Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Another celebrity Malibu mansion has hit the market. Berg Properties Big Time Listings led us to the listing for singer Josh Groban’s Malibu home. Groban bought the home in 2005 for $4.125 million. The home is a four-bedroom Tuscan villa-style home on 1.8 acres in the Point Dume area. The property includes a one-bedroom guest house with a recording studio, a saltwater pool with a waterfall, a tennis court and a poolside cooking area. The family room has high beamed ceilings and opens into billiard room with bar and wine cellar. There is a wood-paneled media/living room, a chef’s kitchen with breakfast nook, a dining room with beamed ceilings overlooking downstairs family room, a gym and a master suite with a view deck. This home is listed at $6.1 million.

Continue reading Josh Groban in Malibu, Estate of the Day

Josh Groban in Malibu, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates, Charity, Wealth

Can we call it a trend? Yet another millionaire has decided to ditch it all, selling his house and his businesses in order to move to Uganda and start a children’s charity. The millionaire in question is England’s Jon Pedley, an ex-convict who owns a telecommunications business. According to a story in the Daily Mail, Pedley’s decision came after a near-fatal car crash in 2002 which led to a religious experience and eventually a turn toward charity.

His new charity, Uganda Vision, wants to send troubled British youth to Uganda to help support local children orphaned by AIDS and poverty. In order to fund his vision he is selling Justices Farmhouse, a 16th century former farmhouse in the village of Finchingfield in North West Essex. The home has five bedrooms. It is traditionally constructed with a timber frame with plastered elevations under a peg tiled roof believed to date back to the 16th century. In the back there is a garden with a terrace, lawns and shrubs and a large pond, with decking and a summer house and which probably originally formed part of a moat. It is listed with a guide price of £999,950.

Of his decision, Pedley tells the Daily Mail he’s “never been more sure about anything in my life.”

Another Millionaire Pitches The Luxe Life For Charity originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

A few weeks ago we mentioned that Edra Blixseth’s Rancho Mirage, California compound, Porcupine Creek had hit the market for $75 million. Now the Wall Street Journal reports that another bank-controlled property tied to the once well-propertied ex-wife of timber magnate Tim Blixseth and co-founder of the Yellowstone Club is up for sale. Casa Captiva is an idyllic six-bedroom retreat in Los Cabos, Mexico.

The estate has 280 feet of oceanfront and the secluded cove is situated in the most exclusive and private community of Punta Bella adjacent to Villas Del Mar in Palmilla in the city of San Jose del Cabo. With 10,000 square feet of space with 7,000 square feet of outdoor space there is plenty of room (a good thing for the Blixseths who were collectors). The floors, windows and deck are handcrafted with teak wood and the home has a great room, large kitchen, family room, gym, office, bar and caretaker’s quarters. The master suite is a private space with a den and bedroom facing the ocean, two dressing rooms, steam room, Jacuzzi tub and a a meditation room that opens onto a private garden. The property has an infinity pool and large Jacuzzi and the beach is just steps away. The property is listed at $12.875 million.

Continue reading Edra Blixeth’s Casa Captiva, Estate of the Day

Edra Blixeth’s Casa Captiva, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

Oh decor! Today’s home belongs to designer Christopher Hyland and his partner Constantino Castellano. The NY Times Big Deal column reports that the pair spent most of the last 10 years outfitting their apartment in the Chelsea Mercantile building in fine fashion. The 12th floor loft has 10- to 12-foot ceilings and has been well appointed with details like wood-and-plaster crown moldings, custom-built solid mahogany and mahogany-veneer doors with classical entablatures, Monticello-inspired pediments and custom-finished brass hardware. The vestibule leads to a central picture gallery and the residence has a Gothic kitchen outfitted in hand-carved oak with a Renaissance-style arch. The double drawing rooms are framed by Sicilian-Doric columns and the pleasingly stuffed library has custom-built crenellated bookcases. The furniture, rugs and window treatments were all custom-designed by Hyland using fabrics from his high-end fabric house. The wall coverings and window treatments come with the apartment and Hyland is willing to negotiate on some of the home’s fine antiques if the new owner wants to preserve some of the home’s current decor. This home is listed at $22.5 million.

Continue reading Christopher Hyland in Chelsea, Estate of the Day

Christopher Hyland in Chelsea, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Retired tennis star Pete Sampras and his wife, actress Bridgette Wilson-Sampras like to move around a lot it seems. Last month Big Time Listings reported that the pair had bought a home for $5.6 million in Brentwood. Now the LA Times says that the pair have listed their newly built compound in Lake Sherwood for $25 million. They also sold a Beverly Hills mansion in 2008 for $23 million.

Today’s estate is a gated contemporary that is atop 20 acres offering views of the surrounding countryside. The property has a tennis court, swimming pool, guest house and a 2,000 square-foot gym. The main home has a home theater, gourmet kitchen, game room and there are seven bedrooms. This home is listed at $25 million (the same price their Beverly Hills home was first listed at in 2008).

Continue reading Pete Sampras In Lake Sherwood, Estate of the Day

Pete Sampras In Lake Sherwood, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

It takes a certain kind of guy to name his home Heaven. Maybe the kind of guy who walks around town in a cowboy hat and is famous for being one of television’s most notorious villains. As Hagman tells it in a video (after the jump) it was love at first sight for him and his wife Maj when they saw the hilltop estate in Ojai, California. They bought the property in 1991 and built the Mediterranean-style house with nine bedrooms the following year.

The home is designed for entertaining, there is a guest house and an open but covered space fits more than 200 guests with a lap pool and retractable roof. Hagman may have played an oil tycoon on television but the home is equipped with a huge solar polar system which sliced his electric bill to pennies and enabled him to sell back electricity to the town. The home also has its own helipad.

The property is designed to take advantage of views of the Pacific ocean, Channel Islands, mountains and valley and sliding glass walls offering unobstructed views. This home hit the market last November for $11 million but as the Wall Street Journal reports it is now listed at $9.5 million.

Continue reading Larry Hagman’s Heaven, Estate of the Day

Larry Hagman’s Heaven, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From Newsday’s Real LI:
–Bollywood film producer Aron Govil has listed his 15-room Colonial in Old Brookville, New York for $6.9 million.
–Rapper 50 Cent is selling a one-acre property in Dix Hills for $499,999.
–Kimora Lee Simmons has sold her East Hampton house for $650,000. It had been listed at $800,000.

From the NY Post:
– Alec Baldwin continues to apartment hunt in New York City. He was seen checking out a $14.95 million triplex penthouse at 54 Bond St., in NoHo’s old Bouwerie Lane Theatre. He was also spotted at the New Museum Building at 158 Mercer St. in SoHo looking at two apartments in the $7 million range.
– Dylan McDermott has been seen looking for apartments in the West Village.
–Agnes Nolan, a legend in the field of luxury real estate, wants to sell her own trophy apartment, a penthouse duplex at 271 Central Park West. The co-op, where she has lived since 1964, is on the market for $13.9 million.
–Yankees star Alex Rodriguez maybe close to signing a $12 million contract for a house on North Bay Road in Miami.

From the Real Estalker:
–Hollywood talent agent and power player Mike Ovitz has listed a Brentwood, California home for $8.5 million.

Continue reading Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 03/07/10

Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 03/07/10 originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

The Real Estalker dropped a bit of delicious real estate news on Friday, Mel Gibson is selling another of his Malibu properties. In 2008 he sold off several Malibu properties but held onto his compound in the gated Serra Retreat community. Lavender Hill Farm is a hacienda-style retreat on 2.57 acres. The grounds include fruit orchards, organic gardens, a tennis court, pool and three guest houses. The main house rambles over 5,400 square feet of space and offers the owners privacy in a second floor master suite with a separate sitting room. The remodeled home has six bedrooms total. The living and dining rooms have tiled floors and rough hewn beamed ceilings. Other details include a large country kitchen with tiled counters, breakfast room, library, a media/music room, office, exercise room and sun room. A particularly nice touch is the open entertainment pavilion with a fireplace and built in barbecue center. The Real Estalker says that Mel Gibson’s ex-wife Robyn has been in residence at the home. It is listed at $14.5 million. Hopefully it won’t stay on the market as long as his Greenwich, Connecticut home which has been listed for 3 years. Check out more images at the property website.

Continue reading Mel Gibson’s Lavender Hill Farm, Estate of the Day

Mel Gibson’s Lavender Hill Farm, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates, Sports

Former Giants superstar Michael Strahan has been spending a lot of time in Los Angeles over the past year while working on his now-cancelled sitcom “Brothers.” Last fall he listed his New York City loft for $1.5 million. But now it is back on the market at an increased price. His 2,000-square-foot loft at 25 Murray St. in TriBeCa is listed for $1.85 million.

The NY Post reports that he bought the home in 2006 for $1.6 million. Strahan’s two-bedroom unit is a full service pre-war condominium with exposed brick, shiny wood floors and an eat-in kitchen. The 15-foot ceilings gave the 6′5″ Strahan plenty of head room. The decor has obviously been staged in this one, Strahan has long ago decamped for greener pastures. He is engaged to Nicole Murphy, Eddie Murphy’s ex-wife, a woman with some substantial real estate of her own.

Continue reading Michael Strahan in Tribeca, Estate of the Day

Michael Strahan in Tribeca, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

Today’s home is part of a new trend. Houses for sale that tweet. Yes, today’s home, a six-bedroom in Menlo Park, California, has its own Twitter account and sends out tweets like “I’m being shown to some new potential buyers right now! ” The home is part of a new house twittering trend, our sister blog WalletPop did a piece on a Malibu home that is also tweeting its way toward a sale just the other day.

The home is a new build in a Dutch Colonial style with an open floorplan. The home was designed for family life with nice details like a breakfast nook and a sunny open kitchen, dining room with a buffet, upstairs office and a downstairs great room with a bar. A marble master bathroom includes both a large tub and a shower stall. Covered outdoor space offers a lovely spot for alfresco dining. This home is listed at $5.499 million.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Continue reading Tweeting From Menlo Park, Estate of the Day

Tweeting From Menlo Park, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

I was browsing through the MLS listings when I saw some old familiar pictures and a new low price that made me do a double take. Old Lion Manor, a Hidden Hills, California estate once owned by “The Exorcist” author William Peter Blatty hit the block last year at a hefty price of $27.5 million. Old Lion Manor is a three acre playground that includes a waterfall with a cave, statuary, a theater with seating for 28, a spa with a massage room, wine cellar with a tasting area and more. The facilities include a tennis court, volleyball court, equestrian ring and stables and a chessboard with life-size pieces. There is even a mechanical bull. The house has been rented out for parties (numerous photos of the pool stuffed with people can be found online) and the interior has a bit of a theme park feel with elaborate murals and heavy furniture but it is a pretty amazing spread. How low did it go? This home is now listed at $8.65 million. Think it will find a buyer now?

Old Lion Manor’s Deep Price Cut originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates, Journeys

Life, sometimes, comes down to learning to share the sandbox. And when it comes to sharing adult sandboxes, well, it’s perhaps an idea whose recessionary time has come.

The home-swapping model has been gaining momentum — much to the chagrin of time shares, fractional ownership and destination club industries, all of which try to fill the same need of getting away from your palace by staying in someone else’s. But unlike those other industries, home swapping enjoys a less-tarnished reputation — at least so far. Admit it, you rolled your eyes at hearing “time share” but you’re still reading about “home swap.”

The new kid on the block is RoofSwap.com, which donates 10% of its proceeds to Habitat for Humanity, a nice gesture and clearly a disciple of the “social-cause-is-good-for-business” school of thought.

RoofSwap has 14,000 listings of homes and apartments in 130 countries. The site doesn’t get directly involved in the “is your chic Manhattan penthouse as good as my Malibu beach home?” discussion, leaving the parties to settle what’s fair and equal themselves. Nicole Frank, advice columnist and industry blogger, moderates discussions on the member forums. A three-month membership costs $19.95 or a full year is $74.95.

Continue reading House-Swapping for Vacations (or please pass the 600-count sheets)

House-Swapping for Vacations (or please pass the 600-count sheets) originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

Need a Las Vegas lair? Today’s home might be a gambler’s dream, a sky-high penthouse unit in Palms Place. The ultra-modern two-bedroom penthouse is being sold with all its ultra-modern furnishings which include a pool table, leather furniture and large flat-screen televisions. The most “ruler of all I survey” spot has to be the private spa which actually projects out from the building and faces a wall of glass with views of the Palms Casino and the Vegas strip. The home includes large closets and a stainless steel kitchen that looks more like a place for surgery than dinner but this isn’t the sort of place you’d cozy up for meals anyway. The penthouses at Palms Place are available for rent so you can check out a similar place for a few thousand a night. This home is listed at $4 million.

Continue reading Palms Place Penthouse, Estate of the Day

Palms Place Penthouse, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

We’ve been following the real estate travails of Jeana Keough, former star of the Real Housewives of Orange County and real estate agent, for a while now. Just last summer her seven-bedroom home in the Coto de Caza, California community was listed at $5.5 million. Flash forward to now and the Real Estalker leads us to a fresh listing for the home and a new low price of $3.9 million. But it gets worse, apparently a second Notice of Default was filed on the property in mid-December of 2009 setting an auction date of March 5. The OC Register reported that $1,519,824.50 is owed on the home.
The listing’s rather fuzzy photos show the French Country estate with a guest house, basketball court and a large pool and spa with covered patios and a firepit. Inside the home has high ceilings, lots of draperies and plenty of beige. There is a two-person office with a view of the hillside, large family room with built in wet bar, game room, library and a media room formed by a pull-down screen, a couple of leather chairs with cupholders and some large speakers.

Jeana Keough Re-Lists At A Deep Discount originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

Poor Mikhail Prokhorov. Last month we reported that the metals magnate had been replaced as Russia’s richest man by Vladimir Lisin, and now languishes in second place. Now a court in Nice has just ruled that the oligarch must forfeit the $55 million deposit he put down for the magnificent $750 million Villa Leopolda (above) on the French Riviera in 2008 before backing out of the deal, the London Daily Mail reports. Prokhorov signed a sales agreement for the Villa, and French law stipulates that purchasers lose their deposits if they pull out after such an agreement has been executed. The magistrate also ordered Prokhorov to pay the Villa’s owner Lily Safra an additional $1.5 million penalty. Safra says she will donate all the money to ten charities, including almost $1.5 million for neuroscience research at King’s College London and Imperial College London. “By transforming the deposit into an act of giving I would like to encourage all who can do so to support medical research and other humanitarian causes,” she declared. On the plus side for Prokhorov, he’s still worth a cool $17.85 billion.

It’s Official: Mikhail Prokhorov Loses $55 Million Villa Leopolda Deposit originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

It looks like Rush Limbaugh is making good on his threat to leave New York City because of the new tax hikes. The larger-than-life conservative commentator just listed his pre-war Fifth Avenue penthouse for sale at $13.95 million, Gawker reports. The gaudy 20th-floor penthouse (above) at 1049 Fifth Avenue, which Limbaugh purchased in 1994, features 10 rooms with expansive Central Park and Reservoir views and four terraces, two of which face the park. There’s a double living room with a fireplace, a wood paneled library, large media room with a terrace, a kitchen with a breakfast room, a large dining room with two terraces, four bedrooms with en-suite baths, and his-and-hers dressing rooms and baths, each with an oversized tub and stall shower. In questionable taste are the hand painted mural ceilings and walls throughout by artist Richard Smith. Ditto the hand painted gold leaf moldings. The foyer entry floor is patterned Italian hand-cut marble with herringbone mahogany in the uncarpeted rooms, and walls are upholstered in Fortuny fabric. There’s also a separate maid’s room with bath on the third floor.

Rush Limbaugh’s Gaudy NYC Penthouse for Sale at $13.95 Million originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

Today’s home sits within the gated community of Estancia in Scottsdale. The sprawling estate spans three lots in the subdivision at the base of Pinnacle peak. it was designed to blend in with the boulder outcroppings creating a private oasis. Heavy wood doors, tile floors and curving adobe fireplaces add to the feeling of desert luxury. There are eight bedrooms total and over 20,000 square feet of living space if you include both the caretaker’s cottage and the large 2,000 square foot pool house. The outdoor space includes large porches as well as several outdoor fireplaces and seating areas and a pool with a waterfall. This home is listed at $15 million.

Continue reading Grand Estancia Estate, Estate of the Day

Grand Estancia Estate, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

The luxe Edward VII Wing at Rangemore Hall (above) in Burton-upon-Trent, England, has been listed for sale at £2.5 million or about $3.8 million, the London Daily Mail reports. Built for the Bass family of brewing fame, Rangemore Hall’s owner Lord Burton constructed the wing for a visit from King Edward VII, known as “Dirty Bertie”, and his bride Queen Alexandra in 1907. At 12,000-sq.-ft. it is far larger than the Hall itself, and includes a one-bedroom flat attached to the wing by a hidden staircase used to accommodate Edward’s mistress Lillie Langtry. The wing features its own ballroom, seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, three reception rooms, a study and a strong room used to house the royals’ family’s crown jewels. Successive owners have renovated it to include a leisure complex completed in a Romanesque style and a heated swimming pool and jacuzzi. The wing overlooks 10 acres of parkland including two private lakes, a topiary garden with an in-set water feature, four-car garage and electronic gated private driveway.

Live Like King Edward VII at Rangemore Hall originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Estates

Today’s San Francisco penthouse has to be one of the most fabulous creations I have ever seen. It sits atop the Art Deco Hamilton building on O’Farrell in the Tenderloin District. The building was built as a hotel in 1929 but it was converted to condominiums in 1962. The crowning glory of the building is a 3,879 square foot penthouse. Socket Site has the story of the apartment which was created for a wealthy heiress by the name of Marcia McDonald. She combined four proposed units on the top floor into one full-floor unit with its own private elevator access. She also added the glass barrel-vaulted solarium with imported Greek-style columns. McDonald didn’t finish the unit in her lifetime and never lived there. Instead, when she was told she had to spend another $500,000 to finish it she decided not to an lived in a pair of apartments lower in the building. The unit was finished after her death. The residence has three bedrooms,a library, two working fireplaces, formal dining room, gourmet kitchen and a pair of terraces, one of which has an antique fountain. It first hit the market in November and is still listed at $4.5 million.

Continue reading Hamilton Penthouse, Estate of the Day

Hamilton Penthouse, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today’s home isn’t just on Ballantine Road in Bernardsville, New Jersey, it has a Ballantine provenance. It is the former home of Alice Isabel Ballantine, daughter of brewery founder Peter Ballantine, and her husband Henry Young Jr. The home was designed by architect Charles Alling Gifford and is a stately Greek Revival manor on 28 acres. Inside the venerable old home has been restored to the nines with a muted neutral, gently feminine style that suits a home outfitted with columns and elaborate moldings. The decorator did excellent work here. I’m particularly smitten with the subtle details, like the fact that the chairs in the living room have the legs of a klismos chair, a nice nod to the home’s Greek aspirant leanings. One bastion of masculinity remains in what is generally my favorite room of any home, the wood-heavy study, this one is particularly cozy and warmed up with richly toned furnishings. The grounds include an in-ground pool, four bedroom guest house and a tennis court. It is listed at $10.75 million.

Continue reading Bernardsville, Estate of the Day

Bernardsville, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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