These beams, they literally look like chocolate candy.
[narrator] A musician for the Boston Pops is looking to escape the cit
and lay down roots in the Berkshire Mountains.
We're absolutely in the woods. This is great.
[narrator] But he's torn ove whether he should go with
a quirky place close to the water...
About as close you can get without actually being on the lake.
[narrator] ...or a more conventional property right in town.
This is very suburban.
This house feels a little unique but still kind of cookie-cutter.
[narrator] He also expects turnkey.
But his friend and contracto Kevin, is trying to get him
to make some sweat equity on a fixer.
-We can make this wall just for trumpets. -It seems expensive.
I think there's real plants inside of this.
These are glass laminated...
-They just look like sandwiched plants. -...pieces of wheat.
[instrumental music playing]
I'm Michael, I'm 36. I live in Boston.
And I'm a trumpet player for the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops.
-[instrumental music playing] -[humming]
-[laughs and scats] -[laughs]
[Michael] I've always loved singing along
with the radio in the car and harmonizing.
But I've always also been fascinated
by being able to recreate that music myself.
That led to some arranging and then eventually writing my own music.
-[instrumental music playing] -[scats]
That's awesome.
[Michael] The apartment I live in is perfect for th amount of travel that I do.
Uh, even though I'm employed in Boston,
I'm not in Boston all that much.
So, this place, while small and a little cramped,
it's perfect for coming in on a late flight,
sleeping, wake up, go to rehearsal.
And then I got to fly out the next day.
But I'm 36 and I really feel like
I need to have roots down somewhere.
Just the reassurance of knowing that
there is a place that I can go to that's mine.
[narrator] And for him, the ideal place to buy
is in the nearby Berkshire Mountains,
where his orchestra plays in the summer.
[Michael] It's definitely a totally different pace than living in the city.
There it's all small towns. Uh, and everyone's nice.
Everyone's taking their time.
I'm gonna keep my place in Boston,
but I'd love to have somethi that's different
then just, like, a crash pad studio.
I am going on tour in two weeks.
-Okay. -So, if going to see a place with you...
-We gotta do it. Like, we gotta do it now. -We... We...
-We have to go. -Okay.
I'm bringing my good friend Kevin along.
Um, he's a contractor, also musician.
And he's charged with the responsibility
of making sure I make zero mistakes.
Yeah. That's my role here.
So, Mike is definitely a glass-half-full kinda person.
Um, whatever's twinkly and shiny,
that's what he's grabbing.
I'm not a Debbie downer, but I definitely like to,
uh, be real with him and try to make sure that
he understands the full picture of things.
Like, I'm comfortable spending
$300,000 but I'd like to keep it under that.
I think if it's perfect, I could go to, like, maybe $350,000.
I travel all the time,
so while a couple of small projects are fine,
move-in ready would be terrific.
If you don't like the shower, if you don't like the kitchen sink...
-You can do it. -If you don't like the toilet.
-We can do that on a weekend. -Yeah.
It's all good. But, like, we need to look for, like, structural things.
-Is the house sturdy? -Yep.
Will you be cool in the next 20 years with the bones of the house?
I'm looking for a craftsman style home or maybe a bungalow.
Could be a kind of a cabin-y feel as long as it doesn't feel cookie-cutter.
I grew up in that. I'm just kinda tired of it.
So it's something unique or even quirky.
Something that's memorable when you walk in.
And you think, "That's a very specific cool house.
This is a great setup, but, I mean,
I've got a neighbor there and a neighbor down there.
I want to be, like, far away from neighbors.
Just, like, sonically, to be able to able to
turn the speakers up and pla my trumpet whenever I want.
I'd love to be close to Tanglewood.
You know, 10 to 15 minutes would be awesome.
Uh... I've been telling Mike that it should be not limited to that.
-Yeah. -It's certainly ideal,
but I think we need to look at all options.
[Michael] Like, I never thought I was a lake person
and then every time I've been to your house, I'm like, "I gotta do this.
If you're there, you have access,
you and Nora can walk down to the lake together,
-it can be a cool thing. -That's true. That's true.
I have a seven year old daughter, her name's Nora.
She lives in Atlanta with her mom.
So, two bedrooms would be great.
Three would be a bonus.
I want Nora to come up and have her place.
If you like the vibe and the aesthetic
and there's a place for your studio
and Nora and all that...
I give you a clean bill of health,
then I think you just need to pull the trigger.
Because... the housing prices are just gonna go up.
[Michael] So, definitely no lake nearby,
The commute could be a tradeoff.
-You have to... You have to balance this all out. -Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure.
[narrator] Since Michael nee to nail down a place
before the summer music season,
he and Kevin have made the two-hour drive
from Boston to the Berkshire for the weekend.
This one's like super low end of the budget, $169,900.
It's lower priced on paper.
I think you just need to pretend it still
-costs the same as, like, your higher end houses. -Sure.
Just be ready to absorb any cost
-that the house could ask from you. -Yeah.
-It's home-y. -It's unique, I would say.
-Uh, lot of neighbors. -It's a... Yeah.
[Michael] It's pretty... You know, this is basically like a residential area.
-All right. Hey, DeWayne. -Hey, guys.
-It's good to see you, man. -How you doing?
Yeah, pretty good.
[Michael] I love the red door.
-First thoughts, I'm looking at the, uh... -Mm-hmm.
-The sighting, there's holes, it's deteriorating. -[Michael] Yeah.
DeWayne, what year is this house from?
-[DeWayne] 1928. -[Michael] Almost a hundred years old.
-[DeWayne] Yeah. Yeah. -[Kevin] It's aesthetic.
And I hope it doesn't go deeper than it looks like.
-[Michael] Okay. -[Kevin] Well, this is definitely gonna
-gonna need some, uh, updating. -[DeWayne] Yeah.
[DeWayne] Michael is a creative.
And I've worked with creatives as a former music attorney.
I know that they sometimes do things in their own time
Given the fact that we're in this really tight inventory market,
you can't hesitate.
Because I think there are gonna be multiple offers
and he's gonna have to move pretty quickly.
[Michael] A little screened in porch.
This is the most New England thing possible.
-It's classy. -Yeah.
And it's a nice option to have, I would say.
I almost wonder if this porch was added on.
It looks like this used to be the original outside of the house
and they're like, "Oh, we want a outdoor area."
[Michael] This is a very, very cool space.
They beams are...
They literally look like chocolate candy.
-Looks great. Looks awesome. -[Kevin] Yeah.
[Michael] Kinda love the wood paneling.
I'll get my turntable and giant floor speakers right there.
It'll be perfect.
[DeWayne] So, you got this huge eat in kitchen
-and... -I like it already.
[DeWayne] Obviously, the appliances, uh, need to be updated.
[Michael] These cabinets, I do love these cabinets.
-Wow. -They're in beautiful shape, too.
A lot of this is in beautiful shape.
Countertops, appliances, but I don't know if
there's anything huge so far.
[DeWayne] Well, what do you think about these fixtures?
[Michael] The fixtures are cool.
Mike, I think there's real plants inside of this.
These are glass laminated...
-[Michael] They just, like, sandwiched plants. -...pieces of wheat.
[DeWayne] This is the primary bedroom.
[Michael] If this is the house, that stays.
-I guess this is just an overhead light. -[Kevin] It's a...
For all the reading I do right before I go to sleep I think it's perfect.
-[DeWayne] The primary bathroom. -Okay.
Oh, my God. It's a time capsule.
[Michael] This really... Oh.
-The pastel colors are... -[Kevin] Look at the yellow.
[Michael] This is awesome.
I wanna try to keep this vibe
so it stays as vintage as possible.
What do you think you could do with this,
like given my schedule and your schedule?
[Kevin] It's hard to say. Bathrooms are deceiving.
You think it's a week project then all of a sudden,
two months later you are still going.
I think we both agree, this doesn't need an immediate edit.
If everything, if the fixtures work and everything is okay,
I say we sit on it for a bit,
we should probably see the rest of the house
-just to see if there's anything that... -[Michael] Yeah.
-Yeah. -...really does needs our attention.
[Michael] What really would, we'd have to...
And then we can figure out if we're even free.
This is the second bedroom.
Got lots of light.
'Cause, you know, this would be Nora's bedroom, so...
[Michael] I think this would totally be Nora's bedroom. Yeah, this is great.
Upstairs it's an attic space.
It's pretty raw right now, but I think you could probably do a lot with it.
[Michael] I'm getting studio vibes.
-[Kevin] I'm thinking studio, Mike. -[Michael] For sure.
This is very finish-able too.
We can run wire and cable behind this little eaves right there.
And you know the fact that this isn't dry walled
already means you can make this custom
to your studio needs.
I think Kevin really digs this house,
I think this is a, "Hey man, maybe it's not all about being move in ready."
Like, a little patience can pay dividends in the long run.
Obviously I want a space that I can feel creative in immediately,
I'm probably am gonna have to wait a year
to really make this space what I want it to be.
It's hard to say and I don't know if I have a year.
[DeWayne] Small yard
-but it's a yard, nonetheless. -[Michael] Okay.
-You don't have a lot of privacy so at least-- -Right.
Yeah, we've got neighbors there,
-neighbors there. -You've got neighbors living right on top of you.
Yep. Okay.
This is definitely, you know, it's a tradeoff.
The drive to Tanglewood though,
what 10-15?
And honestly, your comparison for the privacy is in the middle of Boston.
-So, this is light years better than that already. -Yes.
That is true, there's a lot of cool things
about the interior that I liked.
But, I was definitely helpin for something, like,
either in the woods, on a lake near a body of...
-You know, something that's a little bit more secluded. -Totally.
[narrator] So, DeWayne line up a place near the water.
But if Michael wants it, he' have to make some sacrifices
Are you okay driving 40 minutes to work?
-On the map it looks like there's just lakes everywhere. -There's a lot of lakes.
Streams and brooks and, like, we are definitely in the boonies right now.
[narrator] Boston musician Michael wants to settle dow
with his first home in the Berkshires.
Are you okay driving 40 minutes to work?
No, I don't, I mean, I don't love that, for sure.
-Is this it, right here? -[Michael] Yeah, this is it.
[Kevin] It's small.
-Hey, Michael, how you doing? -Pretty good, pretty good.
I know it's a little smaller than you wanted.
I know you wanted a three-bedroom.
We'll go and see what, you know, the layout is like,
but you said you wanted some sort of a lake or water.
It's not right on the lake, but you can walk.
It'll literally take you
-five minutes to get there. -[Michael] Okay, that's awesome.
-[DeWayne] Built in 1940, -Okay.
Uh, the roof is actually brand new. This is a developer's flip.
-It's really well done. -[Michael] Well done.
[DeWayne] Let me show you these...
[Michael] It looks like a, almost like a barn conversion.
[Kevin] Like, it's got a cottage-y feel to it.
[Michael] Yeah, it's definitely not cookie-cutter.
I mean, this is... This is move-in ready to me.
I mean, it's... This is such a cool space.
I mean, I kinda, I mean, I feel like most people would be like,
"I hate that there's a ladder in the living room."
But I, I love it.
And the loft is pretty cool.
[Kevin] Well, that's the second bedroom.
So this is...
-This is not the guest room. -[Michael] That's the bedroom.
[Kevin] This is the main bedroom.
[DeWayne] That's the main bedroom.
-Yeah, where's the studio? -I have an idea for you.
-I'll show you when we go outside. -[Michael] Okay.
[DeWayne] What do you think of the size?
I mean, it's definitely, I think, smaller than what I was expecting.
Obviously, I mean, I live in a tiny box right now,
so this does feel bigger.
-It's 906 square feet, so it's not really that small. -Okay.
[DeWayne] And I actually don't think the loft space is counted in the square footage.
[Kevin] Michael, go up there and check it out.
[Michael] This is pretty cool.
I definitely can't stand up up here.
I don't know. What do you think?
-[Kevin] I do not love it. -This is a good look, right?
[Kevin] How did they fit four beds up here?
[Michael] I think Nora's gonna love this.
I don't, you know, I don't know if this is, like,
full time bedroom for her.
I think it's not super safe for that.
You know, she's not going to be living here full time.
If that means I make it work up here to sleep,
you know what I mean?
Like, and Nora stays in that room, then that's fine.
So this is the bedroom.
[Kevin] This is a tiny room.
The bathroom is, uh, is through here.
-[Kevin] That is pretty cool. -[Michael] This is... Wow.
[DeWayne] Starting with the tile on the floor.
[Michael] The tile, yeah, the floor.
I love the dark blue tile in the shower.
-This is... -[Kevin] This is the only bathroom in the house.
[DeWayne] It is only one bathroom.
Mike, I do have a concern about the tile.
There is some pretty significant cracking
uh, in the grout lines.
Which usually means that the floor isn't, uh,
as firm as it needs to be.
It makes me think that we could be on an older foundation.
It could be nothing.
[DeWayne] This is the kitchen.
[Kevin] The fixtures look new.
[DeWayne] Everything is brand new.
And that farm house sink, I mean...
-It is beautiful. -[Michael] That is very cool.
What is this thing right here? No, right at the baseboard?
-It looks like a little space heater that you... -[DeWayne] Yeah, there's a...
Yeah, as you're doing the dishes,
you can turn that little space heater on
and your, uh, tootsies can be nice and warm.
[Michael] That's really cool.
I love the idea of the deck, like, right off the kitchen.
We are definitely not in Boston anymore.
[laughs] Yeah, we're absolutely in the woods.
This is... This is great.
Can hear our voices off the trees. It's pretty nice.
Is that the lake, right there, through those trees?
Oh, yeah. You can, it's like a two minutes' walk.
-I know you wanted to be on a lake, but... -But that's, I mean...
It's about as close as you can get without actually being...
-[Kevin] Right. -[Michael] ...on the lake.
-[DeWayne] See that structure over there? -[Michael] Yeah.
-This is what I'm thinking about for his studio. -The studio.
I don't see any lamps or anything so I'm guessing
there's no, like, electricity running to this?
No. It's truly just an empty space right now.
[Michael] This is cool.
[Kevin] You're right about the electric.
For an electrician, they would basically run a line
out here, they'd trench it.
[Michael] That seems expensive.
-Is that? -You should have, you should shop around.
[Michael] It was dazzling inside,
but it was like 40 minutes here from Tanglewood.
That's a lot of time in the car.
It just depends if you want to do that.
It's a nice drive, though.
-[Michael] It is really beautiful, yeah. -The only thing, like, is
the stone foundation, it's gonna have to be looked at.
And we don't know what's underneath the house right now.
[DeWayne] I'm pretty sure that this house is not goin to stay on much longer.
You know, I'm not trying to rush you, but
-this market, you just get, you know. -You don't want me to miss it.
You snooze, you lose.
I'm showing you this and I'm probably going out on a limb a little bit.
Um, it's at the upper end of your budget.
It's $329,000.
That leaves you not a lot of room.
-If any improvements want to happen. -[Michael] Yeah.
[DeWayne] But I think it has a lot of what you want.
It's four bedrooms, it's two baths.
It's got a pool and, um, I think it's what I would call an "adult house."
I definitely want you to see it as an option.
[Michael] This is a whole house.
[Kevin] This is like a house, house.
The owner, I think, is meticulous in maintaining this.
Um, it's been, I think they've owned this house for about 60 years.
[Michael] This is very suburban, though, I will say.
I mean, it's, it's really quite.
It's really nice. I mean, even though it's on this main road.
You know, I think, I don't think I've seen a car, yet.
Oh. Ooh. This linoleum floor.
-Well it needs, it definitely needs updating. -[Michael] Yeah.
I'm thinking some new appliances, uh...
You could do a butcher block countertop.
It's to be expected, I think, in a house...
If it's...
Assuming the rest of the house is probably going to need similar updates
-if it was built in 1950 and... -[Kevin] Well, if the
-plumbing under the sink looks good. -[Michael] Okay.
Usually it gives you indication about how they
-did the rest of the house. -[Michael] Okay.
-Holy wallpaper. -This is the, uh,
this would be the dining room.
[Kevin] I don't know that I would love
carpet in a dining room, but, that's up to you, Mike.
Like, looking at, like, a fixture like this,
that's got, like, the vintage, quirky character
even though this, I would say, right off the bat
this house feels dated and maybe that makes it a little unique,
but still kind of cookie-cutter so far.
[DeWayne] This is the, uh, the living room.
Carpeting, again, through here which...
-[Michael] I'm guessing it's the whole house, right? -[DeWayne] Yeah.
Wood burning fireplace.
I have to say, I love this window.
You know what it makes me think of, actually, is that,
that window in your living room in the house like right on the lake.
I mean, do you think we can do a big, like, single-pane bay window thing there?
I actually, I actually would encourage it.
I'm very fortunate the Boston Symphony gives
all the members of the orchestra a stipend ever summer
for just to kind of move from Boston out to the Berkshires.
Uh, and that does give me some financial flexibility
to work on the house.
[DeWayne] I think they're, um, generously sized bedrooms.
You know, dormers are here since this is a classic cape.
[Michael] I mean, I feel like this could be a cool room for Nora.
Let's say we got lucky and there was
-a gleaming hardwood floor underneath. -[Kevin] Sure.
What am I looking at to get rid of all the carpet?
-A couple cases of beer, a lot of pizza, and some IOUs to me. -Oh. Okay.
-[DeWayne] This would be... -[Michael] The bathroom for the floor.
...the bathroom that everybody on this floor would use.
[Michael] It looks like it's in good shape to me.
Super upgrade-able.
We could build a vanity to replace this.
My even be able to use the same countertop.
[DeWayne] This is the cellar.
What do you say, cellar or basement?
[Michael] Uh, basement or cellar.
Wow. Look at this.
[DeWayne] With lots of space.
[Michael] I mean, a studio down here would be very cool.
So the great thing about putting a studio in a basement...
-Mmm-hmm. -...and doing construction.
It's not getting in the way of your daily life.
-[Michael] Yeah, yeah, yeah. -[Kevin] I'm not interrupting the flow.
And I'm not sleeping down here.
-I'm not eating down here. Yeah, yeah. -Right.
Mike, this is great.
If you have gear that you need to bring down,
it saves you going through the house and...
Yeah, yeah. This, yeah. I mean, not having to go
down a narrow staircase. Can just load it in this way.
This entertaining area is.. This is a ten.
The neighbors are kinda clos but I don't feel like I'm, u
in anyone else's back yard.
This is very cool, DeWayne.
I mean, Nora would love that
It's not a lake, but she's a fish, so she would love it
I mean, everything about this outdoor space I love.
There's nothing inside that I'm like, again,
"Oh, no. I can't live here at all in the short term
and deal with things as they come up."
This is the dad house to me.
I can see myself kind of growing into this and
maybe learning to spend a little bit more time at home
But I think this place falls a lot more in line
with the houses I grew up in.
A little bit more cookie-cutter.
So, this one's a little bit of a question mark for me.
I think only you can make this decision.
You just got to prioritize what means the most to you.
[narrator] After years of renting and traveling for his music career,
Michael's ready to decide on a house in the Berkshire
where he can lay down roots
That bungalow that was downtown,
way bottom end of the budget
Super quirky, super unique.
Like, all those awesome fixtures.
I would want to keep that. The wood paneling.
What did you think of the back yard?
[Michael] I felt like it wasn't just my back yard,
it was, like, three other houses'.
[Kevin] But, you were pretty close to Tanglewood.
The studio space is also a plus.
That could be very cool, yeah.
There was that cozy cottage that was in the woods.
It was not, like, on a lake but super close.
[Kevin] And move-in ready.
[Michael] The price of that house, $249,900, just,
like, it's just right in the sweet spot.
You saw a lot of potential in that shed.
It's something we could do together.
I worry about the loft for Nora.
That commute, 40 minutes.
If I don't budget my time the right way, I'm gonna be--
You're gonna have to plan ahead.
[Michael] And what about that brick cape?
Remember it was kind of residential.
$329,000. It had the pool in the back yard.
-[Kevin] Yes, yes, yes. -[Michael] Yeah, but,
in terms of money, like...
I don't know if I want to spend that much.
It's super dated, but, like I could live there now.
Four bedrooms.
Like, that, to me, is a very long term situatio
Like, it's great for Nora, for me to put down roots
and actually, it gives me the opportunity to grow into something.
It's 15 minutes or so from Tanglewood.
[Kevin] The studio in the basement is also a plus
[Michael] That can be very cool.
I think only you can make this, uh, decision.
You just got to prioritize what means the most to you.
Finally. I can actually put a suitcase down somewhere.
We ended up choosing a cozy cottage with a loft.
This is secluded. It's in the woods.
It's not cookie-cutter.
I can see the lake from the back porch.
It feels really new and different, but really, really good.
Where are the speakers going?
[Michael] I don't know. What do you think?
The inspector came out.
She found some, uh, a couple of plumbing things
that needed to be corrected. Nothing huge.
So, I feel great about moving in here.
[trumpet moving down a scale]
So that's your entire warmup routine?
This is how I'm ready to go, now.
The commute to work is definitely going to be,
uh, something to adjust to.
But at the same time,
the views out here are just incredible,
so, it's 35 minutes in the c
that I think I'm gonna love every single day.
Let me take some measurements here.
Nora's seen the house on video calls.
She loves that upstairs spac
I think I'm still gonna have her sleep,
it's just safer, uh, you know, primary bedroom when she's here.
But she can't wait to have friends over
and, uh, check out, you know
the back yard and the lake and everything
If we hung them here, here, and we were able to beam them straight down to that couch.
[Michael] The house was listed for $249,900
and I ended up getting it for $257,500.
And with DeWayne's help, uh, we were able to,
uh, negotiate with the selle to keep the furniture as wel
I don't have to go furniture shopping.
This feels like a total score.
How loud am I gonna be able to get out here, do you think?
How loud do you want to get?
[Michael] I definitely want take that outside shed,
turn it into a studio.
We can make this wall just for trumpets.
[Michael] I'm excited about that project.
I think this house is what I've...
Not just always dreamed of,
but I think what I've really needed.
To come out and the only thing I hear are, you know, birds in the trees
and, you know, the wind, kind of, sweeping across the back deck.
It absolutely feels like a very good step,
uh, in the next phase of my life.
This is perfect. This is the dream, man.
[Kevin] Mike has so much city in his life,
that being up here and getting the true Berkshires experience
and being in nature, seeing the stars at night,
and being near a lake, it's the best.
I mean, Nora's gonna love this.
Like, you know, she's such a fish.
-100%. -She's gonna run right in.