The builders have indicated that a large crawlspace and all bedrooms above grade would be much cheaper than putting bedrooms in the basement.

Why is that?

I just don't know if I like the look of the tall crawlspace (about 7' tall).

Why would you not add a foot or 2 and have a full height lower level, even if it's not immediately finished?

The cost of concrete is really high in our area. So essentially, it is cheaper to build up than down. I liked the idea of leaving it unfinished or semi-finished also, but would still be more expensive than the crawl space. In our county, unfinished basements have to drywall on the ceilings. I wanted the basement finished out completely but that has been very expensive.

Concrete isn’t that expensive to short yourself on doubling your possible living space. Even if it’s not finished, a basement makes way more sense than any crawl space.

Do most homes in that area have a crawlspace or a basement? Are you in tornado country?

A usable crawl space is called an unfinished basement. In other words, ain’t nothin’ usable about a sloped dirt floor under your house. Trust me, in a couple years you’ll be daydreaming about the feasibility of converting it into a real basement... until you get the estimates. Then you’ll either cry or give yourself a lashing for not having it built that way from the get-go when it would’ve been a hell of a lot cheaper to do so.

This is one of those instances where being penny wise is pound foolish. First, your giving up actual usable living space with the crawl space. A crawl space like you describe has little value beyond storage and perhaps the mechanicals. You have what I assume is a beautiful lake front lot. Imagine being out near the lake and looking up at your house to see a big wall of concrete vs. what looks like the lower level of the house.

The cost to build out finished space is essentially the same whether it's above or below grade. The question is does the incremental cost of a walkout basement versus a crawl space add value greater than or equal to its cost? If your crawl space would be 7 ft tall, you're pretty close to basement territory whether you want one or not. Add a couple of feet to the foundation, a window or two, a door, and a slab and you've got an unfinished basement. That gives you the potential for adding future living area or conditioned storage which you won't have with a crawl space.

An extra foot of concrete and some sheet rock can’t cost that much, although I can’t imagine why code requires sheet rock on a basement ceiling.

From experience, I can tell you that there’s all kinds of stuff to store in a lake house basement: boats, kayaks, paddle boards, floats, life jackets, paddles, outboard - not to mention barbecue grills, patio furniture and the like.

I’m not a fan of basement bedrooms, but you will regret not having done an unfinished basement.

@crcash2 Is this the code requirement to which you are referring:

A walkout basement is the way to go and honestly in the grand scheme not a huge expense and worth every penny

I want to say thank you for all the responses to my post! I think that we are leaning towards the basement. Although I don't think we can finish it out. We have to fit 5 people in the house somehow.

I avoid bedrooms in a basement.

Money is not everything. An unusable space is always cheaper than usable space. Think about the benefit the usable space, or potentially usable space, can bring. Do not think of just present needs, think about potential benefits over the next two hundred years.

If you want to take advantage of potential lower-level living space, it's important to ensure it doesn't feel like a "basement."

A couple of ways to achieve this is to construct it with a 10 ft or 9 ft ceiling height which allows for large windows, lots of natural light, and avoids the dreaded effects of too-low ceilings due to ductwork. It's even more important that the foundation be properly waterproofed, insulated, and a drainage system installed. Proper conditioning typically demands supplemental dehumidification (my apologies if I just opened up this thread to the HVAC nerds.)

In my area [Indiana] A walkout basement for lakefront 100%. You don't have to do bedrooms down there. It could be unfinished [for future expansion]. It will add much more value than initial cost IMHO and you will be glad you did it...think expanded entertainment, separate outdoor patio area, place to come in from the lake wet and grab towels, etc.