THe ideal spot for the water heater is somewhere central to all points of use. Sure, you can relocate it to the basement, but you'll also have to replumb all the hot water supply lines to all of your fixtures in the whole home. That relocation will also increase the time for hot water to get to that master (or any other far locations), probably by a minute or two.

The easier solution is to make sure that it has a proper drain pan underneath it properly plumbed to a house drain. And, perform routine maintainence functions such as periodically draining it and inspecting the water that you drain out. Replace the anode rods. When you start to see a lot of rusty sediment, it's time to prophelatically replace it rather than waiting for an actual rust through and leak.