Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum How bad do you want that *specific piano* story

Had a very good friend, started out as a client, hit it off, hung together socially.

My piano dealer had a special Baldwin SD10 for sale. Had been used in many concerts, played by stars, and had been tweaked and refined as a concert beast for years. For example it had been the main concert instrument on the big stage for the Telluride jazz Festival one year and got played by dozens of legendary jazz artists.

Although well used, it had all sorts of special qualities, so commanded a premium over other SD10s of similar age. He played it and decided that was the piano he wanted to play the rest of his life. He coulda done a lot worse, it was actually pretty special.

Was near six figures, and although he was a pretty successful guy in life, he didn't have the cash on hand, and the bank wanted collateral worth more than the sale price if they were going to finance it.

Nothing he could scrape together met the banks requirements, and other potential buyers were circling, so in a bit of desperation...

He begged his longtime girlfriend to put up her successful art gallery, as in the building and land, as collateral. He wore her down and she agreed.

The bank accepted this, he got the piano, and began making large monthly payments for years.

Last I heard (he had not paid it off completely yet but was almost there), he and the lady and the piano were all perfectly content.

So, how bad DO you want THAT piano?

Just food for thought.

That’s a cool story. If you want it, you’re willing to go the extra mile for it.

People finance huge homes for thirty years. Sometimes those homes appreciate, sometimes they don’t. They also finance cars, which are surely depreciating assets.

I like the 18month no interest loans on pianos. I just set a recurring payment and forget about it but that wasn’t for $100k.

Except that he didn't, LOL.

She did, after being "worn down".

Oh, he rustled up the money, so he worked for it. It’s not easy to get money out of anybody, like family or girlfriends, not that I’ve ever bothered trying.

Kurt Vonnegut speculated that our family units are too small and suggested adding -flower to the end of our names to create superfamilies. That way a musician who was a -Sunflower could appeal to other -Sunflowers for help.

Did he ever marry the woman?

If the laws regarding real estate liens are the same as my state of Washington. The collateral lien on the girlfriends real estate could only be satisfied when the property was sold if the piano loan was under default judgment.

So if boyfriend stopped paying piano loan, the only penalty to girlfriend would be when she sold the property. Except to their credit reports.

1. They all moved, no clue if they got married.

2. Didn't know that detail about bank loans, interesting.

Meanwhile, I, a retired concert tuner of many decades, (albeit deaf-ish), have to practice on either a 50s Wurlitzer console with a long list of defects which I've no appetite to fix, or an 1859 Steinway square, which is actually the far better piano believe it or not, being fully restored.

I signed up for MOYD, so far at least 5 minutes a day on one or the other.

It is perfectly acceptable to have an 1859 Steinway square as one's main piano! Rather exciting, in fact.

I tend to play my Broadwood square (1804) more than the Bluthner.

Wow! That’s a crazy story for figuring out how to finance expensive interests. I would not have been happy if I’d been the girlfriend. But I’m glad it worked out well for all parties.

OldSquare, do you not have a special friend who’d be willing to underwrite your dream piano?

BTW, I love your anecdotes, and you have a gift for story telling.