What to look for if your buyer client is a MUSICIAN

What to look for in a porperty if your buyer client is a musician? Well, aside from typical Bedroom / Bathroom ratio and some idea of square footage, the most important feature that sells a house to many is a BASEMENT! 

BUT - not just any basement, or a mere fact that it's there. It has to be a very specific type of basement, that can be used for recording studio space, practicing, rehearsals and just general hanging and chilling at odd hours. 

What type of basement does qualify?

First and foremost - enough ceiling height. If there is a rehearsal, or recoding, there's a base player on the set. Have you seen an upright base up close? It's a huge thing! It needs room to stand freely (and not scratch the ceiling - it is an expensive musical instrument), plus room for a base player to move freely. 

Basement has to be finished - or at least partially finished, where a big enough space can be used for rehearsal right away. It seems, that the whole point of buying a house for a musician is getting a place to practice, and they will get right to it, before unpacking the boxes. It's somewhat stretched, but it's true :) 

There has to be heat in the basement, as well as enough electrical outlets and light sources. Air conditioning is secondary, at least on the East Coast. It's basement after all, and it doesn't get that hot in there even in the midst of summer. But if a whole band is practicing, and it's hot outside - air conditioner is most welcomed.

Basement has to be BIG take #1: One big space is preferred over few smaller rooms. It's good when utilities are in a separate room though. That way one can isolate their humming by closing doors, and properly insulating and soundproofing the room. When musicians record a song, and need to use different corners for each player, tiny basement rooms might not be of help, and it's better to build a temporary booth for violinist or singer (one uses special blankets, that are similar to moving blankets and special foam pads to do so), sound is better that way. 

Basement has to be BIG take #2: adequate storage for all equipment, that a musician has a lot of. My husband (professional musician) recently DOWNSIZED his guitar stable to 6 (six) pieces. Plus there are 4 amplifiers, a base (just in case), pA system, mikes, cords, mixing boards, bookshelves with charts... There is a LOT of stuff that has to be properly stored and easily accessible. It can not be thrown in the attick (or basement corner) and forgotten about. 

Basement has to have an easy access to the car - either connected to the garage, or by a convenient walking path to the driveway. By convenient I mean a paved path without steps.  It doens't have to be flat (can go up or down slight hill). Musician has to load his gear in and out of the car almost everyday, and there are heavy cumbersome to carry pieces, that are transported on small rolling carts. Think amplifiers, drum sets, PA systems, aforementioned upright base - the base case has a detacheable wheel, so that the monster can be wheeled to the destnation.  Of course, walkway can be added, and paved by new owner at a later point after the sale, but there has to be possibility to do so in the first place.

Basement has to be DRY. It will be used for storage of expensive instruments and gear, that can get damaged by humidity. There might be a certain level of humidity, but only a level that can be safely dealt with by plugging in dehumidifier or two. 

Basement contains noise much better than other parts of the house, and with additional soundproofing there shouldn't be any issues with neighbors. However, it's best to have the neighbors at farther distance than up close. It's best when the property is abutting a non-buildable area on at least one side. 

When you have a musician client who is looking for a house, of course you will ask him/her about the needs and wants. But please consider going  beyond typical bathroom/bedroom questionnaire. If you are helping to find a hopuse for a musician, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

I speak about this with such certainty, because I happen to have the house with perfect basement. Overtime, more than 100 professional musicians have stopped by here, and EVERY ONE of them commented on the basement feature FIRST. Some of them hardly noticed number of bedrooms and other perks. 

Now Rock Star / Red Carpet type musicians - like John Meyer - would buy specific type of house all together (maybe better called a mansion), with home studio built in, but that's a whole new topic...

Anna Glebova

REALTOR®

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