north carolina real estate

Clay Aiken Lists His North Carolina Home

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

The Real Estalker led us to the news that Clay Aiken is leaving his North Carolina home behind. The American Idol star bought his home in Cary, North Carolina in 2006 for $2.361 million. The six-bedroom home is on over six acres inside a gated community. The home measures an impressive 9,392 square feet and has a large home theater, professional kitchen, bonus rooms, recreation room, exercise area and a marble foyer with a curved staircase.

Aiken has moved on and the home is bare of furniture but thanks to to the Real Estalker's astute commenters we found the videos from a tour he gave local television station WRAL when he moved in. Those videos (posted after the jump) deliver details including the fact that everything in his kitchen has to be blue and silver. The game room in the basement has red cabinets, a retro stainless steel backsplash and a black and white floor. In the videos it is shown outfitted as a 1950s diner-style space where once fellow American Idol contestants Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard competed in a friendly game of pool. Now the bare home theater has just a single row of seats but when Aiken was in residence the lower tiers of the room were stuffed with large bean bag chairs. Aiken also had an "Africa room," a guest bedroom decorated with art he gathered from around the world during his trips for UNICEF. The home is listed at $2.7 million with LaChapelle Properties.

Gallery: Clay Aiken Lists His North Carolina Home

Tags: cary, cary north carolina, celebrity real estate, clay aiken, north carolina real estate

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Michael Jordan Buys A Penthouse In Charlotte

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping, Sports

Charlotte Bobcats owner and basketball legend Michael Jordan is putting down roots in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although Jordan is at work on a lavish Florida mansion he also needs a home in Charlotte (in addition to his longtime Chicago residence). The Charlotte Observer reports that Jordan is combining two units in the Trust, a condo building walking distance from the Time Warner Cable Arena.

He bought the two top-floor penthouses at The Trust for $3.15 million to create one massive 7,000-square-foot residence with his own private elevator.

The seven-floor Trust building is home to the Chima Brazilian Steakhouse and eight units. The former Home Federal Savings and Loan Building was built in 1967. Building amenities include a private rooftop lounge. The condos have gourmet kitchens, outdoor living spaces, grilling areas and gas fireplaces.

Want to be like Mike? If you've got $3.2 million you can pick up unit #5a, a four-bedroom unit listed for sale.

Gallery: The Trust

Tags: celebrity real estate, Charlotte Bobcats, charlotte real estate, michael jordan, north carolina real estate

Luxury Asheville Gated Community Sold In Foreclosure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

A luxury gated community in Asheville, North Carolina has been sold after foreclosure. The developer of The Thoms Estate lost the property in foreclosure to winning bidder, lender BB&T Corp. was the winning bidder for the Beaverdam property in a foreclosure auction and will look to sell it. The Thom Estate was a 83-acre development that was planned to have as many as 132 homes but only five lots were ever sold. The remaining property was deeded over to BB&T on June 14. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that a gatehouse, streets and other infrastructure are already in place on the property. A new owner could just go ahead and develop the property although given the current real estate market that might be a bit of a risk.

The city had approved plans for the development in 2007 and a ban on new gated communities was enacted just a few weeks later. At the time of foreclosure the development company, The Thoms Estate LLC, owed the bank $9.1 million on an $18 million loan and hadn't made a payment since February 2009. Lots were once $300,000 and $400,000 and a model home had a price of $2 million. The property was going to have a lot of public amenities including a manor house, labyrinth, artists studio, koi pond, fitness center, greenhouse, a restored barn for summer events and more.

Tags: foreclosure, gated communities, gated community, north carolina real estate

Hue Condo Sales Stop In Raleigh

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

The largest condo project ever attempted in Raleigh, North Carolina has closed without ever selling a unit. The multicolored Hue building has closed its sales office without selling any of its 208 units. The Raleigh News & Observer reports that signs posted on the building's doors say Hue will be closed until further notice.

The condo complex was designed to attract young urban buyers but it hit the market last year at the worst possible time. Condo projects have to have a certain percentage of their units presold to qualify for Fannie Mae and Federal Housing Administration approval and this building wasn't able to get enough presales. Without the approval many mortgage brokers won't issues loans. There is a possibility that that the building could end up as rental units for a time.

Tags: condos in trouble, hue, hue building, north carolina real estate, raleigh

Scotch Hall Preserve, Second Homes For Golfers In North Carolina

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Real Estate Developments

Golfers and boaters alike would be very happy at Scotch Hall Preserve, a new 900-acre second home waterfront club community located on North Carolina's scenic Inner Banks, about 20 minutes from Edenton, North Carolina.

Recently they hired Nick Cassini, who was the top amateur golfer in the world in 2001 and went on to play in the PGA and European tours. Cassini is now the Director of Golf, overseeing Scotch Hall Preserve's Arnold Palmer Signature course, which opened in the spring of 2008 and was named to Golf Digest's Top 10 Best New Private Courses in 2009. Cassini has the happy task of organizing member events, helping to keep the course in top shape and introducing new owners to the course. It's a job with some pretty great views like the one from the 17th hole shown above.

Scotch Hall Preserve has also broken ground on its family retreat complex. The first phase includes a pool with cabanas, golf starter pavilion, an events and sports lawn, and will be surrounded by nine family retreat cottages. The cottages average 2,600 square feet, with double master suites and two guest rooms, and come fully furnished. Each cottage has a view of the golf course, and the water is less than a five-minute golf cart ride away. Two cottages are already underway, with a completed model to open this summer. Prices begin at $540,000.

Tags: golf communities, golf community, golf courses, north carolina real estate, scotch hall preserve, second home community

Ken Lewis in Charlotte, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Those suffering in the real estate market might take some comfort in the fact that they are in the same boat with former Bank of America chief executive Kenneth D. Lewis who has two homes on the market both now deeply discounted. Of course Lewis has an advantage most of us don't, a multimillion dollar retirement plan.

We previously covered Lewis's struggle to sell the South Carolina vacation home he and his wife bought with Dennis Thompson, founder and CEO of Charlotte, N.C.-based restaurant operator Firebirds International in 2002 for $3 million. This home has been on and off the market for the past couple of years and has been listed at $2.975 million since November 2009.

Today's estate is the home that Lewis and his wife Donna are trying to sell in Charlotte, North Carolina, the headquarters of Bank of America. The home has been on the market for around four months and has already had a major price cut of more than 20 percent. The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties reports that Lewis's wife, Donna, bought the four-bedroom home in 2003 for $1.7 million. The home in the Morrocroft Estates subdivision went through a major renovation in 2004. The four-bedroom home is on 1.27 acres. The master suite has his and hers dressing rooms and bathrooms. The home also has a chefs kitchen with paneled walls, three car garage and formal gardens. This home is now listed at $3.999 million.

Gallery: Kenneth D. Lewis in Charlotte

Tags: charlotte, estate of the day, ken lewis, kenneth d lewis, north carolina real estate

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Chateau Lyon, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

A reader sent me the link for this lavish estate in Lake Norman, North Carolina. It has an outrageous price, $15 million, and a fancy name, Chateau Lyon. The owners of this estate traveled to Europe, collected fine antiques and accouterments and built their modern 21st century home incorporating these artifacts. Their travels led them to the flea-markets of Paris as well as the smaller towns in the French countryside. Their most important find - a set of French paneling taken from a private home in the city of Lyon, gave the home its name. The look of the home was inspired by French villas but incorporates modern details like home automation, an elevator and heated floors.

The five bedroom home has French limestone walls and hand-carved Mexican pinon stone surrounding all exterior windows/doors. The upper level flooring is of 250 year old heart pine and the home is topped with European roof tiles. Centuries-old hand carved restored doors an an original iron balcony grill from the 1880s all add to the antique-meets-modern pastiche.

Gallery: Chateau Lyon