Filed under: Estates

Another prime Newport, Rhode Island estate has gone on the market. Like Beechwood, another Newport estate we’ve covered as an estate of the day, Oakwood has a connection to the Astor family. It was the 19th-century summer residence of Mary Alida Astor Carey, the daughter of William Backhouse Astor, a son of John Jacob Astor. The home was built in the late 1860s and was one of the first summer retreats for the rich in the area. It was added to in the 1870s with a three-story tower, music room, ballroom and kitchen wing all added.

The Boston Globe reports that the current owner is J. Brian O’Neill, a Pennsylvania-based real estate developer who bought the property in 2004. He has shepherded it through a redesign that included expanding the master suite and adding a luxury water closet above the enclosed rear terrace that overlooks the pool. The home has maintained some of its grandeur, the most beautiful room in the house is the dining room that has walls lined with 56 hand-painted Chinese panels, but has also been updated for today’s less formal society with a family room and a home theater. Key details in the seven-bedroom home include parquet floors, a Baccarat chandelier in the music room, carved mantels and beautiful woodwork. The almost six-acre property includes a six-hole putting green, a lawn tennis court, a reflecting pool stocked with koi, a rose garden, and ancient oak and split-leaf beech trees. It is listed at $10.75 million.

%Gallery-17073%

Continue reading Oakwood, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Finance is survival.  Bear Stearns sold for $2 last night.  Eighteen months ago they were selling for over $170.  The reasons they’ve lost out are wide and varied, but the final straw was that they did not have enough cash liquidity to answer the demands of their obligations.

These are times when risk and poor financial management will do you and your business in.  Now is the time to do the basics right.  Cut costs.  Collect what’s owed you swiftly.  Get after notorious slow payers immediately.  Pay what you owe slowly.  Meet all you financial obligations to the letter.  Don’t give any of your lenders a reason to call their loans early.  Stay in close contact with your investors and lenders.  Do it weekly.  Last and by no means least, get and keep your personal finances in good shape.  If you personally garunteeded  a business loan and your credit score goes south the loan could be called.

Share This

Share This

Share This

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  If you’re Irish, as I am, a double celebration is in order.  And if you really want to immerse yourself in Irish stuff, how about retiring to Ireland?

Here are a couple ofweb sites with information:

 EscapeArtist.com

InsideIreland.com 

Is this just a dream?  Maybe, maybe not.  Let me know what you think.

(Photo Source: iStockphoto)

Tags: baby boomers, Ireland, retirement, St. Patrick’s Day

Share This

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

Need more proof that Florida’s real estate market is in deep trouble? Here it is, both Sotheby’s Realty and Coldwell Banker are making moves on the real estate auction front. Sol Sotheby’s International Realty and Nestler Poletto Sotheby’s International Realty have announced they will hold their first luxury property auction for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties on March 28 in Fort Lauderdale, putting more than $200 million in high-end properties on the block. Most of the properties will be sold to the highest qualified bidder with no limiting conditions or amounts.

The same company that is working with Sotheby’s, Daniel DeCaro Real Estate Auctions, is also helping Coldwell Banker Real Estate Florida with auctions. They now offer clients the option of auctioning off their homes in Central Florida rather than selling in the traditional manner.

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

In the summer it can take an awfully long time to get to the outer reaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts but it is worth it. Today’s estate is a prime example of the reason that thousands flock to the Cape once the weather warms up. It is situated on a sheltered salt water inlet with access to Pleasant Bay. The four-bedroom home is on an acre of land and it has a new kitchen, a big living room with vaulted ceilings and a screened porch. One particularly charming detail is the boathouse at the water’s edge with a loft area and game room. . It is listed at $4.275 million, costly for a home with less than 4,000 square feet but you’re paying for the location in one of the most picturesque New England towns. Even though the middle range of the Cape Cod market has dropped considerably, prices of the high end home still seem to be reaching for the stars.

%Gallery-17146%

Continue reading Orleans House, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

Given today’s hazardous real estate market , it makes me a bit nervous to see a newly constructed home over 20,000 square feet hit the market. This one in Stony Point, New York is a real humdinger. It is luxury on a grand scale with monumental double-height rooms. It has full-house automated lighting ,security cameras and an audio/video Creston system. The main home includes a cherry wood library, office, billiard room, gym, wine cellar, 21-seat theater and a four-stop elevator. There’s also a 3800 square foot carriage house which is attached to the main house via covered breezeway and underground tunnel and a 2800 square-foot pool home giving the entire property ten bedrooms total. The 2.5 acre property also has a lighted 50×100 sport court and a heated custom pool with a spa. It is listed at $9.5 million.

%Gallery-17142%

Continue reading Stony Point, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

You may never have heard of Kelowna, British Columbia but it’s one of the fastest growing cities in North America. The city on a Okanagan Lake offers beautiful scenery and a relatively mild climate. Today’s three-bedroom home is situated on a hill for panoramic views of the lake and the surrounding hills. The home was designed by Isabel Chen and sits on 1.19 acres. The modern home has an open floor plan and plenty of windows and sky lights. There’s a separate guest suite over the garage that has a private deck. There is geothermal heating and air conditioning. I like the look of the saltwater concrete pool and the wide wood decks. It’s not a wildly charming house but the view and the easy and clean space warm my heart. It is listed at $2.2 million Canadian.

%Gallery-17258%

Continue reading Kelowna, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From the NY Post’s Gimme Shelter:
–Kenneth Cole and his wife Maria Cuomo Cole, have just paid $14.5 million for a five-bedroom, five-bath prewar co-op apartment at One Sutton Place South.
–Real-estate investor/enthusiast Michael Hirtenstein has added even more space to his TriBeCa bachelor pad at One York taking it from a massive 6,600 square feet to a gargantuan 11,000 square feet of interior space plus 6,000 square feet of exterior space.
–So far Andie McDowell, Christie Brinkley and Rosie O’Donnell have all checked out the nine remaining residences at 10 West End Ave.

From the NY Observer’s Manhattan Transfers:
–The former Guccione townhouse sold for just $49 million to hedge fund titan Philip Falcone. Incredible considering it was once listed, albeit briefly and foolishly for $99 million.
–TV home renovator Bob Vila spent $4 million on a townhouse in 2004. He has now renovated and is asking $11.5 million. The renovation was filmed for season 15 of the TV show Bob Vila’s Home Again. The house is now two duplexes plus a full floor apartment as well as rear half-floor apartments on the first and fourth floors, which Mr. Vila couldn’t touch because there are still rent-stabilized tenants there. The penthouse is being rented for the year at around $15,000 per month, and the duplex downstairs is rented at around $10,000. The listing is here.
–Est

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

I’m sure that any place for sale in a Trump building is well worth the money but $22 million for 5,425 square feet… wow! At Penthouse 86B in Trump World Tower you will find a ten room space which includes four bedrooms and five and a half baths. Did I mention the granite countertops, marble baths and maple herringbone floors? In the tallest residential building in the world, it is sure to afford outrageous views of the city. Plus, the amenities included such as parking, concierge, doorman, valet services, health club with all the perks, Megu Japanese restaurant, and The World Bar cocktail lounge. Its only been on the market a few days — and sure to be snatched up in no time.

[via Curbed]

%Gallery-17901%

Continue reading Penthouse 86B at Trump World Tower for Sale: $22 Million, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

Most homes in Montecito California seem a little grown-up as if you’ve to be of a certain age to enjoy the storied pleasures of this seaside enclave. Today’s home would be the perfect choice for someone in the enviable position of having both youth and a ton of money. Or maybe I’m just swayed by the comic panel art in one of the bedrooms. Either way, this home on Fernald Point is absolutely gorgeous. The contemporary seven-bedroom home sits right on the water and is made with many beautiful exotic woods including ip

Share This

Share This