Estates

Villa Stella, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 10th 2011 at 1:02PM

Villa Stella is a Moroccan fantasy on Miami's ritzy Star Island. This four-bedroom, two-story home on the water has four enclosed garages including two that are fully air conditioned. The formal arrival court can hold up to 15 cars.

Inside awaits a private sanctuary done in a bright yet soft palette. The home's 30-foot ceilings display handpainted murals and skylights by muralist Yves Lanthier and the decor also has Southwestern and Balinese influences. The master and guest suite rooms are on the upper floor and staff quarters and a garden guest suite are on the ground floor. The master suite includes lavish his and hers baths with semi-precious light-colored onyx flooring and vanities, multiple shower heads, whirlpool bath, and heated towel racks. An enclosed rooftop observatory offers a quiet place to enjoy views all around anytime of the day or night. Carved wood and elaborate tile details give this home an exotic feel.

The kitchen has double wall ovens, double Sub Zero refrigerators, two dishwashers and a Viking gas stove with grill. The saltwater keyhole-shaped pool and bayside gazebo with a relaxation bed and summer kitchen offer views across the bay to South Beach. The home has 100 feet of waterfront with a boat dock for a yacht and jet skis. The backyard includes a swing set and doll house. The home's technology includes security cameras 24/7, audio/visual controls, interior and exterior lighting controls in every room. This home is listed at $24 million with Sylvia Fragos of Great Estates International Realty.

Gallery: Villa Stella

Tags: estate of the day, florida real estate, miami real estate, star island

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Upper River Road, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 9th 2011 at 1:01PM

Today's home sits high above the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky. This brick Tudor is on five acres of gardens and lawns. Designed by architects Nevin & Morgan in 1937, this brick Tudor-style home has a formal living room with decorative leaded celerestory windows and a banquet-sized dining room. A beautiful charcoal-gray library lies behind the center hall (alas, the chandelier is not being sold with the home), and accesses the terrace and gardens through French doors. A breakfast room with original cabinetry and a sitting room are located near the kitchen. The kitchen has a Viking professional range, Northland designer series refrigerator with matching beverage and wine cooler, ample cabinetry and hardwood countertops.

The master suite offers plenty of storage with a wall of custom cabinetry. It has an adjoining bath and large connecting bedroom used as a sitting room. Four additional bedrooms and two baths are located on the second level and the third floor contains one large and two smaller bedrooms as well as a craft or wrap room, and TV room. Outside a cobbled pathway leads to the broad limestone terrace at the back of the home, which overlooks the formal English garden. The property also has a carriage house with a two-room apartment over the four-car garage. This home is listed at $2.35 million.

Gallery: Upper River Road

Tags: estate of the day, kentucky real estate, louisville, louisville real estate

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Newest "Real Housewife" Already Facing Foreclosure?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 9th 2011 at 3:01AM

She's only just joined the show but Peggy Tanous, the latest housewife to join The Real Housewives of Orange County, should fit right in. After all, she's already part of the foreclosure club. Lansner on Real Estate has been following the story and reports that her home in Irvine, California was purchased in 2006 for $1.379 million and that she owes a total of $1,318,253. An auction is scheduled for March 17. Tanous is described as a former biking model and stay-at-home mom. She is friends with Alexis Bellino who has her own real estate trouble. Bellino's home is currently listed for $3.395 million in what appears to be a short sale situation. This is a reduction from the $3.695 million it was at when we looked at in December. The listing states that the owners "have over $6 million into the property" a reference it seems both to the initial outlay and the remodeling that the Bellinos did on the home.

In the video above Tanous gives the OC Register a tour showing off collections of swords, wax sculptures and the home movie theater complete with "butt shakers" to make the experience more realistic. Tanous is a fan of Versace, there's a Medusa head in the foyer tile and Versace china. Their wet bar also includes a wine tap system.

Tags: celebrity foreclosure, celebrity real estate, peggy tanous, real housewives, real housewives of orange county

Dennis Quaid Lists His Pacific Palisades Home

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 8th 2011 at 10:01PM

Dennis Quaid is moving back to Texas. The LA Times reports that the handsome actor is leaving Los Angeles and has listed his equestrian estate in Pacific Palisades for $16.9 million. The home is on two acres with a lawn and a year-round creek. The estate is horse heaven with a barn, corral and a private trail to Will Rogers Park. The property also includes a full guest house and studio.

The eight-bedroom French Country style home is very well-decorated and has a luxurious master suite with his/her baths, fireplace and balcony. The large gourmet kitchen and family room area has a casual yet glamorous look with a fireplace skylights. Rustic wood-beamed ceilings help keep the elegant home from getting too formal. The home also has an office, wine cellar, covered loggia with fireplace overlooking the pool/spa. The maids quarters above the kitchen have been converted to a gym. The listing is with Kathrin Nicholson of Westside Estate Agency.

Gallery: Dennis Quaid in the Pacific Palisades

Tags: california real estate, celebrity real estate, dennis quaid, los angeles real estate, pacific palisades real estate

Waikoloa Beach Resort Residence, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 8th 2011 at 1:01PM

Today's home is another Hawaii estate being sold through Concierge Auctions. This home is a custom Hawaiian Island residence with 150 feet of secluded beach front in the exclusive Waikoloa Beach Resort at 69-1065 Kolea Kai Circle. The sale will take place on March 21. The home was originally listed for $11.5 million but there is no minimum bid required. The sale is being conducted in cooperation with listing agent Daryl Flem, RB of Century 21 All Islands.

The home sits on a 34,000-square-foot ocean front lot and the estate grants gated access to 150 feet of secluded Pacific Ocean beach front. The home itself offers 5,759 square feet under roof with many rooms combining the best of indoor and outdoor life. There are four bedrooms and four full and one half bathrooms. Outside a covered lanai, poolside cabana, extensive landscape lighting and tiki torches deliver the best that life in Hawaii has to offer.

Nearby amenities of the 1,350-acre Waikoloa Beach Resort include a Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course and a links-style course designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, preserved cultural sites, world-class hotels such as the Hilton Waikoloa Village and the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, and the famed Kings Shops and Queens Marketplace.

The property is available daily for preview between 1 and 4 p.m. For more information visit www.HawaiiLuxuryAuction.com or call 800-211-1785.

Gallery: Waikoloa Beach Resort Residence

Tags: concierge auctions, estate of the day, hawaii real estate

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Paintbrush Ranch, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 7th 2011 at 1:02PM

Paintbrush Ranch borders Grand Teton national park in Wyoming and has some of the best views of the Tetons anywhere in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The property includes a 9,100 square foot five-bedroom custom home; two-bedroom guest home; a one-bedroom caretakers home and a pair of shop buildings which can store all the toys you might need. Like many ranches, this one has a bit of taxidermy decor such as a half a stuffed deer jutting out of the fireplace. Antlers are everywhere including in a bed headboard and in a massive chandelier in the dining room. This home was once listed at $13.9 million but is now priced at $8.495 million with Hall and Hall.

Gallery: Paintbrush Ranch

Tags: estate of the day, jackson hole, wyoming real estate

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Meadow Mountain, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 6th 2011 at 1:01PM

Meadow Mountain is an environmentally-conscious, gated estate poised atop 7.88 acres in exclusive Soda Creek in Evergreen, Colorado. Concierge Auctions is hosting a sale of the Meadow Mountain Estate, located at 33791 Meadow Mountain Road in the Soda Creek subdivision. It will sell absolute on March 25 and was regionally listed for $5.2 million. The auction will be conducted in cooperation with listing agents Anne J. Hardt and Erica Topel of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

Gallery: Meadow Mountain

Tags: colorado real estate, concierge auctions, estate of the day, real estate auction

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Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 03/06/11

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 6th 2011 at 9:02AM

From the LA Times:
--A legendary Hollywood Hills party house owned by English photographer Richard Franklin is listed at $7.5 million. The home has been rented to a variety of entertainment figures and is a bachelor pad and photo studio with a two-story disco, a theater with a floor-to-ceiling movie screen, a casino, a gym a grotto with a hot tub, a pool and a canopied deck. The listing is here.
--The childhood home of Oscar-winning actress and singer Judy Garland has sold in Bel-Air for $5.2 million. The 1938 two-story house designed by Wallace Neff went on the market at $5.5 million just a few weeks ago.

From the Real Estalker:
--The listing for Jennifer Aniston's $42 million Beverly Hills mansion is now live with Jade Mills.

From the NY Post:
--An apartment at 15 Central Park West once rented by Mark Wahlberg has just closed $16.5 million in an all-cash deal.
--Actress Judith Light (she was on "Who's the Boss?" and "Ugly Betty") was spotted apartment hunting at 136 E. 64th St., where she visited a $2.15 million, two-bedroom unit.
--Mary J. Blige has just listed her 25-room Saddle River, New Jersey mansion for $13.9 million. She paid about $12 million for it in 2008.The listing is here (no photos yet).
Rachel Uchitel nearly nabbed Chris Noth as a buyer for her three-bedroom unit at 77 Park Ave., which is listed for $1.95 million. But Noth opted for something closer to the CBS Studio.
-- Alec Baldwin was spotted touring the $12.95 million penthouse at 22 Mercer St..
--Former American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar has rented two-bedroom unit on East 63rd Street while he's in the city.
--Carmelo Anthony checked out Zydrunas Ilgauskas' $37,500-a-month townhouse at 24 Thompson St.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Charlie Sheen is in escrow to a buy home in the Beverly Hills, California neighborhood he already lives in for $7.5 million. The home is currently owned by Mike Medavoy, chief executive of Phoenix Pictures who bought the home several months ago for $6 million. See pictures here.
--Trees Ranch, a 2,070-acre ranch in Utah has hit the market for $30 million. The property is partly owned by the heirs of the late Jim Trees, CEO of New York investment firm Fischer, Francis, Trees & Watts. The listing is here.
--Diego Arria, the Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations, recently sold his Roxbury, Conn., home for $7.75 million.

Tags: alec baldwin, celebrity real estate, jennifer aniston, judith light, julianne moore, mary j blige, tom brady

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North Clinton, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 5th 2011 at 1:01PM

Today's home in Chicago was custom built for its current owners who created a lovely urban luxury home. Modern features that will delight the homeowner include a four-car heated garage, a Crestron smart home system, wine cellar and a large media room. The great room overlooks the patio which includes a built in barbecue. The home has six bedrooms. There are four stories total and a garage roofdeck and penthouse deck that offer amazing views and substantial outdoor entertaining space. This home is listed at $4.495 million with Koenig & Strey.

Gallery: North Clinton

Tags: chicago, chicago real estate, estate of the day, illinois real estate

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Civil War Historian's Home And Belongings For Sale This Weekend

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 4th 2011 at 8:01PM

The home and personal belongings of Civil War writer Shelby Foote are part of a sale going on in this weekend in Memphis, Tennessee. Foote, who died back in 2005 was a novelist and historian of the Civil War. He came to national attention after appearing in Ken Burns's PBS documentary The Civil War in 1990.

Foote was a collector of Civil War-era guns and swords as well as other items dating back from that era. The home itself is an English cottage style home built in 1927. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that the sale includes an estimated $200,000 worth of the personal effects of Foote. Estate broker Ken Robison told the Commercial Appeal that the sale features items from other estates as well and that he expects around 3,000 people to show up at the Foote home over the weekend for the sale.

The house was appraised at $427,600 in 2010 and is being re-appraised this week to set a listing price for the sale. The home includes a small octagonally shaped "secret room" above an upstairs bedroom and accessible through a trap door in the ceiling above the bedroom closet. Check out the Robison-Finch estate sale website for more details.

Tags: civil war, Civil War History, shelby foote

A New Low Price For Le Reve, Georgia's Most Lavish Foreclosed Mansion

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 4th 2011 at 6:02PM

Last month we mentioned that Le Reve, the once $50 million estate for sale in Forsyth County, Georgia was in foreclosure. It has now had yet another price cut down to a new low of $16.75 million. Real estate agent Troy Stowe put it bluntly in a piece on WSOC-TV, saying "now, our new strategy is, the house needs to go." The new listing trumpets the fact that the home has been reduced by $32 million as well as indicating that the home is now bank owned.

La Reve was the home of Hubert and Norma Humphrey who designed their lavish seven-bedroom home with a private bowling alley, its own golf course, a massage room and a huge movie theater that is a replica of Atlanta's Fox Theatre. There is also a train room that is a replica of the old Central Georgia Railroad from Atlanta to Macon to Savannah that Hubert Humphrey worked on for 17 years as a train conductor. This incredible edifice has 82 rooms, two elevators and 62 televisions. The grounds include a heated swimming pool, pool house, spa, private playground, stables, tennis court, formal gardens and a guest house. The home, which is approximately 47,000 square feet on 72 acres was listed at a stunning $45 million in 2008 just two years after it was completed for a price of nearly $50 million total.

Gallery: Le Reve

Tags: foreclosure, georgia real estate, le reve

Canal House, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 4th 2011 at 1:01PM

Dreaming of a second home in the Caribbean? This one isn't a mega estate but it offers a private and tranquil retreat for those in need of warm weather and turquoise seas. This home in the Turks & Caicos islands is located on a desirable area of the canal with easy access to open water from the private dock. The home sits on an acre of land and has flowering trees and a large back lawn. Driving in you are greeted by a circular drive and center palm garden.

The house is approx. 2,800 sq. ft., with attached covered terrace and separate two-car garage. Tile floors, beamed white ceilings and fans add a lovely island touch. The home is designed for entertaining and a covered patio offers welcome shade and views of the pool and spa. It could be a second home or dream retirement home. The listing states that the home is in move-in condition but could also be updated. It is priced at $995,000.

For additional information, please contact Grace Lappin, Avalon Partners, Ltd., (212) 717-5477 or email at info@avalonpartnersltd.com, www.avalonpartnersltd.com.

Gallery: Canal Home Turks and Caicos

Tags: caribbean real estate, estate of the day, turks and caicos

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A Well-Designed Penthouse at Manhattan House, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 3rd 2011 at 1:01PM

Today's home is a designer aerie at Manhattan House on New York's Upper East Side. The one-bedroom, 1.5 bath corner penthouse residence was given the glam treatment by the ever-stylish Rita Konig who created a cozy home with luxury touches. The 1,151-square-foot residence located at the Upper East Side iconic, landmarked condominium has a formal entry gallery, wood-burning fireplace and a 368-square-foot landscaped wraparound terrace with northern and eastern views of the Manhattan skyline. The same lovely views also add interest in the dining and sitting rooms.

The windowed kitchen is outfitted with Viking Professional Series stainless steel appliances with wine cooler, terrazzo floor tiles, Caesarstone Lagos Blue countertops, Ann Sacks glass tile backsplash, and custom wood cabinetry. The master bathroom has Waterworks glass tiles, polished chrome fixtures and radiant floor heating. The home also features a powder room with mosaic tile.

The Manhattan House offers a variety of amenities including the residents-only rooftop level with Manhattan Club and exhale® spa, a Roto Studio-designed children's playroom, exhale fitness center, full-time doormen, five-star concierge services, private porte-cochère entrances, and on-site parking with available valet services. This home is listed at $2.1 million with Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group.

Gallery: A Well-Designed Penthouse at the Manhattan House

Tags: estate of the day, manhattan house, new york city, new york city real estate, new york real estate, penthouse

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Russian Billionaire Andrey Melnichenko Buys $12 Million Central Park Pad

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) — Mar 1st 2011 at 8:00PM

Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, owner of the eye-popping $300 million megayacht 'A' (above) designed by Philippe Starck, has splashed out $12.2 million on a penthouse pied-à-terre in Central Park. It's the first New York property for Melnichenko, at 38 one of the world's youngest billionaires, and his model wife Aleksandra, the Wall St. Journal reports, added to a real estate portfolio that includes apartments and estates in Moscow, France and the U.K. The 2,800-sq.-ft., two-bedroom duplex has two balconies, a terrace facing Central Park, and an entrance gallery with 24-foot ceilings. As we reported back in January Melnichenko, who amassed a $4.4 billion fortune in fertilizer and banking, entertained Martha Stewart, Demi Moore and Aston Kutcher on his yacht in St. Barth's over New Year's during Roman Abramovich's bash.

Tags: Andrey Melnichenko, billionaire, Central Park, mega+yacht, megayacht, New York, oligarch, penthouse, Philippe Starck, real estate, Roman Abramovich, Russia, Russian billionaires, superyacht, wealth, yacht

Garnet Hill Lodge, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 1st 2011 at 1:01PM

The latest auction from Concierge Auctions isn't a home, it's a whole resort. The real estate auction company has scheduled the sale of the Garnet Hill Lodge in the Adirondack Mountains. The Garnet Hill Lodge was originally listed for $2.5 million but the property, located at 39 Garnet Hill Road in North River, New York, will sell to the highest bidder regardless of price. The sale is being conducted in cooperation with listing agent Shane Newell of Select Sotheby's International Realty.

"Garnet Hill is a hidden gem - tucked away in the unspoiled wilderness in one of the least populated counties in the nation," Newell stated. "But make no mistake, these are the most realistic, determined sellers in upstate New York. Buyers searching for an operating mountain resort business or for a corporate or family retreat should not miss this opportunity."

The resort has views of the Thirteenth Lake with nearly 16,000 square feet of functional space on 268 acres. The buildings include a main lodge and two additional cabins. The large gathering room in the main lodge includes a reception desk and dining room with plenty of seating and natural light. Two additional lounges, a TV room and a four-season dining porch offer more private conversation areas and a grand stone fireplace is a natural gathering spot. There are 16 upstairs suites, nine of which have balconies. The current owners operate a ski center from the lodge but it could be a bed-and-breakfast or a private family estate.

Two additional cabins, Birches and the Tea House, could serve as guest houses. The Birches has five suites and a large gathering room with full kitchen and dining tables. The Tea House, a smaller sister cabin, contains four guest bedrooms with convenient en-suite bathrooms, each featuring Jacuzzi bathtubs. Both are just a short ski or hike from the main lodge.

The property will be available for preview daily from 1 to 4 pm through March 14. Bidders will be able to participate in the March 15 auction in person or via phone or Internet. A 2.5% commission is offered to the buyer's broker. See Auction Terms and Conditions for full details. For more information call 877-214-3785 or visit GarnetHillAuction.com.

Gallery: Garnet Hill Lodge