Copy for Real Estate Guide Column for 8-13-10

REAL ESTATE PATTERNS
By Ken DuVall

BIG TIME HOUSES

The biggest house in America is in Windermere, Florida near Orlando and Disneyland Park. The home is listed for a cool $75 million. This 90,000 square foot gem sits on a 10 acre parcel in the same gated community down the street from Tiger Woods (there goes the neighborhood!). It has 13 bedrooms, 23 bathrooms, a banquet kitchen with 10 satellite kitchens, a 20-car garage, and a quarter-mile of shoreline on Lake Butler.

The home has 3 swimming pools (things are tough all over!), a 2-lane bowling alley, a 2-story movie theater, an indoor roller rink, a video arcade, a fitness center, and only a pitiful 2 tennis courts! For $75 million it’s “as-is” with an unfinished interior, or he’ll complete the project for $100 million price. Nicknamed “Versailles” for the French palace, it’s the largest home for sale in the U.S. and ties for the priciest.

Construction came screeching to a halt as billionaire owner David Siegal just ran out of money. He’s the CEO of Central Florida Investments who made his fortune in Florida’s timeshare resorts. Today’s poor economy just sunk him.

Someone will probably buy this unique mansion. It just likely won’t be an American these days. The word is it’s getting interest from Middle Eastern and Russian buyers. During the boom, everyone wanted bigger, better, and more expensive homes. Now it’s a different deal for most people.

On the California front, football star Tom Brady and his supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen are building their dream home in Brentwood. The 3-time Super Bowl winning quarterback and his wife are building a sprawling 22,000 square foot 8 bedroom palace. The 3.75 acre Brentwood (just west of Beverly Hills) lot is near Gov. Arnie’s house.

Amenities include a 6-car garage, a covered bridge connecting two parts of the house, a nursery for their infant son Benjamin, and a lagoon-shaped pool with spa. There are cardio and weight rooms to keep both spouses in shape for their respective careers, and an elevator to make getting around the enormous two-story home a little easier. The total cost of the Mediterranean-style mansion: some $20 million.

The New England Patriot’s All-Pro quarterback and his Brazilian-born wife can cover the tab. Brady is in the last season of a 6-year, $60 million contract. Gisele earned $25 million last year. The couple paid $11 million just for the lot. Hey- if you’ve got it, why not flaunt it?!

Lastly, the Bel-Air 17,000 square foot home on 1.26 acres that Michael Jackson rented for $100,000 a month just hit the market last week for $29 million. The price has been reduced from its first asking price of $38 million. The owner tried unsuccessfully to re-rent it after the King of Pop’s demise there last year for $200,000 a month. There were plans to turn it into a Jackson public museum which didn’t work out. The gated French Chateau boasts 7 bedrooms and 13 baths, as well as a gym, screening room, spa facilities, a 7-car garage, and a wine cellar.

Ah, for the lives of the rich and famous, right? Well, I wouldn’t trade mine!

P.S. Happy birthday today to my precious wife Alla! We’ll have been married for 47 years next month. Groucho Marx once quipped, “We were married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury!”

Ken owns Ken DuVall & Associates, REALTORS at 3rd Ave. & Mangrove in Chico. Ken was the 2001 President of the Chico Assn. of Realtors and the 1995 Chico Realtor of the Year. See Chico MLS listings at www.KenDuVall.com and call Ken at 345-3700 for all your real estate needs. Free consulting.