tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36594718287704015832024-02-01T22:16:23.573-08:00World Real Estate NewsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-43676539015723695912013-08-13T12:35:00.000-07:002013-08-13T12:35:00.166-07:00In Napa, Calif.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2>
</h2>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 390px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<img align="middle" alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2004/09/10/travel/10travel.span.jpg" width="390" /><br />
<div align="right">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif;">Peter DaSilva for The New York Times</span></div>
<br />
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br clear="all" /><br /><br />
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 194px;">
<tbody>
<tr><td width="10"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="184">
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 184px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="184">
<form action="https://s100.copyright.com/CommonApp/LoadingApplication.jsp" name="cccform" target="_Icon">
</form>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 184px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#999999" colspan="1" width="184"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="subheader" valign="center" width="174"><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 184px;">
<tbody>
<tr><td bgcolor="#CCCCCC" colspan="2" width="184"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" width="184"><br /></td></tr>
<tr>
<td valign="center" width="17"><br /></td>
<td valign="center" width="167"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="center" width="17"><br /></td>
<td valign="center" width="167"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="center" width="17"><br /></td>
<td valign="center" width="167"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="center" width="17"><br /></td>
<td valign="center" width="167"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="center" width="17"><br /></td>
<td valign="center" width="167"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" width="184"><img alt="" height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/article/functions/dotted_divider.gif" width="184" /></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" width="184">
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br clear="all" />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="184">
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td width="184">
<map name="tracker"> <area coords="9,5,93,16" href="http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?module=precall&incamp=tnt:article_create" shape="rect"></area> <area coords="114,5,159,18" href="http://www.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?module=manage" shape="rect"></area> <area coords="8,24,103,36" href="http://www.nytimes.com/gst/poptoptnt.html?incamp=tnt:article_mostpopular" shape="rect"></area> <area coords="115,23,176,37" shape="rect"></area> <area coords="22,41,165,61" href="http://www.nytimes.com/premiumproducts/newstracker/index.html?incamp=tnt:article_subscribe" shape="rect"></area>
</map> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 241px; width: 184px;"><tbody>
<tr><td bgcolor="#1065A5" colspan="4"></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><br /></td><td class="pad" colspan="2"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><img height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" colspan="4"><br /></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#E7E7E7"><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><br /></td><td class="newstracker" width="137"><br /></td><td class="newstracker" width="45"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><img height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" colspan="4"><br /></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#F7F7F7"><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><br /></td><td class="pad" width="137"><br /></td><td class="create" valign="top" width="45"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><img height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><img height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#F7F7F7"><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><br /></td><td class="pad" width="137"><br /></td><td class="create" valign="top" width="45"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><img height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><img height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#F7F7F7"><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><br /></td><td class="pad" width="137"><br /></td><td class="create" valign="top" width="45"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><img height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan="2"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><img height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#F7F7F7"><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><br /></td><td class="pad" width="137"><br /></td><td class="create" valign="top" width="45"><br /></td><td bgcolor="#CECBCE" width="1"><img height="1" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" /></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="4"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br clear="all" />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="184">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null"><img alt="Enlarge This Image" border="0" height="15" hspace="0" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/enlarge3.gif" vspace="0" width="184" /></a>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 184px;">
<tbody>
<tr> <td>
<img alt="" height="9" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="184" /></td></tr>
<tr><td>
<br />
<div align="right">
<span>Peter DaSilva for The New York Times</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br clear="all" />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="184">
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img align="left" alt="S" border="0" height="35" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/s.gif" width="29" />AN
FRANCISCANS have long ducked off Highway 29 to wait out the traffic
with a stroll through one of downtown Napa's neighborhoods of wide
streets, airy parks and gingerbread-style houses. But lately, there's
been reason to linger a bit longer in this once sleepy town at the stem
of the Napa Valley wine country. With hip eateries, a contemporary art
museum on the revitalized riverfront and a 19th-century opera house now
featuring a series of world music performances, downtown Napa has become
a destination in its own right. Behind some of the oldest stone
storefronts in California you can discover the newest flavor
combinations, with-it clothing stores, and a sense that you've found
something hidden, something on the verge of a boom.<br />
<strong>Friday</strong><br />
4 p.m.<br />
1) Park and Sip<br />
There are two ways to reach Napa by car from San Francisco. One is
traffic choked, the other so scenic you'll swear you've driven hours,
not just 30 or 40 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge. So head up
Highway 101 and take your first wine-tasting break on the inviting
terrace of the new Nicholson Ranch Winery (4200 Napa Road,
707-938-8822), where the view includes vine-covered hills, llamas and a
dairy farm. Once in town, look for the sandstone facade of the Pfeiffer
Building, Napa's oldest commercial building, which started life as a
brewery in 1875. Inside is the Vintner's Collective (1245 Main Street,
707-255-7150), where a handful of small vineyards — from D-Cubed to Mi
Sueno — offer tastings. The twist: The room feels like an urban cocktail
lounge, with upbeat music and swank club chairs; $10 for four tastes.
Open until 6 p.m.<br />
7 p.m.<br />2) Riverfront Dining<br />
By day, the Napa General Store (540 Main Street, 707-259-0762), is a
takeout shop, but Wednesday through Saturday, as the sun goes down, the
tablecloths come out and it is transformed into the General Café
restaurant, where you can dine on the patio overlooking the Napa River.
Fans of San Francisco's most celebrated Vietnamese restaurant, the
Slanted Door, will appreciate rediscovering Nam Phan, a former chef at
the Slanted Door, and Judy Takasaki, a former pastry chef there. Try
Vietnamese crepes ($7.75) with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts and finish
with Scharffen Berger chocolate cake ($6.50), decadently topped with
fresh berries and cream.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-39948892054428711712013-08-12T12:34:00.000-07:002013-08-12T12:34:00.552-07:00Colleges Help Ithaca Thrive in a Region of Struggles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/08/05/nyregion/ITHACA/ITHACA-articleLarge-v2.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="384" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/08/05/nyregion/ITHACA/ITHACA-articleLarge-v2.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/08/05/nyregion/ITHACA/ITHACA-articleLarge-v2.jpg" width="600" /></span></div>
<div class="articleInline runaroundLeft">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
What most sets this city of 30,000 apart from many of its neighbors these days is what is absent: fear for its future. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Led by a young mayor with an inspiring back story and an idealist’s
approach — he talks about sidewalks in philosophical terms — Ithaca is
the upstate exception: a successful liberal enclave in a largely
conservative region troubled by unemployment woes, declining or stagnant
population, and post-Detroit talk of bankruptcy. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“It’s like a little San Francisco,” Nicole Roulstin, 32, an Ithaca
resident, said recently, “or the Berkeley of the East.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Much of that optimism comes from a reciprocal relationship with two
institutions — Cornell University and, to a lesser degree, Ithaca
College — which have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the
economy and created thousands of jobs for everyone from professors to
landscapers, and also fostered new companies. Ithaca and its home
county, Tompkins, regularly post the lowest unemployment rate in the
state. In June, Ithaca’s was 5.7 percent, tied with another college
city, Saratoga Springs, where a racetrack drives an annual summer boom.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Ithaca’s model of education as an economic engine is one that Gov.
Andrew M. Cuomo has made a priority this year as a strategy for all of
upstate, where there are dozens of universities. In June, he signed a
bill that would allow State University of New York branches and some
private schools to offer tax-free zones for new businesses that open on
or adjacent to campuses. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Ithaca’s mayor, Svante L. Myrick, who was invited to speak alongside the
governor when he promoted the plan in May, playfully challenged other
leaders of Ivy League cities in the Northeast to come to his. “And I’ll
show you how we built in Ithaca the lowest unemployment rate in the
state,” he said, adding that the city had been successful “because our
universities have partnered with our private industries,” and did not
just rely on businesses selling “sandwiches and beds” to visitors and
students. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Ithaca has used the deep intellectual bench of its neighboring colleges
and community entrepreneurs to help create everything from skateboard
companies to high-tech start-ups, an approach to job creation that has
attracted the admiration of nearby municipalities. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“They’ve been able to cross over the barrier from nonprofit and
transition into a for-profit entrepreneurial model, which is not an easy
task,” said Stephanie A. Miner, the mayor of Syracuse, about 45 miles
to the north. “We’ve done it as well, but we don’t have the kind of
penetration that Ithaca has.” </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-23432623190828282482013-08-11T12:33:00.000-07:002013-08-11T12:33:00.516-07:00Vineyards With Vistas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div id="inlineBox">
<img alt="" border="0" height="280" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/07/25/realestate/greathomes/26napa_600_ready.jpg" width="600" /><div class="image">
<img alt="" border="0" height="285" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/07/26/realestate/26nap190.jpg" width="190" /><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/07/26/realestate/26nap2190.jpg" width="190" />
<div class="credit">
Peter DaSilva for the New York Times</div>
<div class="caption">
The Girl and the Fig is a popular French restaurant in Sonoma, Calif.
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null">More Photos ></a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="articleInline">
</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="secondParagraph"></a>
Decades ago, most second-home owners were escapees from fog-shrouded
San Francisco seeking summer sun. Recently, however, buyers have come
from Los Angeles, Texas, the East Coast and even beyond North America.
Each region has a distinct personality, with the Napa Valley typically
more upscale and Sonoma County a bit more laid back. <br />
It is no
mystery why the towns and countryside here are so attractive to
second-home seekers: seduced by high-quality restaurants, coast-side
golf courses, unique shops and galleries, easy access to the Pacific and
the redwood forests, and wineries that routinely outrank the top French
producers, many see paradise in this nook of Northern California.<br />
<span class="bold">NAPA COUNTY</span><br />
With
vineyard-lined hills, hot-air balloon rides and top-ranked restaurants,
the Napa Valley — stretching from the town of Napa up to Calistoga — is
a place where travelers’ dreams come true. Strict growth limits,
including a virtual moratorium on subdividing land outside of city
limits, have preserved its agricultural heritage.<br />
After remaining
flat for most of the 1990’s, prices in the region have taken off,
doubling or tripling over the past eight years. Many sales experts say
prices have plateaued in recent months and probably won’t be climbing in
the short term. But the general wisdom is that California real estate,
especially in places like Napa and Sonoma, is almost always a good
long-term bet.<br />
<span class="bold">Napa</span><br />
With more than
70,000 residents (over half the county’s population), Napa has grown
into a midsize city in the last few decades. It is the hub of the
valley, with grocery stores, chain restaurants and shopping outlets. Its
housing stock ranges from affordable Craftsman bungalows to rambling
Victorians, and its geographic focal point is the Napa River. A
wine-tasting and shopping center called Copia has drawn busloads of
tourists to the downtown. <br />
There are two 18-hole golf courses
nearby: the Napa Valley Country Club and Silverado Country Club. They
might be one reason that many second-home buyers choose to live near,
not in, Napa. Homes just outside of town are popular because they feel
remote and private, yet are 10 to 15 minutes from downtown attractions. <br />
As
soon as you leave Napa’s city limits, you enter a landscape of tawny
hills, oak grasslands and elegant ranch-style houses. You won’t find
sidewalks or storm drains; instead you will marvel at vistas of
vineyards backed by stately mountains to the east and west. <br />
Jocelyne
Monello, a real estate agent who moved to Napa from France in the
mid-1970’s, says she has seen tremendous changes since then. It used to
be that “nobody knew what a French baguette was,” she said. “Now I can
get one in any market.” <br />
She recalled Napa as “a real country town
with lots of horses,” adding, “We used to go to San Francisco for a
nice evening, but now we don’t need to do that.”<br />
In addition to great cuisine, there are cultural events ranging from the Emerson String Quartet to the Chilean band Inti-Illimani, usually held in the Napa Valley Opera House.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-58659844360153358042013-08-10T12:30:00.000-07:002013-08-10T12:30:01.536-07:00A Rockies Casino Town Preps for the Big Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<img alt="" border="0" height="352" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/04/17/travel/17blackhawk-600.jpg" width="600" />
<div class="credit">
<br /></div>
<div class="caption">
Relaxed gambling laws attracted the Ameristar hotel and casino to Black Hawk, Colo. </div>
</div>
<br />
Just 40 miles from Denver
— and with little more than 100 full-time residents — Black Hawk
unfolds along a ravine dotted with tumbledown mines and colorful
gingerbread-style homes. Its dusty main drag, often crammed with tour
buses, passes through Victorian-era general stores and hotels
refashioned into casinos with names like Bullwhackers and Bull Durham. <br />
But a state law requiring casinos to boot out gamers at 2 a.m. and
limiting bets to $5 has mostly confined the gambling action in Black
Hawk to penny jackpots and Texas Hold ’Em tournaments with all the excitement of a church bingo game. As a result, its casinos have catered mostly to casual gamblers and retirees. <br />
This summer, however, the stakes in Black Hawk are being raised. <br />
On July 2, a new state law goes into effect that raises betting limits to $100, and allows Colorado’s
casinos to remain open around the clock and add craps and roulette
tables. In anticipation, casinos are expanding their pits, sprucing up
their entertainment options and replacing all-you-can-eat buffets with
broader dining choices. <br />
With swankier accommodations and larger jackpots in the offing, local
officials expect Black Hawk to become a bigger draw for high rollers
from the Denver area and beyond. <br />
“We’re hoping to garner some of the folks who in the past would have
gone to Vegas,” said David Spellman, the town’s tanned and goateed mayor
and a fifth-generation native. “With table games like roulette, this
place will generate more excitement.” </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-67116578545581810622013-08-09T12:31:00.000-07:002013-08-09T12:31:00.629-07:00In Napa, Wilderness Above the Wineries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline">
</h1>
<img alt="" height="240" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/06/08/travel/escapes/08napa.1_190.jpg" width="190" />
<div class="articleInline runaroundLeft">
<div class="inlineImage module">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="articleInline runaroundLeft firstArticleInline">
<div class="story">
<div class="wideThumb">
<img alt="" border="0" height="126" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/06/07/travel/escapes/08napa_map_190.jpg" width="190" /><span class="mediaOverlay map"></span></div>
<h6 class="byline">
</h6>
</div>
</div>
<div class="articleInline runaroundLeft">
</div>
Finally, from the top of a mountain peak, there was the wine country at
last. Grids of green vineyards stretched for miles. Far below, perched
on a hilltop, stood a white stucco winery that seemed small as a matchbox. <br />
From the highway, Napa seems to be wall-to-wall vineyards. But from the
trails that snake through the hills of the county, you can see just how
little of it is actually covered in vines — only about 9 percent.
<br />
I had detoured into the hills to appreciate the Napa terroir in a new way — by hiking
it. Napa offers a rare pairing of wine and wilderness. The climate and
topography that make the region so ripe for viticulture also have
created misty forests, petrified trees, striking rock formations and
peaks with sweeping views of the vineyards. <br />
“The hiking in Napa Valley is phenomenal,” said Ken Stanton, author of
the guidebook “Great Day Hikes In and Around Napa Valley.” “There are
places that still look like they did a hundred years ago.” <br />
Better yet, hiking Napa means you don't have to sleep in a tent. Several
excellent hikes lie within a short drive of the valley's renowned
bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants and wineries. You can easily design an
itinerary that captures the duality of Napa: a series of day hikes in
the hills fueled by nights of food and wine on the valley floor. <br />
A good place to begin is in the heart of wine country, at Bothe-Napa
Valley State Park, five miles north of the craftsman homes and Victorian
mansions of St. Helena. <br />
In the woods of Bothe, you can imagine Napa as the early settlers might
have seen it. The park nestles against the western slope of the valley,
where some of Napa's oldest wineries, like Beringer and Schramsberg, dug their first wine caves in the 1800s. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-72744874471112576762013-08-08T12:28:00.000-07:002013-08-08T12:28:00.102-07:00Prehistoric Creatures Under Big Sky<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<img alt="" border="0" height="331" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/07/17/travel/escapes/17mont600.1.jpg" width="600" /></div>
<div class="articleBody">
WE had driven all morning to the eastern seam of Montana, a part of this large state so close to North Dakota
that even Montanans consider it pretty much the middle of nowhere.
Around us sunburned young men in cutoff T-shirts and camouflage swim
trunks were emerging from the brown water of the Yellowstone River
holding prehistoric monsters with forked tails and duck bills that began
at their snouts and stretched into Central Time. <br />
</div>
These were paddlefish, or Polyodon spathula, and we had caught the peak
of paddlefishing season at the Lower Yellowstone Diversion Dam, 17 miles
north of Glendive, Mont. — four or five days in late May or early June,
when, a game warden had all but promised, “you just throw your line in,
and it’s hard not to catch one.” <br />
I was having no such luck, and Alec, my 4-year-old son, was far too
small to fish. The river was high, and paddlefish can weigh as much as
200 pounds and grow seven feet long. <br />
Because paddlefish have no teeth, they eat zooplankton. And because of
that you don’t try to catch them with bait, but with weighted
four-pronged hooks. “You keep whipping the line through the water as you
reel it in and hope you snag one as it’s swimming by,” one angler, Wes
Jardstrom, advised. <br />
Eastern Montana is a far cry from the Montana of the popular imagination, of which the areas around Bozeman and Missoula
tend to be ethnographic centers: the Montana of fly-fishing and horse
whispering and ruggedly genteel authors like Thomas McGuane. Though
there are some stock growers and cowboys here — and a legendarily rowdy
bucking-horse sale every May in Miles City — there are few vacationers
and mostly wheat farmers, forgotten towns and high plains with lunarlike
terrain that forms the American badlands. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-41631843829255489492013-08-07T12:32:00.000-07:002013-08-07T12:32:00.497-07:00 The Westin Verasa Napa Residences and Karina Bay Resort & Marina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
</h1>
<div class="inlineLeft" id="articleInline">
<div id="inlineBox">
<div class="image">
<div class="enlargeThis">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null">Enlarge This Image</a></div>
<img alt="" border="0" height="127" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/07/04/greathomesanddestinations/04break1.190.jpg" width="190" />
<div class="caption">
Westin Verasa Napa Residences
</div>
</div>
<div id="sidebarArticles">
<h4>
Related</h4>
<br />
</div>
<div class="image">
<div class="enlargeThis">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null">Enlarge This Image</a></div>
<img alt="" border="0" height="149" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/07/04/greathomesanddestinations/04break2.190.jpg" width="190" />
<div class="caption">
Karina Bay Resort & Marina
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="secondParagraph"></a>
<span class="bold">WHAT</span> A wine country condominium-hotel.<br />
<span class="bold">WHERE</span> Napa, Calif.<br />
<span class="bold">AMENITIES</span> A well-known restaurant and a swimming pool, among others. <br />
<span class="bold">PRICES</span> Residences start at around $450,000.<br />
<span class="bold">STATUS</span> Planned to open this fall. <br />
<span class="bold">DEVELOPER</span> Intrawest Placemaking.<br />
<span class="bold">CONTACT</span> (800) 509-8090 or www.verasanapa.com.<br />
<span class="bold">DETAILS</span> Wineries
around the country have started adding residences in recent years,
often in unexpected places like Virginia and Georgia. But it’s hard to
compete with northern California’s wine country, with its prestige and
sheer number of vineyards. This project, the fifth partnership between
Westin Hotels & Resorts and Intrawest, the resort developer based
in Vancouver, is near the center of downtown Napa. It consists of a
Craftsman-style building with 180 studio, one- and two-bedroom suites
sold in whole ownership. Owners will be able to place their units in a
rental program to serve as hotel rooms when they are away, and they will
receive a portion of the rental revenue. One of its wings will open
onto the Napa River, and there will be a pool courtyard with a
whirlpool. The chef Ken Frank is moving his popular La Toque restaurant
there from nearby Rutherford. Concierges will be on hand to assist with
reservations for wine tastings, <a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/spas/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="">spa</a>
visits and meals away from the development, and additional features
include a fitness center and access to paths along the river. The
Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco airports are all within a fairly
short drive.<br />
<span class="bold">Karina Bay Resort & Marina</span> <br />
<span class="bold">WHAT</span> Waterfront fractional-ownership development.<br />
<span class="bold">WHERE</span> Key Largo in Florida. <br />
<span class="bold">AMENITIES</span> A private beach and access to a fleet of boats, among others.<br />
<span class="bold">PRICES</span> Shares of residences start at $200,000.<br />
<span class="bold">STATUS</span> Scheduled to open around the beginning of next year.<br />
<span class="bold">DEVELOPERS</span> Karina and Reinhard Schaupp.<br />
<span class="bold">CONTACT</span> (866) 952-7462 or <a href="http://www.karinabay.com/" target="_">www.karinabay.com</a>.<br />
<span class="bold">DETAILS</span>
A few years ago south Florida was at the center of the real estate
boom. Developers lined up to erect beachfront towers, pushing the bounds
of South Beach as far north as possible, and hotel chains swooped in to
get a piece of the vacation-home action. And while the bursting of the
bubble has reverberated all around, there are still new, smaller-scale
projects for those looking to invest in a getaway. One such development
is the Karina Bay Resort & Marina, about 50 miles south of Miami,
close to where the Overseas Highway meets Key Largo. The four-acre site
has long been occupied by the motel-style Gilbert’s Resort, which for
the past 10 years has been owned by a German couple, Karina and Reinhard
Schaupp. Now the Schaupps are remaking the resort into a
fractional-ownership community. The motel building will be torn down to
make room for 16 two-bedroom duplex town houses and three free-standing,
two-bedroom villas. The residences, which come furnished and feature
private balconies with small, infinity-style pools, are all sold in
one-10th shares that will grant owners five weeks of use a year. A pool,
a restaurant and a bar with live entertainment already at the resort
are being renovated, and a fitness center will be added. The 38-slip
deep-water marina will be open to owners with their own boats, and for
others there will be 10 boats available to use. The Miami airport is
about an hour’s drive away.<br />
Breaking Ground is a weekly look at projects, planned or und</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-498166156534250112013-08-06T12:27:00.000-07:002013-08-06T12:27:00.356-07:00A Snowboard Does a Split and Becomes a Pair of Skis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<img alt="" border="0" height="303" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/12/25/arts/25split_span/articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></div>
For snowboarders without the budget or inclination to use a snowmobile
or helicopter, and in places where motorized vehicles are prohibited,
splitboarding has exploded as the best way to ride beyond a resort’s
boundaries. <br />
Splitboards are specialized snowboards that separate into a pair of
mountain touring skis; they are equipped with a mounting kit that allows
standard bindings to switch from a sideways snowboard stance to a
forward-facing, free-heeled touring-ski operation. Add collapsible ski
poles and climbing skins (a fabric attached to the touring skis to give
traction as you ascend steep slopes), and the splitboard gives
snowboarders the freedom to travel anywhere that a backcountry skier
can. <br />
“Splitboarding is for people that love to ride fresh snow,” said Dave
Downing, a former professional snowboarder in Utah who guided our tour
between the Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons, which bracket Mount
Tuscarora. “You can go anywhere, put your splitboard together, skin up
and snowboard all day for free.” Forrest Shearer and Chris Coulter, both
professional snowboarders here and recent splitboard converts, rounded
out the group. <br />
Splitboarding has been around since the mid-1980s, but with few
companies manufacturing splitboard models, early participants fabricated
their own by cutting old snowboards in half. <br />
“I said, ‘This thing looks so funny, it isn’t going to work,’ ” Mr.
Downing recalled about his first encounter with a splitboard, in 1995.
“But the day I took it out there was a foot of fresh — it was amazing
how well it rode, and how easy it was to skin up something as opposed to
post-holing.” <br />
Mr. Downing persuaded his sponsor, Burton Snowboards of Vermont,
to make him a splitboard and spent the next few years riding it as much
as possible to show that it could perform as well as a regular
snowboard. <br />
“I wanted to show people that they work,” he said, “that you can go off
cliffs, ride big lines and do a lot of stuff on a splitboard that you
thought you couldn’t do.” <br />
Today, splitboarding has caught on. It is regularly featured in
snowboard magazines and films and has gained advocates in professional
snowboarders like Jeremy Jones and Travis Rice. <br />
Sales of splitboards doubled over the last two winter seasons to nearly
$350,000, according to Snowsports Industries of America, a trade
organization; major snowboard brands are making boards that are already
split in half, while Spark R&D of Bozeman, Mont., and Voile-USA of Salt Lake City are offering the first split-specific bindings. <br />
The setup isn’t cheap, or simple, since you need to assemble the
elements yourself: the board, mounting kit and bindings, sold
separately, start at $1,000; the skins and poles add around $250. But
Voile-USA, which currently offers the only splitboard mounting kit,
reports that its kits and boards now make up 40 percent of the company’s
sales; it has plans to market all the elements as a single package.
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-5670435651138624122013-08-05T12:27:00.001-07:002013-08-05T12:27:28.047-07:00A $135 Million Home, but if You Have to Ask ... <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="image">
<img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/07/02/us/02aspen-600.jpg" width="600" /><div class="caption">
Joshua Saslove, a real estate broker, at the indoor swimming pool at
Hala Ranch. The home was built for Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi
Arabia.
</div>
</div>
<div class="inlineLeft" id="articleInline">
<div id="inlineBox">
</div>
</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="secondParagraph"></a>
His company’s premier listing, called Hala Ranch, is a 95-acre
estate built in 1991 for the family of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the
former ambassador to the United States from Saudi Arabia and the home’s
only (occasional) occupant.<br />
At $135 million, Hala, just northwest
of downtown Aspen, is the most expensive single-family residential
property in the nation on the market, Mr. Saslove said. Selling it
mostly consists of saying no.<br />
Mr. Saslove has received about 1,000
requests to tour the home since last October when it went on sale, and
he, along with lawyers for the prince who review every call, have
granted just 11 of them. This is what high-mountain hideaway money in
Aspen has come down to: Even the ordinary rich can no longer press their
noses to the glass.<br />
In the marketing of Hala, which means
“Welcome” in Arabic, nonbillionaires need not apply. Hala will almost
certainly, Mr. Saslove believes, be a new owner’s second, third or
fourth home. <br />
Money on that scale does not just stumble in off the
street. There are 946 billionaires, according to this year’s tally by
Forbes magazine, keeping Mr. Saslove’s list of potential buyers
relatively short.<br />
He and Hala’s property manager, Martha Grimes,
57, who came to Aspen right after college, saw the place at its zenith,
or others might say its nadir, as elements of the old hippie
counterculture and Hollywood celebrity style melded. Ms. Grimes worked
as a waitress and later a horse wrangler on the very ranch land that
later became Hala.<br />
“I remember this hill, this very hill, because I
used to ride my horse through here,” she said as she led a tour through
the house for a reporter and a photographer on a recent afternoon. “The
70s were really magical,” she added. “But the characters from those
days are disappearing.”<br />
Mr. Saslove said that people like Prince Bandar, who is now the secretary general of the Saudi National Security Council
and is not spending as much time in the United States as he once did,
helped establish Aspen’s newer style, which is much more about family,
culture and art — and wealth that even Hollywood stars cannot match. <br />
“I
don’t see as much braggadocio as I used to,” said Mr. Saslove, a gruff
66-year-old with longish hair and a nonstop Blackberry.<br />
In his 22
years as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, a tenure that
ended in 2005, Prince Bandar was a powerful ally to a succession of
presidents. Most recently, however, British media accounts have said
that a major British arms contractor paid more than $2 billion
clandestinely into bank accounts in Washington controlled by Prince
Bandar. The prince has denied the allegations.<br />
At 56,000 square
feet, Hala is bigger than the White House, with a staff of 12. It has 15
bedrooms, 16 baths, a private barbershop and beauty salon just off the
master suite and enough space for a party of 450 people. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-243475418705443662013-07-22T10:53:00.000-07:002013-07-22T10:53:00.965-07:00Well Before Summer, Hamptons Luxury Real Estate Is Scorching<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="inlineImage module">
<div class="caption">
A bidding war broke out last year for a 14-bedroom
1891 mansion on two acres in East Hampton Village. Listed at $24.5
million, the property sold for $25.75 million.
</div>
</div>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/24/realestate/24COVER1_SPAN/24COVER1_SPAN-articleLarge-v2.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/24/realestate/24COVER1_SPAN/24COVER1_SPAN-articleLarge-v2.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/24/realestate/24COVER1_SPAN/24COVER1_SPAN-articleLarge-v2.jpg" width="600" /></span></div>
<div class="articleInline runaroundLeft">
</div>
<br />
ering the bulkheads and
merchandising the seductive strata of housing stock (from darling
shingled cottages to resorts-masquerading-as-mansions), with brokers
forecasting yet another pricey summer season. “Nobody really suffers
from Hamptons sticker shock anymore,” said Judi Desiderio, the founder
of Town and Country Real Estate. <br />
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Harald Grant, a senior vice president of Sotheby’s International Realty,
has already rented out an oceanfront house in Southampton for $550,000
for the month of August alone and has a stack of 14 contracts and
purchase memos on his desk representing pending sales of $4.5 million to
$25 million. Not to worry: the most expensive oceanfront property in the Hamptons, on East Hampton’s
Lily Pond Lane and co-listed by Tim Davis of the Corcoran Group and
Diane Saatchi of Saunders & Associates, is still available for $40
million. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
For high-rolling renters, Mr. Grant has a trio of oceanfront rentals in
Southampton that can be had for the summer for $400,000, $600,000 or
$800,000. Why pay $25 million to buy, and more to maintain, a summer
getaway when you can rent and run? Or, for a million or so, you can rent
year round. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“But in general what’s different this season,” Mr. Grant said, “is that
in the mind of most buyers, less is more, and nobody wants to be the
king of the hill and flaunt their wealth the way people were doing
before the recession. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“Folks who spent $20,000 for a month’s rental,” he continued, “may be
looking to spend $15,000. Folks who could be driving a Rolls-Royce are
settling for a Mercedes. People aren’t saying, ‘I have to have it; I’ll
pay anything,’ and writing checks on the spot. An owner who says, ‘I
want $32 million for my oceanfront house’ probably isn’t going to get
it. He’ll get somewhere in the mid-20s.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
But only if the house has a pool, a tennis court and central
air-conditioning; just being oceanfront isn’t enough anymore. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Still, abundant deals are to be had for perceptive buyers who don’t require fur vaults, wine caves or home theaters. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“I just sold a wonderful house for $2.9 million in Southampton Village,”
Mr. Grant said. “Five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a pool on half an
acre. My clients would have liked a tennis court, but instead of
spending $5 million, they scaled back a bit and they’re happy and
comfortable with that decision.” </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-34384464959318388102013-07-21T10:51:00.000-07:002013-07-21T10:51:00.843-07:00The Hamptons, for $500,000<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/16/realestate/16COVER_SPAN/16COVER_SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="380" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/16/realestate/16COVER_SPAN/16COVER_SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/16/realestate/16COVER_SPAN/16COVER_SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“Everything on the lower end of the scale was either a total teardown,
which would make a mortgage impossible, or in an undesirable area,” said
Mr. Maplestone, 34, a video editor based in Brooklyn. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
They had all but given up the hunt earlier this year when Ms. Fisk, 32, a
sales strategy director, found an online listing for a $499,000,
two-bedroom house on nearly half an acre in Montauk that had just been
reduced. Not only was it in walking distance to the beach and town, the
yard abutted nearly 40 acres of protected land, ensuring privacy.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“I had a contractor take a look to make sure I wasn’t missing something
because I thought for sure this was too good to be true,” Mr. Maplestone
said. The couple bought the house for $450,000, put in a new kitchen
and bath, doors and windows, and began using it as a weekend getaway
earlier this month. “We definitely feel we got a deal,” Mr. Maplestone
said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Not so long ago, half a million dollars wouldn’t buy half an acre in
much of the Hamptons. But now that the market has recalibrated and
prices have begun to stabilize, a growing number of modest but more
affordable properties are popping up for $500,000 or less, creating
opportunities for second-home buyers who were previously priced out.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“It’s slowly begun to come back to where prices are of relative value
and people can justify them,” said Joseph De Sane, a senior vice
president in Corcoran’s Bridgehampton office. He pointed out some
listings he called “top values,” including a four-bedroom renovated Cape
for $499,000 on nearly an acre at the edge of East Hampton Village that recently went into contract and a $455,000, move-in-ready three-bedroom
with central air-conditioning, hardwood floors throughout and a large
deck spanning the full width of the house in North Sea. “We’re seeing a
bit more in the way of quality,” he said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
There were 720 homes listed for $500,000 or less in the second quarter
of 2012, down slightly from the same period last year, but up 11.8
percent from the second quarter of 2010, according to StreetEasy.com.
The median listing price was $385,000, down slightly compared with the
second quarter of 2011. Though most homes for less than half a million
are small, you can now get slightly more space for your money. The size
of a home in that price range increased by 10 percent to 1,102 median
square feet in the second quarter of this year compared with the same
period in 2010, according to StreetEasy.com. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Sure, more affordable places have long been available in
less-sought-after neighborhoods west of the Shinnecock Canal, including
the hamlets of East Quogue and Hampton Bays. But attractive properties
are now available in more coveted locales east of the canal, which cuts
across the South Fork at Hampton Bays, demarcating the more exclusive
hamlets and villages running from Southampton to Montauk. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Take the well-maintained three-bedroom cottage with a wraparound deck
on a shy half-acre a block from Otter Pond, tennis courts and Main
Street in Sag Harbor Village, listed by Sotheby’s International for
$480,000, recently reduced from $499,000. Or the three-bedroom with an updated kitchen,
gas fireplace and large backyard in Southampton Village, listed by
Prudential Douglas Elliman at $495,000, down from $549,000 in 2011.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Outside the villages the deals get better, including larger properties
with more amenities for less money. Consider a refurbished three-bedroom, two-bath Southampton home with a wood-burning stove, eat-in-kitchen and a new deck near Big Fresh Pond, listed by Corcoran for $420,000. Or a three-bedroom, two-bath contemporary in Clearwater Beach,
a private beach community in East Hamptons Springs, with central air
conditioning and a heated pool on nearly an acre listed by Corcoran that
was reduced by $20,000 to $495,000. </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-22129170331400649852013-07-20T10:52:00.000-07:002013-07-20T10:52:00.606-07:00More Square Footage for a Shoeless Cook<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/07/realestate/07LOVE7_SPAN/love-7-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="360" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/07/realestate/07LOVE7_SPAN/love-7-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/07/realestate/07LOVE7_SPAN/love-7-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span></div>
<div class="articleInline runaroundLeft">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
In the mid ’90s, on her second career (her first was working as a budget
analyst handling nuclear policy in the Carter administration), running a
gourmet foods store in East Hampton, N.Y., she found herself spilling out of her house. So she called a friend, Frank Newbold, a real estate broker in the Hamptons who later became her business partner, and said: “I don’t know what to do. I can’t expand this.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“Well,” Mr. Newbold said, “Why don’t you just buy the property up the street?” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
So she did, building a larger version of her shingle-style farmhouse. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
It was a perfect solution until 1999, when she wrote “The Barefoot
Contessa Cookbook,” sold more than a million copies, and became, once
again, a woman running out of space. A problem worth having? No doubt,
but nevertheless a real one, since Ms. Garten needed a kitchen large
enough for herself and an assistant to test recipes. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
She decided the solution was to build an entirely new kitchen. But that
would mean expanding onto the lot next door, which wasn’t for sale.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“Every year,” Ms. Garten said, “I used to call the guy who owned the
property next door. And every year, he’d send me a note back saying
‘no.’ ” This went on for about 10 years. “And one year I wrote to him
and he didn’t write back, and I said, ‘Did he forget?’ A couple of
months later, he called me and said, ‘Let’s talk after the New Year.’ ”
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
After working out a deal to buy the land in 2006, Ms. Garten and her architect, Frank Greenwald
of East Hampton, started from scratch, taking a year to build a
streamlined kitchen in a rustic barn with soaring ceilings. There she
housed everything she needed: two Sub-Zero refrigerators, an
eight-burner Viking stove, two ovens, Belgian stone countertops, open
shelves, a tall 17th-century Italian cabinet for china and glassware,
and a long antique Swiss pine dining table for friends she invites over
to try new dishes. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“Because it’s new construction,” she said, “I didn’t want it to look
brand-spanking-new. I wanted it to feel like it had patina.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
For the record, Ms. Garten’s husband, Jeffrey Garten, a former official
in the Clinton administration, did almost nothing to help. As Ms. Garten
sees it, this is exactly as it should be. “He’s the best husband. He
says, ‘Do whatever you’d like.’ And when it’s done, he says, ‘That’s the
most fantastic thing I’ve ever seen.’ He’s very good at that.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Ms. Garten put in a little bit of art (like a painting of the Namib
Desert by April Gornik) to give the kitchen some life, but there’s
nothing terribly fancy about it. “I hate design that tries too hard,”
she said. “Anything that looks like design, that says, ‘Aren’t I
fabulous,’ is totally without style. It needs to fit in, it needs to be
appropriate, it needs to be comfortable.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Perhaps most important, she didn’t want her work space to look anything
like a set, even if her show for the Food Network is filmed there. “I
didn’t do it for TV,” she said. “I did it for books. And if it looks
like a set, it doesn’t feel real.” Her latest book, “Barefoot Contessa
Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust,” comes out at the end of this month.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Could anyone or anything persuade her to move? “I can’t imagine how,”
she said, as workmen hammered and sawed away on yet another addition,
this time for a cookbook library and sitting room. “I can’t believe I
get to live here.” </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-47791170354545127572013-07-19T10:49:00.000-07:002013-07-19T10:49:00.682-07:00In the Hamptons, Bargain Chic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/08/19/realestate/19DEAL_SPAN/deal-1-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><img alt="" border="0" height="380" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/08/19/realestate/19DEAL_SPAN/deal-1-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/08/19/realestate/19DEAL_SPAN/deal-1-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span></h1>
<div class="articleInline runaroundLeft">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
THERE was a time, not long ago, when some Hamptons residents were flipping homes here for obscene returns. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Christopher Burch, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur, started buying
oceanfront properties in Southampton in 1997. He renovated and resold
them, usually doubling his money every two years, he said. In the decade
between 1997 and 2007, “all the properties I bought on the ocean went
up between five and seven times in value after a little bit of work,” he
said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Mr. Burch, 59, was luckier than most. Marketwide, prices about doubled in the Hamptons
in that decade, and most sellers tripled or quadrupled their investment
after renovating, said Jonathan J. Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a
real estate appraisal firm. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
When I caught up with Mr. Burch the other day at a book-signing at his
Southampton home for the author Gigi Levangie Grazer, he spoke about
high-end Hamptons real estate as if there had been a death in the
family. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“I just don’t think it has come back at all,” he said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
In fact, the volume of sales of prime Hamptons properties is down more
than 20 percent from when the market peaked in mid-2007, brokers said.
The Hamptons have become a solid buyer’s market, where listings at all
price ranges are plentiful and huge price reductions are common. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“If homes aren’t priced correctly, they probably won’t even be shown,”
said Harald Grant, a broker at Sotheby’s International Realty. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
While the luxury Hamptons market — with sales over $20 million — is
recovering at a faster pace than the rest of the market, there is little
wow factor in what’s been happening lately. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The Hamptons provide a stunning contrast to what’s going on some 90 miles away in Manhattan,
where high-end sales continue to break records and the potential for a
$100 million sale no longer boggles the imagination. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The priciest oceanfront sale in the Hamptons this year, closing in
February, was a two-acre property in Southampton that went for $28.5
million. Mr. Grant represented the Meadow Lane home’s buyer, a South
American. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
That’s a far cry from the spectacular sales in the boom years, like the
$103 million that the billionaire Ron Baron paid in 2007 for 40 acres of
undeveloped waterfront property in East Hampton.
Mr. Grant still remembers one woman that year who turned down an
unsolicited offer of $70 million for her Southampton home. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“The trophy sales aren’t really happening any longer,” Mr. Grant said.
“In our market for oceanfront, $28.5 million was an average price.”
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The high-end Hamptons market has moved in fits and starts. Last year
there were two sales over $30 million — one for $32.5 million in
Southampton and another for $36 million in North Haven. And this year
there have been six sales of $20 million or more, all closing before
May. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The lost market that Mr. Burch laments may have been built on loose
credit and associated Wall Street profits, as Mr. Miller impressed on
me. But perception is often reality. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Conversation around the Hamptons punch bowl used to touch frequently on
the rising prices of people’s estates, but it rarely does anymore, Mr.
Burch said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“People were excited about making good investments and that their
property values were going up,” he said. “Today, real estate is just not
as much of a conversation piece as it was in the past. People talk
about their families, their kids’ schools, about preserving the
environment.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
That was certainly the case at the event to celebrate Ms. Grazer’s
latest beach read, “The After Wife” (Ballantine), about how a Los Angeles woman copes with the death of her husband. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The low-key event drew a smattering of celebrities, socialites and the
powerful. The mogul Russell Simmons made the rounds, as did Rita
Schrager, the ex-wife of the hotelier Ian Schrager, and Michael Michele,
an actress who appeared in the movie “Ali.” There was talk of the
presidential election — Mr. Simmons said he had just returned from a
“strategy session” with President Obama — and plenty of chatter about
the fifth book from the leggy and hilarious Ms. Grazer, the ex-wife of
the Hollywood producer Brian Grazer. </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-88558002782997551772013-07-18T10:48:00.000-07:002013-07-18T10:48:01.440-07:00Restoring an Old House and Putting Down Deeper Roots <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
</h1>
<div class="image" id="wideImage">
<img alt="" border="0" height="280" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/05/11/realestate/greathomes/11away_span.jpg" width="600" /></div>
BOB Weinstein was happy in Sag Harbor, in the little gray house on
Suffolk Street he had owned for a decade. It was a quiet second home on a
lot thick with old-growth trees, away from the busiest parts of the
roughly 260-year-old former whaling village on the South Fork of Long Island, but a short walk from a downtown lined with restaurants and small shops.<br />
<div id="articleInline">
<div id="inlineBox">
<br /><div class="image">
<div class="caption">
Bob Weinstein (in print shirt at far right) and Eric Hensley prepared for Mr. Hensley’s birthday party.
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="secondParagraph"></a>
He was so happy, in fact, that he and his longtime partner, Eric
Hensley, got used to making the two-hour drive out to Sag Harbor every
weekend, all year long, and sometimes when they only had one night —
though they already lived in a 5,600-square-foot loft in the Chelsea
neighborhood of Manhattan, where Mr. Weinstein also runs a brand positioning and graphic design company. <br />
Both
dwellings were furnished in the same style: sleekly modern, full of
mid-20th-century modernist furniture picked up over the years at
auctions, antique stores, the 26th Street flea market in Manhattan and
yard sales in Sag Harbor.<br />
There were tables and settees from names like Florence
Knoll and George Nelson in the Sag Harbor house, a basement studio
where Mr. Weinstein produced monoprint artwork and a sun-drenched room
off the back for weekend relaxing.<br />
“I think we really live here,”
Mr. Hensley, 40, a former fashion stylist who now works as a flight
attendant, said on a mild recent Saturday in the village. “It could be
snowing, it could be raining — we’re always here.”<br />
Friends who
knew the home the couple had made for themselves amid the house’s clean,
quiet lines, were surprised by what Mr. Weinstein — who is not the film
producer of the same name — did next. He bought another house down the
block, spending more than $2 million on a rambling old homestead on a
nearly one-acre lot with low ceilings and a picket fence that had been
in the same family for four generations. <br />
Built in the mid-1700s
with a series of additions that began about a century later, the house,
on the corner of Suffolk and Jefferson Streets, came on the market when
the previous owner, a 100-year-old woman who was born there, died. Mr.
Weinstein and Mr. Hensley, it turned out, had been curious about the
place for years, eyeing it on their way toward Main Street, or on walks
with their grayish-black terrier, Spencer. <br />
“We’d walk along that
long white fence and sort of slow down, peer into the property through
the overgrown boxwoods,” Mr. Weinstein recalled, “and we’d catch a
glimpse of the old chicken coop, the old carriage house, walk by the old
hitching post, and we’d just sort of wonder about its history, all the
things that may have happened during the centuries of people living in
that house.”<br />
So, ever the antiques collector, Mr. Weinstein
pounced. “I just knew it would be very hard for me to have never done
this project, and to have been on Suffolk Street, and walking by all the
time,” he said, wincing a bit at the thought.<br />
Mr. Weinstein,
whose wry smile and athletic frame make him look younger than his 49
years, said this while perched on a stool under a newly vaulted ceiling
and near a hanging 1960s Swedish light fixture made of spun aluminum.<br />
But
amid these and other modern touches, like the new saltwater Gunite
pool, other details are meant to keep the house grounded in the past:
there are still 150-year-old boxwoods outside, most of the original
windows and moldings remain, and a rosewood Saarinen table rests on
150-year-old floorboards, some as wide as 20 inches, that were bleached
and refinished to a pale white.<br />
A massive wooden cabinet that once
held a previous owner’s law files — “It had little index cards with
thumbtacks hanging: ‘Foreclosures, A to B,’ ” Mr. Weinstein said — is
now a dresser in the hall outside the main bedroom. In the mud room
downstairs, a coat rack was salvaged from the carriage house, where Mr.
Weinstein believes it may have once held saddles.<br />
While the house
retains a sense of its history, though, it has also been transformed
into something loftlike — not what it was, but not quite what Mr.
Weinstein’s other places are either. It is bright inside, even on a
cloudy afternoon, and open: Mr. Weinstein likes to position visitors at a
few strategic locations and tell them to look right and left, where
they can see all the way from one end of the house to the other.<br />
“I
think 10 years of sharp minimalism made me feel that maybe it’s time to
let loose a little bit,” he said, adding that, as always, part of the
appeal was the challenge. “I wanted to see if I could take my eye and
blend my midcentury furniture into a setting that is midcentury — but
mid-18th century.”<br />
Mr. Weinstein started planning the renovation,
in fact, in the spring of 2005, long before the sale was complete, using
a methodology called “Image Architecture”
that his company, Concrete Brand Imaging Group, developed to help
clients define their brand identities. In a briefing for his architect,
Mr. Weinstein highlighted the emotional and cultural factors involved in
his purchase and transformation of the property. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-67258910230182953422013-07-17T10:47:00.000-07:002013-07-17T10:47:00.256-07:00No, They’re Not the Kardashians<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/07/realestate/07DEAL02/0407DEAL02-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="370" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/07/realestate/07DEAL02/0407DEAL02-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/07/realestate/07DEAL02/0407DEAL02-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
America may have glamorous socialites and reality-show celebutantes like
Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, but when it comes to seriously
conspicuous spending, it’s hard to top Britain’s Ecclestone sisters. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Especially when it comes to real estate. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The Ecclestone heirs, Petra Stunt, 24, and Tamara Ecclestone, 28, have
spent well over $200 million between them on homes — and home makeovers —
in London and Los Angeles. And their spending sprees seem to have fuel to burn. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Their father, Bernie Ecclestone,
the 82-year-old billionaire owner of Formula One racing, set aside $4.5
billion in Bambino Holdings, a trust fund primarily intended to be used
by his ex-wife, Slavica Rasic, and daughters for real estate
investments. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
But are these extravagant homes and renovations what Mr. Ecclestone had in mind? </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Mrs. Stunt, the younger sister, made waves on this side of the Atlantic
two years ago when she bought the late television producer Aaron
Spelling’s “Manor” in Holmby Hills for $85 million — still the highest
price ever paid for a home in Los Angeles County. She then spent close
to $20 million renovating the 57,000-square-foot home, a project that
involved some 500 workers who toiled around the clock, according to
brokers involved in the sale. What was the rush? She had only three
months to get the job done before her wedding to the British
entrepreneur James Stunt. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Mrs. Stunt also reportedly owns a town house in the Chelsea neighborhood
of London that she bought in 2010 for about $90 million. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Not to be outdone, her sister in 2011 ordered the opulent renovation of
the London home on Kensington Palace Gardens, the most expensive street
in the country, that she had bought for $70 million. The plans, whose
price tag The Daily Mail put at about $27 million, called for a bowling
alley, a hair salon and a dog spa. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Lately Ms. Ecclestone has been renting a home in Bel-Air (not far from
her sister’s mansion) for $150,000 a month while she house-hunts in Los
Angeles. Her search has taken her to Fleur de Lys, a $125 million
listing in Holmby Hills modeled after a French palace. More recently she
toured a home nearby built on the site of the former Walt Disney
estate, now owned by Gabriel Brener, the scion of a Mexican
industrialist, who is asking $85 million for his 35,000-square-foot
home, once the site of a one-eighth-scale train that Disney used to give
neighbors rides on. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Is this a case of sibling rivalry? The British tabloids and some Los
Angeles brokers have speculated as much. A better question might be
whether Ms. Ecclestone is a real buyer, or is just looking for
attention. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The British media have generally portrayed the sisters as spoiled
publicity hounds, and have quoted their father criticizing the way they
were spending their trust funds. He was none too pleased in 2011 when
his elder daughter did a three-part British reality show called “Billion
$$ Girl,” which chronicled her lavish lifestyle. That same year she
posed naked on her bed fondling £1 million in cash for the photographer
Tyler Shields. (Efforts to reach the Ecclestone sisters through business
representatives were unsuccessful.) </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Perhaps a little too serendipitously, TMZ reporters have been able to interview Ms. Ecclestone as she has been spotted leaving a few majestic estates around Los Angeles. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
One broker familiar with her search said Ms. Ecclestone thought the
Brener home was too small. “She liked the grounds but found the house
not grand enough,” said the broker, who declined to be identified,
citing client confidentiality. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
She also toured the 24,000-square-foot compound that the “American Idol”
host Ryan Seacrest bought from the comedian Ellen DeGeneres last year
for $37 million. “It was different,” she told TMZ </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Brokers in Los Angeles are itching for someone — a billionaire heiress
would do nicely — to break the $100 million barrier on a home sale. Two
homes in the San Francisco Bay Area have sold for $100 million or more,
the most recent being a house in Silicon Valley that sold for $117.5
million, reportedly to a Japanese billionaire. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
It’s not as if owners in Los Angeles weren’t trying, though. Some of the
best estates in the Bel Air/Beverly Hills/Holmby Hills triangle, where
most of the priciest homes are, have been listed above $100 million,
including Fleur de Lys, the Beverly House ($115 million) and the
financier Gary Winnick’s eight-acre spread in Bel-Air, which he wants to
sell for $225 million, brokers said. </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-63020975712660431072013-07-16T10:46:00.000-07:002013-07-16T10:46:00.641-07:00What You Get for ... $1,550,000<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/27/greathomesanddestinations/27-GH-WYG-SPAN/27-GH-WYG-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/27/greathomesanddestinations/27-GH-WYG-SPAN/27-GH-WYG-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/27/greathomesanddestinations/27-GH-WYG-SPAN/27-GH-WYG-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
WHAT: A four-bedroom midcentury modern with four baths </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
HOW MUCH: $1,549,000 </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
SIZE: 3,368 square feet </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $459.92 </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
SETTING: Encino is an affluent section of Los Angeles on the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains,
bordering city and state parkland extending to the Pacific Ocean. This
house is on a curving residential road less than a half-mile from the
Encino Reservoir. Neighboring properties are a mix of midcentury
moderns, ranches and large, newer houses built on teardown lots. Ventura
Boulevard, a commercial corridor two miles away, is lined with grocery
stores, small shopping centers and restaurants, including a
preponderance of sushi bars (almost 10 places within a couple miles).
Nearby San Vicente Mountain Park, high above an unpaved section of
Mulholland Drive, has 360-degree views and access to horse and
mountain-biking trails. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
INDOORS: This single-story L-shape midcentury modern was built in 1964,
with walls of glass overlooking the city and canyon. Common areas are on
an open floor plan, with nearly every room oriented around the patio
and pool. Seventy-two solar panels were built on the roof within the
past few years, powering the property, and most rooms now have built-in
speakers with individual room volume control. Floors are terrazzo in the
entryway; in the rest of the house, they’re Pebble Tec, a mixture of
epoxy and pebbles commonly used to finish pools, selected here to give
the house an indoor/outdoor feel. The living room and adjoining den both
have gas fireplaces. A Sub-Zero refrigerator was added to the kitchen
within the past few years. Three of the bedrooms, including the master,
are at one end of the house; the other, a suite, is beyond the kitchen.
The master bedroom is part of a suite with a bathroom, a dressing room
and access to the pool and patio. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
OUTDOOR SPACE: Adjoining the pool is a lawn and garden. The lot is a little over a third of an acre. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
TAXES: $19,362.50 (approximately) </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
CONTACT: JB Fung, John Aaroe Group, (323) 687-1170; modernlivingla.com </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<em>CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA</em>. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
WHAT: A six-bedroom house with four and a half bathrooms </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
HOW MUCH: $1,535,000 </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
SIZE: 5,254 square feet </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $292.16 </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
SETTING: This house is in a residential pocket about a mile and a half
from both the University of Virginia and downtown Charlottesville, a
brick pedestrian mall lined with historic buildings, oak trees, shops,
galleries and outdoor cafes where someone, somewhere always seems to be
playing an instrument. Just north of downtown — and about a 10-minute
walk from this house — is a rolling, wooded city park with mountain
views. Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains are about
an hour west; Washington is about two hours north. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
INDOORS: The three-story house was built in 1935 and extensively
renovated between 2008 ad 2010. Wall-to-wall carpet was pulled up and
original hardwood floors were refinished; the interior also retains
original molding, chair rails and built-in shelves. Both the formal
living and dining rooms have wood-burning fireplaces with original
mantels. Opposite the living room is a parlor, and across the hall from
it is a library. A sunroom with green-glaze terra-cotta tile floors was
added off the living room. Sliding glass doors open to a brick terrace.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The updated kitchen has granite countertops, a Bosch dishwasher and a
six-burner Ilve range. The cabinets, original to the house, are made of
white metal, which the owners had sandblasted and refinished at a body
shop. Off the kitchen is a butler’s pantry and a breakfast room. There
are bedroom suites on both the first and second floors, with three other
bedrooms on the second floor. The sixth bedroom is in the finished
basement, along with a workshop, an office and a garage. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
OUTDOOR SPACE: A little over an acre, with a large side yard. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
TAXES: $12,000 (in 2012) </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
CONTACT: Bob Headrick, Nest Realty, (434) 242-8501; nestrealty.com </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<em>PHOENIX</em> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
WHAT: A three-bedroom Tudor revival with three bathrooms </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
HOW MUCH: $1,550,000 </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
SIZE: 4,459 square feet </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $347.61 </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
SETTING: This house is in a residential neighborhood known variously as
North Central or Central Corridor, a 10-minute drive from downtown
Phoenix. Developed in the early 20th century, the neighborhood features a
mix of architectural styles, including French Provincials and Tudor
revivals alongside sprawling ranches and large, newer houses, many of
them on tree-shaded lots. An old bridle path now used by hikers, bikers
and joggers runs alongside the road on which this house sits, shaded by
ash and olive trees. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
INDOORS: The house, a two-story Tudor revival made using adobe brick,
was built in 1929 and is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. Aside from a couple of additions and updated appliances in the
kitchen, the interior is original. Off the entryway is a great room with
a pitched wood-paneled ceiling, a fireplace and leaded-glass French
doors opening to gardens. Set into a small alcove on one wall is a
painting of an English village and church — also original to the house.
Adjoining the great room is a formal dining room and a breakfast nook,
also with leaded-glass French doors opening to a back patio. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The kitchen, expanded in 2001, has stainless-steel appliances including a
Viking range, marble and soapstone counters, and a wood-burning pizza
oven. A former two-car garage was incorporated into the main house and
converted to a family room with wood-paneled walls and a beehive
fireplace. All bathrooms feature original tiles imported from England.
The master suite, on the first floor, has a wood-paneled office. The
other two bedrooms are upstairs, as is a sunroom. Also on the property
is a barn, now used as a studio, a pool and a pool house. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
OUTDOOR SPACE: The house is on an acre and a quarter of land. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
TAXES: $3,893.30 </div>
CONTACT: Cionne McCarthy and Bob Gojkovich, Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty, (602) 619-4550/(602) 432-9807</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-35322370879607294202013-07-15T10:44:00.000-07:002013-07-15T10:44:00.553-07:00Bob Hope Estate in Palm Springs Is Up for Sale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/02/25/realestate/25-EXCLU-span/25-EXCLU-span-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/02/25/realestate/25-EXCLU-span/25-EXCLU-span-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/02/25/realestate/25-EXCLU-span/25-EXCLU-span-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span></div>
<div class="articleInline runaroundLeft">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Perched high in the exclusive Southridge community, with panoramic views
of the Coachella Valley, including the city of Palm Springs and the San
Jacinto Mountains,
the 23,366-square-foot home was designed in 1973 by the California
Modernist architect John Lautner. It was built to resemble a volcano,
with three visorlike arches and an undulating concrete roof, a hole at
its center opening a courtyard to the sky. The roofline has been
described as one of the most distinctive works of architecture in the
Coachella Valley. The house has also been likened to a giant mushroom.
Its original wood frame burned down during construction, in a fire
sparked by a welder. Work was finally completed in 1980. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Used mostly as a second home and entertaining space by the Hope family,
it can accommodate as many as 300 guests for dinner under an enormous
covered terrace. Each January for many years, the family threw a huge
dinner party to mark the end of the Bob Hope Classic golf tournament,
now called the Humana Challenge. “That was sort of a highlight of the
desert social calendar,” said Linda Hope, a daughter of the couple.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Mr. Hope died in 2003 at the age of 100; Mrs. Hope died in 2011 at 102. “Mother and Dad would sing together,” Ms. Hope said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Tony Bennett, Glen Campbell and film starlets would visit the home. A
big buffet would be laid out on the terraced patio, including Mrs.
Hope’s famous antipasto salad, which she insisted on mixing herself,
adding the vinegar and oil by eye. A clear tent was put up on part of
the terrace to keep out the cold while still allowing guests to take in
the spectacular nighttime view. “The whole desert was at your feet,”
Linda Hope said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The home, which is being listed with Ann Eysenring, a broker with
Partners Trust Real Estate of Beverly Hills, and Patrick Jordan and
Stewart Smith of Windermere Real Estate in Palm Springs, has 6 bedrooms,
10 bathrooms, 3 half baths, indoor and outdoor pools, a pond, putting
greens and a tennis court. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Mr. Lautner, the architect, eventually distanced himself from the
project after Mrs. Hope hired a designer to make changes to the
interior. None of them constituted a major alteration of the Lautner
design, which includes a boulder jutting into the living room; she
simply made interior modifications to make it “more livable,” according
to Linda Hope. The changes included extending the dining room toward a
balcony and making it possible to get from the bedrooms to the front
door without crossing a patio, Ms. Hope said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“I think my mother was a frustrated architect,” she added, noting Mrs.
Hope’s serial remodeling of their primary home in Toluca Lake, Calif.
“My dad used to say every time he went away he needed a road map to get
back through his house.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
In Palm Springs, Mrs. Hope commissioned the artist Garth Benton, who
painted the murals on the garden walls at the Getty Villa educational
center and museum in Malibu,
to paint a Rousseau-like mural on the back wall of the bar, and a lush,
greenhouse-like wall of plants in the spa, which houses a pool, a hot
tub and an exercise area. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
It was Mrs. Hope who spent the most time at the Palm Springs house,
while her husband traveled extensively, and famously, for work. Each
November, Mrs. Hope would travel from Toluca Lake with a caravan of cars
to carry the clothes, dishes and silverware she thought she would need
for the season. “People used to laugh and say, the court is moving,”
Linda Hope joked, adding: “She absolutely adored the place. My dad did,
too.” But it wasn’t until her parents were in their late 80s and 90s,
she said, that they really spent more time there together. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Bob and Dolores Hope, who were avid golfers, loved the desert, Ms. Hope
said. The Lautner-designed house was their third home in Palm Springs
and their “dream house.” </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-22939806428278422312013-07-14T10:43:00.000-07:002013-07-14T10:43:01.875-07:00Hate Valet? Not to Worry; Help Is at Hand<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/03/realestate/03DEALCOVER_SPAN/deal-cover-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/03/realestate/03DEALCOVER_SPAN/deal-cover-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/03/03/realestate/03DEALCOVER_SPAN/deal-cover-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
But imagine a different world, one free of such proletarian strivers.
You pull into your high-end condo building, drive your car onto a steel
pallet and shut off the engine. The glass door of the oversized elevator
closes and you and your car are whisked upward at 650 feet per minute.
The elevator stops on the floor of your apartment and deposits your car
in your parking space. You get out and walk a few steps into your home.
As an added bonus, a glass wall separates your private garage from your
living room, so you can stare at your fine automobile from your couch,
as if it were in a showroom. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
That reality doesn’t quite exist yet in the United States. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
But a Miami
developer, Gil Dezer, has planned such a system for the Porsche Design
Tower Miami, a luxury condo complex in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. The
development, which has already sold over half of its 132 units, is
expected to be ready in early 2016. In the meantime, a smattering of
residential buildings in New York, Miami and Los Angeles boast fully — and semi — automated parking systems that are time savers for residents, and space savers for developers. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
To me it seems like the ultimate amenity for the car-obsessed. Parking
attendants, however well-meaning, are human, and a parking garage can be
a house of horrors, especially in a place like Manhattan,
where every inch counts. And for celebrities and billionaires trying to
keep their activities as secret as possible, who’s to say whether the
friendly valet isn’t a tipster for a gossip blog? </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“We have some celebrities who bought specifically because they don’t
have to see any valets or security when they come into the building,”
Mr. Dezer said. “They don’t need to sign autographs, they don’t need to
take pictures.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
In New York only one building, 200 11th Avenue, where Nicole Kidman and
Keith Urban reportedly own an apartment, has created a parking system
that lets residents ascend with their cars to their apartments. And it’s
not even fully automated. In fact it seemed fraught with peril at first
glance. Residents drive into the garage and onto a car elevator, shut
off the engine, and then, once the elevator has risen to their floor,
have to back their car themselves into the private space next to their
unit. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
It sounded to me like a recipe for scratch city, especially with my poor
driving instincts. But Leonard Steinberg, a broker with Douglas Elliman
who lives in the building, designed by Annabelle Selldorf, and who
worked on its development, said that residents had encountered few
problems with the system since the building opened in 2010. He says the
elevator does not operate until the car is shut off. When the resident
arrives with the car at the apartment, a sensor automatically turns on
the lights and an exhaust fan in the garage. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“The only area where you have to have a little bit of skill is backing
up in your garage; beyond that it is pretty basic stuff,” said Mr.
Steinberg, who acknowledged that he is the only resident who doesn’t
have one of the private garages. “The people that live in the building
and use this system are really loving it.” </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-85142952423686562422013-07-03T21:59:00.000-07:002013-07-03T21:59:00.249-07:00House Hunting in ... Scotland<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/03/greathomesanddestinations/03-GH-IHH-SPAN/03-GH-IHH-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="399" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/03/greathomesanddestinations/03-GH-IHH-SPAN/03-GH-IHH-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/03/greathomesanddestinations/03-GH-IHH-SPAN/03-GH-IHH-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>$2,384,794 (£1.6 MILLION)</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
This five-bedroom house spread over about 4,100 square feet is in a
historic residential neighborhood, the Blacket Conservation Area, south
of Edinburgh’s city center. Built in 1858 on a third of an acre, it has a
sandstone exterior and a slate roof. A recent renovation has preserved
original details like floorboards, ceiling moldings and four fireplaces.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The house is entered through a portico on the second of three floors.
Beyond a small vestibule, and accessed via a long hallway, are several
rooms, among them a bedroom with a marble fireplace and a large kitchen
with original Scotch pine floorboards, white Ikea cabinets, black
granite countertops, and a custom-made stainless steel backsplash.
Appliances and finishes include a Smeg gas oven and a Franke faucet.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The kitchen opens to a living room, which has French doors leading to a
terrace. The view from there of the expansive back lawn encompasses
mature trees including a silver birch, fruit trees, flowering laburnums
and camellias. An external spiral staircase, made by the Scottish
Ballantine Bo’ness Iron Company, descends to the yard. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The lower level, floored entirely in oak, is reached by a contemporary
oak staircase in the entry hall. It has a living room and a game room,
as well as a garden room with a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows and
glass doors opening to the back lawn. A bathroom, a utility room and a
two-car garage complete the floor. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The third floor, accessed from the entry hallway by a traditional
staircase with iron balusters, has four bedrooms. Ceilings are 11 feet
high, and many rooms have original ceiling moldings and cornices. The
master bedroom has a marble fireplace anda large bay window overlooking
the back lawn; across the hall is a bathroom with tub, sink, toilet and
bidet by the German company Villeroy & Boch, which also made the
ceramic tiles resembling slate. Views encompass Arthur’s Seat, the
famous hillside peak in nearby Holyrood Park. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Houses in the Blacket Conservation Area, from the Victorian and Regency
periods, are popular with families because of their size and amenities,
said Matthew Munro of Knight Frank in Edinburgh, the listing agent. The
neighborhood is close to good schools, golf courses and a swimming
center. The house is about two miles from Edinburgh’s main rail stop,
and less than an hour’s drive from the airport. Edinburgh, a World
Heritage Site, is home to several universities, including the University
of Edinburgh. The Bank of Scotland and The Royal Bank of Scotland are
also based there. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>MARKET OVERVIEW</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Scotland’s residential market hit its peak in 2007. Prices have dropped
10 to 20 percent since the global economic downturn, brokers said.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Best sellers tend to fall within the range of $450,000 to $1.8 million,
as buyers at this level are better able to obtain financing, said Mr.
Munro, adding that more expensive properties hadn’t fared as well.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The worst off are properties selling for $380,000 and under, typically
smaller homes for first-time buyers who have struggled to get mortgages
because of more stringent lending policies, said Andrew Diamond, a
partner at Lindsays Solicitors and Estate Agents in Edinburgh. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>WHO BUYS IN SCOTLAND</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Foreign buyers in Scotland are a diverse if small group, from elsewhere
in Europe as well as the Far East, the Middle East and the Americas.
According to Neil Harrison of the Edinburgh Solicitor Property Centre,
fewer than 2 percent of homes last year in Edinburgh and the surrounding
area were sold to foreign buyers, 5 percent to buyers from England,
Wales or Northern Ireland, and the remainder to buyers already living in
Scotland. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>BUYING BASICS</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
There are no restrictions on foreign buyers. Sellers are required to
provide a comprehensive written assessment called a Home Report,
documenting condition, energy performance, renovations, and other
pertinent information — even disputes with neighbors. Buyers must hire a
solicitor, who charges anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000. The contract of
purchase and sale is drafted by the buyer and seller’s solicitors.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Solicitors in Scotland often sell real estate as well; Mr. Diamond
estimates that solicitors sell 80 percent of the properties in
Edinburgh. Traditional real estate agents are typically employed by
national chains and tend to sell higher end properties. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
If prospective buyers seek to hire a solicitor for the purchase of a
house that the solicitor is coincidentally selling, the solicitor is
required to refer them to another solicitor, Mr. Harrison said.
Foreigners can obtain financing through Scottish banks, providing their
finances meet bank requirements. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>WEB SITES</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Scotland tourism: <a href="http://www.visitscotland.com/">visitscotland.com/</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Edinburgh tourism: <a href="http://www.edinburgh.org/">edinburgh.org/</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Edinburgh portal: <a href="http://edinburgh.gov.uk/">edinburgh.gov.uk/</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Blacket area:<a href="http://www.blacketedin.org/"> blacketedin.org/</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
English, Scots, Scottish Gaelic; British pound (£1 = $1.52) </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>TAXES AND FEES</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The transfer tax, known as stamp duty, is about 5 percent of the sale
price. The annual property tax, known as council tax, is $3,540. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>CONTACT</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Matthew Munro, Knight Frank in Edinburgh, 011 44 131 222 9600; <a href="http://search.knightfrank.co.uk/edc120018">.knightfrank.co.uk</a> </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-30769442165940112272013-07-02T21:59:00.000-07:002013-07-02T21:59:00.643-07:00No, They’re Not the Kardashians<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/07/realestate/07DEAL02/0407DEAL02-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="370" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/07/realestate/07DEAL02/0407DEAL02-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/07/realestate/07DEAL02/0407DEAL02-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
America may have glamorous socialites and reality-show celebutantes like
Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, but when it comes to seriously
conspicuous spending, it’s hard to top Britain’s Ecclestone sisters. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Especially when it comes to real estate. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The Ecclestone heirs, Petra Stunt, 24, and Tamara Ecclestone, 28, have
spent well over $200 million between them on homes — and home makeovers —
in London and Los Angeles. And their spending sprees seem to have fuel to burn. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Their father, Bernie Ecclestone,
the 82-year-old billionaire owner of Formula One racing, set aside $4.5
billion in Bambino Holdings, a trust fund primarily intended to be used
by his ex-wife, Slavica Rasic, and daughters for real estate
investments. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
But are these extravagant homes and renovations what Mr. Ecclestone had in mind? </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Mrs. Stunt, the younger sister, made waves on this side of the Atlantic
two years ago when she bought the late television producer Aaron
Spelling’s “Manor” in Holmby Hills for $85 million — still the highest
price ever paid for a home in Los Angeles County. She then spent close
to $20 million renovating the 57,000-square-foot home, a project that
involved some 500 workers who toiled around the clock, according to
brokers involved in the sale. What was the rush? She had only three
months to get the job done before her wedding to the British
entrepreneur James Stunt. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Mrs. Stunt also reportedly owns a town house in the Chelsea neighborhood
of London that she bought in 2010 for about $90 million. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Not to be outdone, her sister in 2011 ordered the opulent renovation of
the London home on Kensington Palace Gardens, the most expensive street
in the country, that she had bought for $70 million. The plans, whose
price tag The Daily Mail put at about $27 million, called for a bowling
alley, a hair salon and a dog spa. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Lately Ms. Ecclestone has been renting a home in Bel-Air (not far from
her sister’s mansion) for $150,000 a month while she house-hunts in Los
Angeles. Her search has taken her to Fleur de Lys, a $125 million
listing in Holmby Hills modeled after a French palace. More recently she
toured a home nearby built on the site of the former Walt Disney
estate, now owned by Gabriel Brener, the scion of a Mexican
industrialist, who is asking $85 million for his 35,000-square-foot
home, once the site of a one-eighth-scale train that Disney used to give
neighbors rides on. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Is this a case of sibling rivalry? The British tabloids and some Los
Angeles brokers have speculated as much. A better question might be
whether Ms. Ecclestone is a real buyer, or is just looking for
attention. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The British media have generally portrayed the sisters as spoiled
publicity hounds, and have quoted their father criticizing the way they
were spending their trust funds. He was none too pleased in 2011 when
his elder daughter did a three-part British reality show called “Billion
$$ Girl,” which chronicled her lavish lifestyle. That same year she
posed naked on her bed fondling £1 million in cash for the photographer
Tyler Shields. (Efforts to reach the Ecclestone sisters through business
representatives were unsuccessful.) </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Perhaps a little too serendipitously, TMZ reporters have been able to interview Ms. Ecclestone as she has been spotted leaving a few majestic estates around Los Angeles. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
One broker familiar with her search said Ms. Ecclestone thought the
Brener home was too small. “She liked the grounds but found the house
not grand enough,” said the broker, who declined to be identified,
citing client confidentiality. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
She also toured the 24,000-square-foot compound that the “American Idol”
host Ryan Seacrest bought from the comedian Ellen DeGeneres last year
for $37 million. “It was different,” she told TMZ </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Brokers in Los Angeles are itching for someone — a billionaire heiress
would do nicely — to break the $100 million barrier on a home sale. Two
homes in the San Francisco Bay Area have sold for $100 million or more,
the most recent being a house in Silicon Valley that sold for $117.5
million, reportedly to a Japanese billionaire. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
It’s not as if owners in Los Angeles weren’t trying, though. Some of the
best estates in the Bel Air/Beverly Hills/Holmby Hills triangle, where
most of the priciest homes are, have been listed above $100 million,
including Fleur de Lys, the Beverly House ($115 million) and the
financier Gary Winnick’s eight-acre spread in Bel-Air, which he wants to
sell for $225 million, brokers said. </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-13415198171253031992013-07-01T21:58:00.000-07:002013-07-01T21:58:00.779-07:00House Hunting in... Hungary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/10/greathomesanddestinations/10-GH-IHH-SPAN/10-GH-IHH-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/10/greathomesanddestinations/10-GH-IHH-SPAN/10-GH-IHH-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/10/greathomesanddestinations/10-GH-IHH-SPAN/10-GH-IHH-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
This four-bedroom stone house overlooking Lake Balaton, the largest
freshwater lake in Central Europe, is built in traditional Hungarian
style, with native gray limestone and thick wooden beams; it was built
in 1997 and renovated in 2012. Spanning 3,220 square feet, it has gas
heating and oak floors, and sits on almost three-quarters of an acre on
the Tihany peninsula, part of the protected Balaton Uplands National
Park, said Agnes Kacsmarik, a broker with Engel & Völkers Budahill
Center, which has the listing. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The ground floor has wood-framed glass doors opening to the pool
terrace, as well as an open kitchen and a dining area with a traditional
“beehive kiln” made of clay. The kitchen has white wooden cabinets,
butcher-block countertops, a double-sized refrigerator and appliances by
the Dutch company ATAG. A brick arch to the rear of the dining area
opens to an airy skylit hallway flanked by glass doors leading to guest
bedrooms. A full bathroom tiled in white stone is also off the dining
area. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Upstairs, a living room opens to a large balcony with panoramic views of
the lake. Two bedrooms, one of them the master, are tucked under
pitched ceilings, as is a bathroom with tub and fittings by the French
designer Philippe Starck and the German company Villeroy & Boch. The
house is being sold unfurnished, although a price for the furnishings
could be negotiated. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The property also has a traditional wine cellar, and a 26-by-16-foot
outdoor swimming pool with a hot tub for eight people. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The Tihany peninsula is on the north side of Lake Balaton, which is
known for its historic properties, as well as for boating and wineries,
Ms. Kacsmarik said. Swimmers favor resorts on the lake’s shallower
southern side. Convenience stores are within walking distance, and the
area has many restaurants. Tennis and golf are popular, and the Balaton
Royal Golf and Yacht Club is a 15-minute drive. The house is an hour and
a half from Budapest, and about 30 minutes from the nearest
international airport in Heviz. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>MARKET OVERVIEW</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Foreign investment virtually came to a halt after the global real estate
crisis, said Gabor Borbely, an associate director of the commercial
brokerage CBRE Hungary. Sales volume plunged, construction fell to an
all-time low and mortgage lending all but disappeared, he said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
However, recent purchases by foreign investors show the residential
market is reviving a bit, driven in large part by foreclosure sales, Mr.
Borbely said. “Many developers/investors see current low values as a
good entry point,” he wrote in an e-mail. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Ms. Kacsmarik agreed, saying home prices had fallen by about 25 to 30
percent since the downturn. “Owing to the significant price drop,” she
said, “there are some excellent opportunities available to property
hunters.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The Lake Balaton region has long been the prime vacation resort for
Hungarians, and foreign buyers are now discovering it. While the home
market outside Budapest has remained mostly stagnant, there have been
sales in towns around Lake Balaton, a region that is home to several
universities, said Bela Varga, a lawyer specializing in real estate and
investments. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“In university towns,” he added, “students generate more transactions,
and at Lake Balaton, where presumably prices have reached their lowest
level, foreigners see investment opportunity.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Ms. Kacsmarik said demand was strongest at the high end, for apartments
and houses with views on the northern shore of the lake. A large
apartment would cost at least half a million dollars, while the most
expensive houses can reach $3 million. The southern shore is less
expensive; there, a large home with views starts at $390,000. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>WHO BUYS IN HUNGARY</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Budapest was popular among European buyers, particularly the Irish,
before the financial crisis. The Lake Balaton region was, and still is,
more appealing to retired and affluent Hungarians seeking a vacation
home. German retirees and vacationers who have business or family ties
to Hungary also buy in the region, especially residents of the former
East Germany who grew up vacationing at the lake, Ms. Kacsmarik said.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
In recent years Russian buyers have discovered the city of Heviz, which
has hot springs known for their therapeutic qualities. “In the windows
of the real estate agencies,” she said, “the adverts are showcased in
Cyrillic letters.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>BUYING BASICS</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
There are no buying restrictions on European Union citizens, Mr. Varga
said. All other foreigners must obtain a permit, but the process is
straightforward, and the permit is granted in almost every case, he
said. The permit has a stamp duty of about $215. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Buyers typically pay a lawyer’s fee of 1 percent of the sale price, plus
a stamp duty of 4 percent at the closing, he said. The cost of the land
registry fee is minimal, less than $30 total. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>WEB SITES</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Hungarian National Tourist Office: <a href="http://gotohungary.com/">gotohungary.com</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Hungarian government: <a href="http://www.kormany.hu/en">kormany.hu/en</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Hungarian; Hungarian forint (1 forint = $.0042) </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>TAXES AND FEES</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
There are no property taxes on this home; there is an annual tourist tax of about $800. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>CONTACT </strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Agnes Kacsmarik, Engel & Völkers Budahill Center, 011-36-1-392-03-88; <a href="http://www.engelvoelkers.com/hu/balaton-%C3%A9s-koerny%C3%A9ke/chic-retreat-with-mindblowing-views-in-tihany-w-00v97t-1458281.370562_exp/?startIndex=8&businessArea=&q=&facets=bsnssr%3Aresidential%3Bcntry%3Ahungary%3Brgn%3Avid%C3%A9k%3Btyp%3Abuy%3B&pageSize=10&language=en&elang=en">EngelVoelkers.com</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-44657388253252593272013-06-30T21:57:00.000-07:002013-06-30T21:57:00.544-07:00House Hunting in ... Barcelona<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/24/greathomesanddestinations/24-GH-IHH_SPAN/24-GH-IHH_SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="399" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/24/greathomesanddestinations/24-GH-IHH_SPAN/24-GH-IHH_SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/04/24/greathomesanddestinations/24-GH-IHH_SPAN/24-GH-IHH_SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>2,300,000 EUROS ($3,013,714)</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
This four-bedroom four-bath house with a terrace on the roof, a
courtyard at the back and a pool in the basement is set behind a
decorative iron fence on a pedestrian street in central Barcelona.
Spanning almost 3,700 square feet, with wooden shutters and an orange
stucco exterior, it went up in 2000 on the site of a teardown. The
current owners worked with an architect in designing the open floor
plan. Almost all floors and wood details are of Indonesian teak; most
kitchen appliances are by Gaggenau; bath fixtures throughout are by
Hansgrohe, Dornbracht, Jacob Delafon or Geberit. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The tiny vestibule opens to a large, airy living room, anchored at its
far end by a floating staircase and a small glass elevator that travels
from basement to rooftop. The room adjoins the dining area and the
kitchen, which has a stainless-steel island topped with a thick slab of
wood, and a wall of glass doors. These open to the walled courtyard,
which in addition to a modular wooden deck has cypresses and flowering
plants around a pebbled seating area. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The courtyard has stairs to the skylighted basement, which has a large
living room, a full bath and a laundry room in addition to the heated
swimming pool. When the modular deck in the courtyard is removed,
sunlight flows into the pool area through skylights. “At night it’s
quite nice because you can have a swim,” said José Pablo Canal, an
owner. “You see the stars, but no one can see you.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The master suite and two other bedrooms share the second floor; the
rooftop terrace, one flight up, is tiled with slate and has panoramic
views of the neighborhood. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Despite the central location, the house is extraordinarily quiet because
it is on a pedestrian-only street, said David Franks of Lucas Fox
International Realty, the listing agency. It is in Sant Gervasi, a
residential neighborhood, near the border with Gràcia, a more commercial
area filled with small shops, tapas bars and cafes. The Eixample, an
adjacent area dating to the 19th and early 20th centuries, is marked by
the work of architects like Antoni Gaudí. Passeig de Gràcia, a wide,
bustling shopping street, is about seven minutes’ walk. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>MARKET OVERVIEW</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The housing market, like the rest of the economy, is in turmoil,
resulting from a crash followed by severe austerity measures.
Residential property prices are generally 35 percent lower than before
2008, according to Mr. Franks, although he added that for prime areas in
Barcelona, the decline is closer to 25 percent. The trend is expected
to persist over the next year or two, leveling out at 3 or 4 percent
below current values. Although Mr. Franks sees the market as eventually
improving, it won’t again reach the levels of 2007, which he described
as “outrageous” and “surreal.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>WHO BUYS IN SPAIN</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Foreign buyers in Spain come primarily from Western Europe and North
America. Mr. Franks says Barcelona also has Russian and Chinese buyers.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>BUYING BASICS</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
A notary public handles the property transfer, but buyers are also
advised to hire a lawyer, and to expect a fee from $2,500 to $6,500. The
lawyer arranges for property inspections, obtains the registration
number required for foreign purchases, and drafts the purchase agreement
with the seller’s lawyer. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
In view of Spain’s depressed banking system, said José Ángel Cano Muñoz,
a partner at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, a Barcelona law firm, foreign
buyers should obtain financing from their home countries. But Mr. Franks
says some Spanish banks are giving mortgages to qualified foreign
buyers able to pay 50 percent of the purchase price. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>WEB SITES</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Barcelona tourism: <a href="http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/English/_3Ngb8YjSpL2a3y4pka50kmRE9iFJMC0YdWvWz1LskxvjXgtYwe2iRMDNBCBmV7uVn5EmcyFngZeKVOgw3J0_UWiZuK2vy68VQnxy2sW8XyQ">barcelonaturisme.com</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Barcelona portal: <a href="http://www.bcn.cat/en/ihome.htm">bcn.cat</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Modernista architecture guide: <a href="http://www.barcelonamodernista.com/">barcelonamodernista.com</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Catalonia guide: <a href="http://www.catalunya.com/">catalunya.com</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Basque; euro (1 euro = $1.30) </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>TAXES AND FEES</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The transfer tax is 8 percent of the sale price; the property tax is
about $3,000 a year; notary services cost $1,500 to $2,600. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>CONTACT</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
David Franks, Lucas Fox International Properties, 011 34 933 562 989; <a href="http://www.lucasfox.com/property-for-sale/Spain/barcelona/Barcelona-city/zona-alta/galvany/House-Villa/LFS4263.html">lucasfox.com</a> </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-43295863368212535142013-06-29T21:57:00.000-07:002013-06-29T21:57:00.422-07:00House Hunting in ... London<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
</h1>
<div class="articleSpanImage">
<span itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/05/01/greathomesanddestinations/01-GH-IHH-SPAN/01-GH-IHH-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject">
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" itemid="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/05/01/greathomesanddestinations/01-GH-IHH-SPAN/01-GH-IHH-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" itemprop="url" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/05/01/greathomesanddestinations/01-GH-IHH-SPAN/01-GH-IHH-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>OFFERS OVER $4.54 MILLION (£2.975 MILLION)</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
This five-bedroom brick home, a study in Chinoiserie called the Pagoda,
has an adjoining annex and sits on a third of an acre in the village of
Blackheath in Southeast London. The village has 212 acres of
uncultivated common land, one of the largest such tracts in Greater
London, and the Pagoda is about 200 yards away, said Robin Chatwin, a
director at Savills, which has the listing. The designer was Sir William
Chambers, the architect to King George III; the earliest part of the
house, dating to the late 1760s, was used by Caroline, Princess of
Wales, the estranged wife of George, Prince of Wales. According to
historical tracts cited by Mr. Chatwin, the princess led a rather
notorious social life there. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
In its current expanded configuration, with more than 5,600 square feet
of space, the house has official protection as a structure of
architectural importance, Mr. Chatwin said. A pebble drive leads in from
the gate; the lobby opens to a large reception hall with a staircase,
double-height ceilings, and Arts and Crafts-style oak paneling. Beyond
that, the dining room has a fireplace and opens to a glass conservatory;
the drawing room, also with a fireplace, has bay windows and Oriental
lacquered paneling made of Western red cedar. The kitchen has
white-painted wooden cabinets, granite and butcher-block countertops,
and an Aga stove. Two other reception rooms complete the ground floor,
along with a half bath. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Two of the five bedrooms on the second floor have en-suite baths. The
master has a wall of cloudy-blue Chinoiserie cupboards and closets. The
third floor has a loft, as well as the so-called Pagoda Room, its large
oval and round windows offering views in three directions across London.
The pagoda roof has a thistle motif on its lead gables and a
Chinoiserie-style curvature at the corner eaves. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The annex, its two stories adjoining those of the main house, has a
small kitchen, a living room and two bedrooms. The property has an
unattached garage and off-street parking for five cars. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Along with Greenwich, which is nearby, Blackheath has many boutique and
designer shops; it is less than 15 minutes from Central London by train,
20 minutes by car depending on traffic. London City Airport is about 20
minutes away; Gatwick Airport is reached in 45 minutes to an hour.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>MARKET OVERVIEW</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
London housing prices slumped as much as 25 percent after the financial
crisis of 2008. But since then they have rebounded to their highest
levels ever, changing the house-hunting patterns of buyers, particularly
foreign ones, said Michael Hodgson, of the real estate brokerage
Douglas & Gordon of London. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
International buyers used to focus on Chelsea, Kensington and
Westminster in Central London, he said, but “people have realized that
prices are very strong, and they can probably get better value on the
periphery — so even areas like Fulham, Battersea and Clapham are getting
a lot of international buyers.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
In prime Central London, for instance, the average cost of a one-bedroom
flat would be $836,829 (£548,333). In the peripheral boroughs the
average would be $598,571, Mr. Hodgson said. A four-bedroom home would
average $7.1 million in Central London, $2.2 million in the other
boroughs. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>WHO BUYS IN LONDON</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Buyers come from all over the world; international buyers account for 34
percent of the sales in London, Mr. Chatwin said. French and Italian
buyers predominate; buyers from China and other Asian countries, who
also constitute a significant presence, tend to seek out new
construction, he said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>BUYING BASICS</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
There are no restrictions; until recently most foreigners chose to buy
through offshore companies based in places like the British Virgin
Islands or the Caymans, said Philip Ryder, a partner in the law firm
Stone King in London. The practice, which exempted the homes from income
and inheritance taxes, may be largely moot now, as the exemption has
been eliminated, he said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
In general, buyers must pay a stamp duty ranging from 1 to 7 percent (on
the Pagoda it would be 7 percent), along with about $3,000 in other
fees. Both a lawyer and a surveyor are recommended. Their fees start at
$2,300 and $3,800, respectively, and increase depending on the
complexity of the sale and the size of the house, Mr. Ryder said.
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>WEB SITES</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Blackheath information: <a href="http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/neighbourhoods/blackheath/Pages/default.aspx">lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/neighbourhoods/blackheath</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Official London tourism site: <a href="http://www.visitlondon.com/">visitlondon.com</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
London Transport: <a href="http://www.tfl.gov.uk/">tfl.gov.uk</a> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
English; pound sterling (£1 = $1.53) </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<strong>TAXES AND FEES</strong> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Council taxes are $4,164 a year for the main house, $2,082 for the annex. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
CONTACT </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Robin Chatwin, Savills, 011-44-20-8877-1222; <a href="http://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbcwrscns120171">Savills.com</a> </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-59784313968568843222013-06-28T21:56:00.000-07:002013-06-28T21:56:00.789-07:00In Wales, a Family Retreat <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="image" id="wideImage">
<img alt="" border="0" height="280" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/09/04/realestate/Wales600.jpg" width="600" /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="secondParagraph"></a>
</div>
In fact, when the couple bought the place in 1965, it was a
bare-bones retreat, a touchstone for a growing family as it hopscotched
from Singapore to Hong Kong to Australia and, finally, to just south of
Fort Worth, Tex., where Tim and Judith Sear now live as naturalized
American citizens.<br />
“It’s been a constant for more than 40 years,”
said Mrs. Sear, the mother of four and grandmother of five. Even now,
all three generations return as often as possible, traveling from their
homes in the United States to the town of Builth Wells, about 60 miles
north of Cardiff, the Welsh capital.<br />
“We think Nantyfarddu means
‘the stream of the black bard,’ ” Mrs. Sear said, “but we can’t be
sure.” The name came with the three acres of land, a “gently crumbling
farmhouse” (as eldest son Adam, now 43, described it) and two
dilapidated stone barns, all of which date to at least 1810 and embody
stone construction traditional to the region. <br />
The farmstead now
has two carefully restored and modernized structures. The original main
dwelling, Mr. Sear recalled, “was a classic little house with three tiny
rooms upstairs.” <br />
“It hadn’t been lived in for 20 to 30 years,”
he added. “There was no electricity, no running water, no kitchen; only a
salting slab, a bread oven and a big old fireplace. There were also the
two stone barns, one of which fell down subsequently.”<br />
For
plumbing, the Sears ran a hose from a nearby creek to a 600-gallon
concrete tank that they installed in the hillside above the farmhouse.
“You’d have to suck on one end of the hose to get the water started,”
said Mr. Sear, now retired as chief executive of Alcon Laboratories, an
eye-care products company based in Fort Worth. “I tied a tea strainer to
the one end to stop the leaves getting in and, once we had the tank
filled, we gravity-fed the water into the tap.” A local builder then
fashioned a basic bathroom and kitchen. <br />
Over the past 10 years,
the Sears converted the remaining barn into their primary living
quarters with three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a modern kitchen and
spacious family areas. Then they refurbished the farmhouse as a guest
cottage, with three bedrooms and one bath. Geoff Jones, a local
architect, navigated the strict zoning dictates of the Powys County
Council to create designs for both structures, maintaining the regional
vernacular and, whenever possible, reusing materials.<br />
“Because planning restrictions in Britain
are terribly strict,” Mrs. Sear said, “getting permission to renovate —
particularly a traditional barn — is difficult. And rightly so; these
buildings really are a part of the landscape.”<br />
Of the
barn-cum-house, Mr. Jones said: “Naturally, it was pretty dilapidated.
The roof was corrugated metal sheeting that had gone rusty and was
leaking.” <br />
Once that was taken off, the beams were raised. “It was
very tricky, but it gave us 15 inches more headroom upstairs,” Mrs.
Sear said.<br />
Mr. Jones added: “The first thing we did was to
stabilize the walls. We kept a lot of the old features, of course. The
old timbers, some of them we rebuilt, and others we stabilized with
reinforced concrete.<br />
“We put new slates in the roof. Then, the
outside has lancet openings, windows used in barns for ventilating the
hay, that are only about four inches wide. So we put in new windows that
the planners approved.” <br />
Next Mr. Jones tackled the farmhouse renovation, a less complex project.<br />
Now
the two homes accommodate all 15 of the Sears’ immediate family and
have all the modern amenities: electricity, plumbing and, more recently,
a telephone — whose introduction caused spirited family debate. The
idea of television at Nantyfarddu is anathema to most of the clan, who
spend their time there reading, playing games, hiking the hills or
watching local sheepdog trials, often convening in evenings at a pub in a
13th-century building three miles across the fields.<br />
This
isolated region has a particular appeal for Mrs. Sear. “I grew up in
South Wales, from the age of 7 until the time I was married at 21,” she
explained, “so it’s really my home. My parents were English and, after
my father died, we moved down there to stay with an aunt. I developed a
great love for Wales, so when we had an opportunity to buy something
there, we jumped at it.”<br />
But Mrs. Sear laughed in
near-embarrassment when she revealed the 1965 cost of Nantyfarddu: 1,200
pounds (about $3,360 at the time). <br />
Today it is virtually
impossible to find even a crumbling barn for sale, let alone something
so cheap, said Mr. Jones, who has spent his nearly 50-year career in Mid
Wales. “These places are disappearing,” he said. “People who live in
the cities — in London, in particular — want sort of a second home, and
what they’re looking for is remote locations, and Wales is known for
that.”<br />
“Just one with a little bit of space around it, maybe an
acre, would cost probably 180,000 pounds ($361,500). And that could be a
barn that’s falling apart.”<br />
For the Sears, however, no amount of money could buy the peace and quiet of this rustic family retreat.<br />
“Over
the years, we have developed very close friendships in the local
farming community,” Mr. Sear said. “And they take their vacations in
places like Spain, where it’s warm. They’re slightly bemused that we’d want to spend our holiday on a rainy Welsh hillside. But we do.” </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659471828770401583.post-68063913726212212342013-06-27T21:55:00.000-07:002013-06-27T21:55:00.516-07:00An Estate on a Scottish Isle <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="image" id="wideImage">
<img alt="" border="0" height="339" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/09/18/realestate/IHT600.jpg" width="600" /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="secondParagraph"></a>
</div>
Perched just off Kintyre on Scotland’s western coast, Gigha
(pronounced GHEE-a) is that kind of place; one where celebrity and
status do not count for much. <br />
What lured Mr. Dennis to Scotland
was Achamore House, home of the lairds (Scottish for lord) of the island
since it was built in 1884 for a colorfully named Capt. James Scarlett.
The house, whitewashed, turreted and with a bell tower, was exactly
what Mr. Dennis had pictured as his Scottish dream home but had almost
given up on finding. <br />
Mr. Dennis, who is from California, tells
of his frustration in finding a house large enough to be his home, a bed
and breakfast and a base for his flower essences company. “I spent
three days combing Scottish real estate sites on the Net, and pretty
rapidly came to the conclusion that I couldn’t afford anything that was
suitable,” he said. “So I gave up. And a month later, I came across a
newspaper article about the sale of Achamore.”<br />
It was 2003, and
the timing was perfect. The 11-square-mile island had recently been
purchased by 98 members of the community, a practice gaining popularity
in many isolated areas in Scotland, and Mr. Dennis's plans suited their
ideals of sustainable and sympathetic development. These, and an offer
of 665,000 pounds (then $1 million) won him a new home.<br />
The
baronial frontage of Achamore House rises to greet approaching visitors,
while banks of camellias and rhododendrons along the drive hint at the
historic garden surrounding the manor. Gigha’s position at the edge of
the Gulf Stream provides temperate conditions, and exotic plants thrive
throughout the 52 acres of sheltered garden, the brainchild of Sir James
Horlick, laird of Achamore from 1944 to 1972. Horlick’s passion for
rhododendrons is obvious: spectacular specimens tower over a visitor’s
head.<br />
Mr. Dennis calls the setting a windfall. “The sale included
the house, four acres of land, a patch of land that had once been a
tennis court and a 10-acre island, Craro,” he said. “But the gardens
remain the property of the community, who employ three full-time
gardeners. All I have to do is enjoy it.”<br />
Inside, the scale of the
14,000-square-foot two-story house is impressive, but not overly grand.
Golden oak paneling lines the walls of the entryway and leads a
visitor’s eye toward the central staircase. The stairs and balustrade,
both of oak, softly reflect the light filtering from outside through the
wide leaded windows behind.<br />
The house was designed by James
Honeyman, a Glasgow architect, but parts of it, most notably the
heart-shaped window leading and curves in the wood paneling, are known
to have been the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, one of his firm’s
young recruits who would later find international fame as a leading
exponent of the Art Nouveau style. <br />
The billiards room is
Victorian, with its vaulted ceiling glowing with elaborate dark
woodwork. “I spent quite some time in here when I first moved in,” Mr.
Dennis said. “No TV, no heating, no girlfriend.” </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894719656427619705noreply@blogger.com0