Audio House


Ive been looking into buying a house once the lease is up on the house i am renting.

I have 4 critera, and they run in this specific order.
(price is not a criteria, we have a range and are looking within it)

1) Big enough for me, my Fiancee, our 2 dogs, and to eventually have a couple kids.

2) There needs to be a location of accoustic value where i can work on getting a good 2 channel rig, that is not in the way, yet not shoved out of site somewhere where i wont mess with it.

3) Needs a good Livingroom, NO TV nook shoved near a corner, must have room for surround setup. and must not be CRAMPED

4) Must have a basement, finished or unfinished that i can eventually modify to build a Theater and a Gym

PLEASE TELL ME IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH CRITERIA LIKE THIS!!!!!

I was talking to a buddy and he said "Why dont you buy the house you are already in after yer lease is up?"
I replied "The basement is an accoustic wreck, and there is no good place upstairs for a 2 channel rig"

then they give me this incredulous look, like "What the hell is wrong with you? you are deciding on a house based on how well it will work with your stereo?"

To which i reply, well,... Yeah... If im gonna cough up 250,000 for a house(denver is very expencive) i want it to work for all my purposes.

They usually reply along the lines of "Yer on crack"

I hope im not the only one that looks at things like this.

I dont see why i cannot have all my criteria met.
slappy
Slappy, all I can say is if you can get all your criteria for $250,000 you're doing quite well. Here is DC that same criteria would be more like 4-500,000. So I'm content to compromise on things and live with my stereo, my girlfriend, and her cat as best we all can. Remember when house shopping, take everything into account and don't get too hung up on your stereo and you'll be much happier. I'm sure others will throw me under a bus for that viewpoint, but so be it. Whatever you end up doing good luck.
Boys, you need to spend a day or two looking at real estate for sale in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the Silicon Valley you MIGHT be able to find such a house for $750,000 - but it probably would not have a basement. Real estate prices are crazy around here, even though the economy is still hurting.

If I had the money I would have criteria similar to yours.

Good luck!
Keep your criteria in mind when you shop but be prepared to compromise a little if everything else works for you. I shopped for houses and apartments with audio considerations and made out quite well even if not perfectly. Remember that, with decent space and fundamental construction, one can modify with purpose-built treatments and furniture.

Good luck. (And I do mean that. In Manhattan, $250K is renovation money!)

Kal
Yeah...

there are definatly some places more expencive than denver, but it is definatly in the top 10%

i work with guys who commute from Wyoming all the way to denver each day because they can get a $400,000 colorado house for 150,000.

Man real estate sucks!

i wish i lived in an area without the living cost, but in telecom, if you have a job you kinda gotta keep it, cause you aint gettin another one! :)
I can relate to your dilemma. My main criteria when I bought a house 2 1/2 years ago was large living room with an acoustic friendly shape. I informed my real estate agent of my requirements and it was no big deal. A couple my friends remarked to me, that I basically was looking for a dedicated audio room with a kitchen and bedrooms attached. I found a house that satisfied my needs and have been pleased with it. I'm single and live with my dog who has no complaints, which made things a lot easier.
Good luck with your search.

Ben
I think your criteria are pretty reasonable. Surely you will find what you want in a city the size of Denver.

We built a house with a dedicated music room a year plus ago. I can't imagine being without it now. Real estate here must be a lot like Wyoming. I'd hate to tell you what we got for a little more than you are willing to spend. Don't you guys in the big cities make a ton of money?
Hah!
Yeah we have to, cause a 1000 sqft apartment will run you 1,300 a month! :)

I have buddys i was in the military with who got out and moved to some small town doing phone work at a ma-&-pa phone company, they make the same amount i do.

those lucky guys get a 3,000sqft house on 5 acres of property for 70,000.

unbelieveable.

I would move out to a place like that, but my folks live within driving distance and my fiancee refuses to move.

Too bad too. The city life is great, eexcept for all the people, traffic, smog, crime, etc etc. So i guess that leaves good restaraunts and alot of buldings eh?
hahahaha
Slappy,
How about buying a house in your price range with a two car garage, keep the cars in the driveway, convert the garage into an audio room? Garages are an empty slate. If you are into DIY, you can put together a well insulated, good sounding room for a few thousand dollars and some elbow grease. I too live in an area of real estate gone berserk. We were going to add a room over the garage, but I think I am going the garage conversion route. I probably will be getting in touch with Rives Audio to help get the acoustic right.
Ya know Slipknot, i think that is a fantasitc idea, however, if my fiancee's car was parked outside and she had to go scrape off all the ice and snow to go to work, i would probably find all my gear thrown out on the lawn.

hahahahaha

We are looking at several houses right now, most of them have a family room and living room. I got dibs on the living room for my 2 channel setup!:)
Slap,
Mine is in the living room now, with a scaled down 5.1 HT RPTV setup in the family room. The rig is reaching the point where I have to compromise the decor of the living room. Something I don't want to do. My ever-so-understanding spouse wouldn't care, but I do. My truck, her company car and her personal car are always out in the driveway because our garage is full of my tools, log splitter, skis, mountain bikes and fly fishing gear. Most of the sports stuff could head to the basement, and the lawn care stuff could go to a shed I would have to put up out back. I just have to convince her that we CAN afford the shed, the construction, and (of course) room design by Rives. it's amazing the ripple effect this hobby has. Never mind the fact that our oldest is a freshman in college and our youngest just started first grade (maybe I should raid her college fund for this). just kidding... Good luck in your house quest.