I refuse to fly into/out of O’Hare (AKA O’Hell) Airport. Living in Iowa, it is nearly impossible to travel anywhere without going through ORD but I have the ability to usually find a way around it. O’Hare is listed by “Sleeping in Airports” as one of the worst in the world, along with Bombay, Cairo, Delhi, and Jakarta (Indonesia). Quite a distinction, I’d state.

Jean Mercedes, at Doing Business Abroad, recently talked about London’s airports. If you are planning to travel to England, read her post.

By the way, if you’re traveling and forced to sleep in an airport, here are some tips from Sleeping in Airports.

Tags: airports, baby boomers, doing business abroad, Jean Mercedes, O’Hare Airport, ORDk

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Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most high-priced zip codes in the United Says, up this day, 33480. This zip code is is in the exclusive town of Palm Beach in South Florida and has a median price of $2,910,000 with an appreciation rate of 426% since 1990.

Palm Beach has been a place for the wealthy to wait out the winter since Henry Flagler, a founder of Standard Oil, made the Atlantic coast barrier island accessible through his Florida East Coast Railway. The town was incorporated in 1911 and way by then home to many beautiful mansions. Over the years the building has continued and Palm Beach is one of the most affluent areas in the U.S. and is host to a variety of luxury events. Over the past couple of years there have been many homes in the $30-$40 million range in Palm Beach and since 2005 Donald Trump has been trying to sell a home in the area for the astronomical price of $125 million.

Today’s home is nowhere near that expensive but it is still a display of Palm Beach wealth. The home is located on directly on the Atlantic and has a fantastic beachside pool and cabana. There are five bedrooms total and the scale of the home, include what looks to be a massive marble art gallery, all continue the legend that is Palm Beach. This home is listed at $25.75 million.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

It’s the season for worrying each last deduction you can possibly take on your taxes. As you’re sweating those last minute details here’s a story to make your blood boil. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison will get a $3 mllion tax break because his Japanese-style home in Woodside, California is “functionally obsolete.”

Ellison’s Octopus Holdings LP bought the 23-acre site in May 1995 for $12 million and then sent to work on a nine year project constructing his version of Xanadu, a lavish 8,000-square-foot home based on a Japanese emperor’s 16th century estate. Ellison seems to have a taste for all things Japanese, he also bought a home in Atherton in 1987 and turned it into a Japanese-style palace with seven bedrooms, a traditional tea home, bath house, gardens, a koi pond and waterfalls on 2.8 acres. That home was quietly put on the market in 2005 for $25 million. The property website for that home is here.

According to the Chronicle, the assessor’s office based its January 2005 valuation of Elllison’s Woodside home on reproduction costs, the $166.3 million it should have cost to build the home. The construction actually cost more than $200 million. But attorney William Bennett representing Octopus Holdings argued that the property was worth only $64.7 million at that time and in the two tax years, since entitling Ellison to a $3 million rebate on taxes paid. The appeals board agreed and so the $3 million will come from San Mateo county’s property taxes paid this year. Of that $3 million it is estimated that nearly $1.4 million would have gone to schools in the area .

Ellison’s home decline in value is shocking in an area that boasts very costly real estate thanks to the Googleaires, people who made their fortune at Google and invested in big homes locally. The reason for the dip in value is essentially that Ellison created a home that no one else would want to purchase. The home is stated to suffer from “significant functional obsolescence” because the Japanese architecture, elaborate landscaping and over improvements to the property have made it a home that is costly to maintain and has reduced value to to others.

Ellison, who has a net worth of $25 billion according to Forbes, has turned his attentions to Southern California in recent years. In 2005 he picked up five lots in Malibu’s expensive Carbon Beach area for a reported $65 million and is said to be looking into buying an NFL franchise for Los Angeles.

As the Chornicle article points out, perhaps the only good news out of this might come from the fact that it draws attention to the fact that homeowners can have their property values reassessed. With the declining real estate market in many regions some people might be in a situation where their property is being over-assessed but they’re not aware of it.

[Thanks to Uncle Roger and Lana for calling our attention to this one]

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Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most pricey zip codes in the United Says, up this day, 02554. This zip code is is on the island of Nantucket off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. While not the best place to wait out a long winter (it’s a 30-mile ferry ride from the Cape) it is a very popular place to spend the summer months. This zip code has a median price of $1,550,000 and an appreciation rate of 321% since 1990.

Today’s home is a newer build but it has many of the qualities associated with Nantucket homes includes a shingled exterior, plenty of clean white walls and blue accents, a widow’s walk and views of long sandy beaches and the Atlantic Ocean. This almost two-acre property is located in the Squam area of the island and is actually two houses on one property, a four-bedroom main home, and a two-bedroom guest house with a pool and spa. This property is listed at $11.75 million.

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Continue reading Most Pricey Zip Codes: 02554, Estate of the Day

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Filed under: Estates

The Nautilus Home is a cartoon-like combination of bright vibrant colors and a gigantic shell-shaped design. It’s a real home, located in Mexico City and occupied by a young couple and their two small children. Not only does the Nautilus House look like a giant work of art, but because it’s built from a mix of chicken wire and concrete (among other things) and takes cues from a Nautilus shell (hence the name) it’s also an earthquake-proof and maintenance-free structure. And that’s always handy.

The inside decor is all about smooth rounded surfaces, rich colors, and greenery all over the place. And even though the home is surrounded by Mexico City on 3 sides, the West side has most of the windows and faces out to a beautiful view of the mountains.

I really care about it, but for anything other than a vacation home it might get old — living in this home must make a person feel like they’re in a tropical version of Whoville.

Via DVICE

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Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most costly zip codes in the United Says, up this day, 20815. This zip code is in Chevy Chase, Maryland has a median price of $2,020,000 and an appreciation rate of 253% since 1990. This residential Maryland suburb offers easy access to Washington D.C. and is home to a variety of traditional homes.

Today’s home, Wirelawn was first purchased from the Chevy Chase Land Company in 1905. It’s full of political history, Harry Truman’s presidential inaugural ball was held here and the home, which is now a private residence, once served as an embassy. The ten-bedoom home has a grand foyer, formal living room, formal dining room, music room (with a beautiful Egyptian-themed mural), family room and ballroom. The first floor is also home to the sunroom, kitchen, butler’s pantry and mudroom. The upper levels are home to the bedrooms including the master suite with his and hers baths and dressing area, bedroom suites with sitting rooms, and staff quarters. There’s also a temperature-controlled wine cellar and a gentleman’s study. The 1.36 acre property includes a covered veranda off the ballroom, massive heated pool and spa, three-car garage, gazebo and pool home, tented terrace and deck, a circular drive, motor court and a lawn large enough to accommodate football and soccer games, or a tennis court. This home is listed at $6.9 million.

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Continue reading Most Costly Zip Codes: 20815, Estate of the Day

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Filed under: Estates, Auctions

Louis Kahn only designed 3 major architectural homes in his career and one of them, the Escherick Home (named after the woman for whom it was built, Margaret Escherick) is up for auction. Its address is in Philadelphia and according to some it’s his best residential creation and has “mature style” and a “warm and human quality” to the interior (and I tend to agree).

So the house will be sold, but unlike most houses its price won’t only reflect the local regular real estate market but also the art market. Valued at $2 million only about half of that’s unbiased structural and land values — the rest is all artistic and historical sentiment.

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Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we’ll be checking out some homes in the most expensive zip codes in the United Says, up this day, 02114. This zip code is in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, Massachusetts has a median price of $2,070,000 and an appreciation rate of 271% since 1990. In this part of Boston, you are paying for history, convenience and also for the picturesque beauty of the area.

Today’s selection is a townhouse located near Charles Street, Beacon Hill’s main drag which is backed with antique stores, small cozy restaurants and small gourmet grocery stores. This four-bedroom home has a bottom floor with a sitting room, kitchen, and a classic shuttered bay windo. The second floor includes a southern-orientated music room with s its own wood burning fireplace. The second floor also features the formal living room with moldings and hardwood floors. The master suite is on the third floor and has a marble vanity, his and her sinks, and a dual shower as well as a separate office/dressing room with built in shelving. The au-pair suite is on the lower level and has a living/kitchen area that could be converted to a media room. This home is listed at $4.25 million.

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Continue reading Most Expensive Zip Codes: 02114, Estate of the Day

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Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we’ll be checking out some homes in the most costly zip codes in the United Says, up this day, 07620. This zip code in Alpine, New Jersey has a median price of $2,420,000 and an appreciation rate of 318% since 1990. Alpine is consistently on lists of the ideal places to live in New Jersey. Famous residents of Alpine have included Damon Dash, Patrick Ewing, Jay-Z, Lil Kim, Chris Rock and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Here at Luxist we’ve covered this area multiple times for houses ranging up to $40 million. Right now the MLS for this zip code reveals a listing for $59 million and one for $40 million, both without pictures unfortunately.

Today’s home is in the desirable Rio Vista neighborhood. This brick home sits high on a hill and has over 19,000 square feet of space including seven bedrooms. The style is over-the-top lavish and has everything you could possibly need including two lane bowling alley, movie theatre, squash court billiards room. a swimming pool with full service cabana, five vehicle garage and lift for sixth car. With all the marble and chandeliers it’s basically Tony Soprano’s dream home. This home is listed at $17 million.

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Continue reading Most Expensive Zip Codes: 07620, Estate of the Day

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Filed under: Estates

The Flushing, Queens area of New York is getting a bunch of high-end condominiums. The Sky View Parc will include three towers so far and the plans of developer Jason Muss call for six towers total with 1,100 homes. The bottom floors will be given over to a mall’s worth of retail space which might end up including big chains such as Traget, Home Depot, Staples and Bed, Bath and Beyond. The complex is across from Citi Field, the new home to the Mets as of 2009. The first condos went on sale last month and sell are priced between $395,000 and more than $2 million. The developer reports that of the first 160 apartments, more than 50 have been sold. Move-in is scheduled for July 2009.

[via AMNY]

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