A basement was one of the things we specifically looked for when moving South, in lieu of a storm shelter, as we are in what is now being termed “The New Tornado Alley”. And yes, they are hard to come by down here!
Funny story- we have a relationship with the person we purchased our farm from. When it was on the market, it had interest from a person in the community has a reputation that they make their living from a certain illegal activity involving cooking, and we ain’t talking in a restaurant. He knew this person wanted the basement for their “cooking” and there was no way he was selling him the property!
Up North, if you own a house built in either the 1700 or 1800s, it is said the original owners were moneyed if the house had two front doors almost side by side. We had a log farm house that was built in 1863 out of white oak log, with the double front doors. We were told the owners must have been particularly affluent because white oak was a very expensive commodity at the time the house was built.