Now-a-days finishing your Basement can be expensive, with the entrance of IRC 2018  and material costs going higher and higher, it is challenging finding the right contractor.

We are here to help. 
 

Egress Window/entrance
Before calling a contractor you should call your township and ask if it is a requirement to install an egress window. Egress window can be expensive, starting as little as 5k up to 20k, depends on style, size, and contractor.
 

Electrical
Go to your electrical Panel, look for empty spaces (slots without  circuit breakers). If your panel is completely full, keep in mind that to finish your basement you will need to add a electrical sub-panel. 
An electrical sub-panel can be expensive, and can run from 1.2k to 2.5k depends on location, and contractor. The IRC 2018 Electrical codes are requiring AFCI and GFCI circuit breakers for any additions to your home. Those circuit breakers will cost from $50 to $90 each. Electrical for your basement can get expensive, electrical boxes, wiring, lights, GFCI outlets, switches and other system installations. 

Sealing your concrete/block basement walls
Check if there are any major cracks, contractors will point it out to you and will charge you extra for repairs and seals.
Our professional opinion (25+ Years of experience), if you have a concrete pour walls in your basement, sealing them with roll on sealer is unnecessary. When your home was built, the builder is require to install a sealer around your foundations (that black paint you find around your foundations about dirt high), with that said, unless you have major crack to repair and seal, the interior seal is not required, or better yet pointless. Contractors will charge you $500 to $1000 extra to seal your entire basement walls. Another reason why the sealing of your Basement concrete walls is not necessary is that when your contractor will build your basement wall frame, he should stay at least 1.5 inches away from the concrete walls, we call it a ventilation space. Humidity of concrete and stagnant air will cause mold, the ventilation space allow air to move freely between the framed walls and concrete walls. 
For basement walls built with blocks, sealing the walls is necessary, block walls are known to absorb water and with time it can sip through your walls inside, causes mold on your block walls. 

Insulation
The New IRC 2018 codes now requires R19 for walls insulation compare to IRC 2015 only required R13. Its best not to compress the insulation, due to the fact that pressed insulation will lose its value. The R19 insulation its about 5 inch thick, again leaving space between the concrete wall and the framed walls its best to allow air flow. 

Drop ceiling vs. drywall Ceiling
We prefer to use drywall ceiling when we can vs drop ceiling.
Now-a-days builders will build a house and they already prep the basement to be finished later. Prep the basement, Builders will make sure all wires and pipes are ran together when they can, So, if the homeowner decides to finish their basement, it will be easier to install drywall ceiling. Older houses, with added electrical and added pipes, it will be little more expensive to finish with drywall, so most of contractor will suggest Drop ceiling. In certain situation both can be used.

Basement Bathrooms
Build a Bathroom in your basement can be expensive, usually costs from 13k up to 20k, depends on the size, hardware, fixtures, contractors.
Some of the newly built homes have basement drains already set up and ready to hook up. Older homes do not have any drain system set up, and a sump pump will be needed, sump pump will be included with bathroom price. sump pump costs 1.5k in material plus labor.