment, I thought you were referring to 1st floor apartments (i.e. what we call ground floor in India). But Sunitha's reply leaves me a little confused on whether basement is different from 1st floor(ground floor)

However, here are my 2 cents if you are asking about 1st floor apartments. In my experience, 1st floor apartments work best with a baby. I live in 2nd floor (I have a family living below us and a family living above us). Either we are unknowingly giving problems to the one below us or we are unknowingly being given problems by the one above us. My little one just started walking and since the time she is crawling it has been a heavy noise to the people below. On top of it, if we play running around with her, that's it, the man below comes up and knocks our door . Similarly, when my little one was 3 - 6 months old, she used to get up frequently during her sleeptime being disturbed by the noise that we hear from above.

Also when it comes to carrying things like groceries, etc. along with the baby is difficult if you are going to live on the top floors. If you want to go for a walk with the baby in the stroller, lifting and taking stroller down will make you cut down most of the walks.

Now coming to Suja's point, carpet flooring has it's advantages and disadvantages. Advantage - little one not getting hurt much when he/she falls down, disadvantage - all the mess and diaper accidents cleaning up is a big task . Also little ones learn to crawl / walk a little slow in the carpet flooring. This is my understanding, may be I am wrong.

Regarding W&D in the apartment, see to that it is a must. With the baby you will have 2 to 3 loads to wash every week and it is best if it's inside that too during winter. See that not all your windows and patio are East facing, then you will get too much light and during sunny days A/c will always be running because of so much heat and reflection getting in. Similarly, do not go in for an apartment in the last building block - i.e. with lots of open space either in the front / sides / back. Because then you are going to get all the cold breeze during winter and you will need to have the heater always on which is not good for the baby.

May be I told you a lot than what you wanted. I went through all these issues and still going through it with my little one around in my current apartment. So did not want another IL'ite miss on these basics.

PS: I think you are gearing up for your delivery and baby by all means...I can see that with atleast 1 to 2 posts daily all related to pregnancy and baby caring.

Good Luck, San.

Malathy

Thank u all for all ur information, I am gaining so much knowledge from this site.

Of course Malathy, i am asking lots of questions related to baby as i dont know anything abt it, also i am the elder one in my family, so no experience with babies I am planning to ask lots of questions still more whatever strike in my mind, cos this is the place i can get immediate help!!

Oh i should have mentioned this.. people here call even individual house as apartment!!!!!!!!!!! so i meant the basement of the house ... sry for the confusion, but still all ur information are useful for me even for looking individual houses.


thanks

Hi Sanravi,
First of all "congratulations!" how precious that you are soon going to start a family. Regarding your query. I can see you are from Long island. ITs an urban(suburban) area hence many houses there are very old. I would ask the landlord if the paint on the walls has passed lead safety tests. It is a requirement for all landlords to provide evidence of such lead safety tests (usually its just a sheet of paper stating that the property passed inspection). Another thing I would ask about is Radon exposure. Some basements have radon exposure and that is unsafe for babies and even adults. I too have a 16 month old, so I completely understand your concerns. I have lived in NY state for a few years now so thought I should tell you of these very valid concerns regarding the physical safety of your child. I would also check the NY state website on tenant laws- habitability. but basically its a good sites stating all info rentees need to know. Tenant's Rights Guide
All the best
~ Naazneen

Dear Naazneen

Thanks for ur valuable information, i will surely check all those u have said.
Thanks for ur wishes too
If may i ask u, where do u live in NY.