What a walk-out changes
The obvious gain is light: full-height windows and a sliding door where most basements have a window well, which turns the lower level into real living space and, with the right permits, a second unit with a separate entrance at grade. The trade-offs are worth walking through. A walk-out lot usually backs onto a slope or a valley, so ask whether the rear yard is usable or mostly bank, whether a conservation authority, TRCA on the Rouge and Petticoat Creek side, regulates the property, and whether any deck or fence work needed their permission. Look at grading and drainage at the lower door, since water runs toward it in a storm, and check the retaining walls. A finished walk-out on a ravine in Highbush or Rouge Park carries a premium over the same plan on a flat lot; an unfinished one is the cheaper way into the same view.