Archive for the 'Just for Fun' Category
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | September 15, 2009
From our Cool Houses Daily files:
Danielle Staub, resident cougar of Bravo’s New Jersey iteration of their Real Housewives franchise, is selling her Tudor-style mansion in Wayne, New Jersey.
The leather-wearing mother of two and divorcee wants a new house to run. According to The RealEstalker, the former model and ex-husband Tom acquired the home in 1998 for a little over $1 million. It’s listed for $1.495 million.
The 10,500-square-foot home has 7 bedrooms, 5 full and 2 half baths and a huge stone foyer that’s grand enough to impress the most discerning New Jersey housewife.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | September 3, 2009
Looking for an eclectic, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with tons of history, culture and architecture? Then look no further than Echo Park, a diverse community in the heart of Los Angeles.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | August 26, 2009
From our Cool Houses Daily files:
Iconic “Baywatch” and “Knight Rider” star David Hasselhoff has relisted his 5-bed, 5-and-a-half-bath home in Encino, Calif., at a reduced price of just under $4.2 million (a discount from the original $5.95 million price tag earlier this year).
The “America’s Got Talent” judge is selling the estate as part of his divorce settlement with ex Pamela Bach.
The estate has almost 9,000 square feet of living space, with a two-story entry foyer and his-and-hers closets in the master suite.
In the chef’s kitchen, there’s a whole wall devoted to Hasselhoff’s gold and platinum late-1980s European pop albums, but you fill the wall space with your own personal accolades when you snap up the property.
Outside, the home features a pool with a waterfall, tennis court and a huge motorcourt for all of the Hoff’s celebrity get-togethers.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | August 13, 2009
This from our Cool Houses Daily files:
Rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson III, slashed the asking price on his massive Farmington, Connecticut mansion again, hoping to unload the former money pit he rarely used.
It was originally listed at $18.5 million in 2007 and reduced late last year to $14.5 mil. Now, he’s asking $10.9 million — surely to cover the $4.1 million he shelled out for it in 2003 and the additional $6 mil he spent on repairs and upgrades.
The 17-acre estate has been the subject of an ongoing court battle between “Fitty” and an engineering firm he hired to repair and improve the home. Fitty sued BVH Integrated Services, claiming the firm owed him $3 million for maintenance repairs that were not included in its original repair estimate of about $500,000. Terms of the settlement in June were not disclosed.
The mansion has a whopping 21 bedrooms and 25 baths, a private lake with gazebo, an indoor/outdoor pool, gym and grand media room, all spread nicely over 48,000 square feet of living space.
If you love Fitty’s house like, er, a fat kid loves cake, view the listing to find out more about his crib.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | August 7, 2009
Inman News’ Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco has been great so far, and tomorrow, August 7, we’d love to invite all our fans and followers to listen to the president of our parent company Scripps Networks Digital, Deanna Brown, talk about “How TV, the Web, Your Phone and the Social Universe are Colliding.” It’s at 9 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom.
In case you didn’t know, HGTV’s FrontDoor.com and the entire Scripps Networks family are actively engaging consumers through blogs and social networking services like Facebook and Twitter. On FrontDoor, we’ve also integrated Facebook Connect to allow readers to comment on articles on the site.
To spread the word about all the cool stuff we’re doing, we brought in our Segway-savvy social director. Check her out in this video!
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | July 27, 2009
Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are a great resource for journalists like me, especially when you’re on deadline in a city where you don’t have very many contacts. Case in point — before a recent trip to Chicago, I wanted to connect with a local Realtor and film a home tour for FrontDoor’s vlog. The catch — I had a two-hour block in which to film.
Rather than google Chicago-area Realtors and filter through hundreds of agent profiles, I put a call out to our more than 1,000 fans on Facebook. Et voila! Scott Curcio of Coldwell Banker posted a reply saying he would be happy to help.
Next month, I’ll be in LA, San Francisco, Boston and Seattle. If you have a great real estate story, share it with our Facebook community! I may even feature it in our vlog.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | July 16, 2009
It’s safe to say real life Harry Potter — actor Daniel Radcliffe — can comfortably continue to pay the mortgage on his posh Manhattan apartment.
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth installment of the popular franchise, raked in more than $58 million on opening day alone (notably fueled by hard-core fans who came dressed in costume for a midnight showing). And millions more are expected to see the film this weekend.
The actor, who turns 20 next week, owns a 2,450-square-foot penthouse at 1 Morton Square in the Far West Village, facing the Hudson River.
He paid $4.9 million for it in February 2008, but it’s likely to be worth less than that today, with average home prices in NYC down more than 20 percent.
But when you’re Harry, who cares?
Radcliffe’s corner three-bedroom apartment is all luxury, with amazing views of New York Harbor, marble and granite surfaces and a 500-bottle wine cellar.
Don’t judge Radcliffe’s style based on these photos — they’re from the original listing. I’m pretty sure Radcliffe changed the decor when he moved in. I would have.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | July 15, 2009
If she could turn back time, Cher probably would have accepted a reported offer for her massive Malibu estate, which she listed last August for $45 million but pulled off the market after nine months, says “Mama” from the popular Real Estalker blog.
Now the singing-songwriting diva has relisted her famous Italian Renaissance-style mansion for $41 million — still a bit stiff for a market where ultra high-end homebuyers are clearly in the minority.
We’ve discovered that the luxury market is not exempt from the recession as once thought.
That said, if you are in the market for a lavish home, the house that Cher built won’t disappoint. She is, after all, Cher.
The 13,000+ square foot, 6-bed, 7-bath home sits on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and features a theatre, gym, infinity pool, tennis court and multiple verandas.
Cher, do you believe in getting your asking price after renovating? I really don’t think that’s strong enough.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | July 9, 2009
Las Vegas visionary Steve Wynn’s Manhattan home is just as luxurious as the world-class resorts he builds.
The mind behind such Sin City landmarks as the Bellagio, Wynn and Encore has listed his seventh-floor condo at 817 Fifth Avenue (at 63rd Street) for $25 million. Furniture included.
Wynn reportedly paid $7 million for the unit in late 2000, but made some extensive renovations. The 3,500+ square foot luxury home features nine rooms, including a master suite and bath fit for a billionaire like Wynn.
The original living room, formal dining room and library were combined to form one massive living area and media center.
The unit has a new formal dining room and a state-of-the-art electronics system. And check out the breathtaking views from those windows — beautiful Central Park and New York City.
See more pictures of Wynn’s home for sale in the Sotheby’s International Realty listing on FrontDoor.com.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | June 26, 2009
Everyone dreams of their perfect home, but very few get the chance to actually live in it.
The King of Pop was one of them.
In 1987, Michael Jackson shelled out $17 million for more than 2,500 acres in Los Olivos, Calif. (about 125 miles north of Los Angeles).
He designed his dream home, complete with 22 buildings, including a Tudor-style mansion, a zoo and an amusement park with a Ferris wheel, bumper cars and other rides. The Neverland Ranch — named after the island in “Peter Pan” where children never grow up — was estimated to be worth more than $100 million.
But the dream home later became a nightmare, after Jackson faced charges of molesting a boy on the property. He moved out of Neverland in 2005, and the neglected estate went into disrepair.
By 2008, Jackson had defaulted on the mortgage and faced foreclosure if he failed to pay back a $24.5 million loan. An investment company stepped in at the last minute and bought some of the property rights for $35 million, with Jackson maintaining partial ownership.
Now with the legendary artist’s death, what will become of the Neverland Ranch? Personally, I hope the owners will fix up the estate and turn it into a museum and memorial to MJ, similar to what Graceland became for Elvis Presley.
Because Neverland Ranch was always shrouded in mystery, opening it to the public would allow fans to connect with the pop icon at a new level. After all, what better way to get to know a person than by seeing their home.
And I’m sure ticket sales would more than pay off MJ’s massive debt.
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