a self-professed "wow" factor-its website address is www,ownthewow.com-it seems that no amount of promotion is too much. The Temple House, in the heart of Miami Beach, has a Facebook fan page, a Twitter account, its own blog with postings of all the celebs-Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, BowWow and Playboy model Vicky Vodar, to name a few- who have crossed its threshold, and a stream of photos of its Flickr page.
Ines Hegedus-Garcia, an agent who is working with Broker Jeff Morr, owner of Majestic Properties, has tapped social media tools to market the Temple House. She tweets about every event at the house; all are chronicled with photos and videos.
"I wouldn't do this with every luxury property. But this property calls for a different approach," says Hegedus-Garcia.
Indeed, Temple House isn't your typical multimillion dollar Florida mansion.
For one thing, it's not on the water. It's located on a busy street -- behind the requisite high hedge, of course -- within walking distance of some of South Beach's coolest nightclubs and boutiques and the new Frank Gehry-designed music hall that will house the New World Symphony.
It's also roomy, at more than 16,000 square feet. A former synagogue, it's been converted into a modern single-family home over the last two years. Besides the master bedroom, complete with an 800-square-foot master bath (about the size of one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan), there are four guest rooms and six other bathrooms, two kitchens (one for caterers), 30-foot ceilings, a roof-top sundeck and swimming pool.
In 2003, entrepreneur Dan Davidson was walking passed the house as a real estate agent was planting a for-sale sign outside. Right on the spot, he told the agent he was going to buy the house.
"I always dreamed of living in a big white house," says Davidson, who led the renovation and designed some of the furniture for the house. The walls and floors are white. Most of the furnishings and accessories are in browns and black. And there's a little zen thrown in. Price tag on the redo: Millions of dollars so far.
Built in 1933 as a two-story single-family house, it was designed by renowned architect L. Murray Dixon, who is also responsible for some of the prized jewels among SoBe's Art Deco buildings, including the Victor, Raleigh, Marlin and Tides Hotels. Lester Avery, another well-known architect, supervised an expansion in 1965.
Davidson put the house on the market because he is spending less time in South Florida as he starts up a news and media business.
The asking price: $7.5 million, down from the original $12 million listing price. The high end of the real estate market is often recession-proof. But this house may have to wait for another unique buyer to happen by.
"This property won't attract the typical family," says Hegedus-Garcia.
Don't want to commit to owning the wow? You can rent it for about $100,000 a month.
