AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog/media/feedlogo.gif AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Ted Leonsis Swaps Homes in Great Dealhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/01/05/ted-leonsis-swaps-homes-in-great-deal/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/01/05/ted-leonsis-swaps-homes-in-great-deal/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/01/05/ted-leonsis-swaps-homes-in-great-deal/#commentsFiled under: ,,

ted leonsisTed Leonsis, owner of the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards, is making moves of his own this year. His plays haven't been on the court, but in the real estate arena.

Leonsis, who has held several executive positions at AOL and is also a bestselling author, blogged on Monday that he has purchased the famous Marwood Estate in Potomac, MD. The sports titan didn't say how much he paid for Marwood, but he did mention that he acquired the riverfront mansion in a swap: He purchased it from telecom executive Chris Rogers and his wife, Nalini, who in turn bought the home owned by Leonsis in McLean, VA.
Leonsis has been a busy seller: In 2010, he also sold his home in Vero Beach, Fla.

Writes Leonsis in his blog about his new home, "My wife Lynn and I are very excited to be moving into such a significant local home on the river front here in the DC area and we promise to respect the tradition and history of this estate."

Marwood has a storied history: It was built to resemble the Palace "Malmaison," which was built outside Paris by Napoleon for the French Empress Josephine. Previous residents include former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Kennedy and the cousins of Al Gore. Marwood was sold in 2005 for $4.9 million, the Washington Post reports.

The massive historic estate, which is located on more than 13 acres in Potomac, was built in 1926 and contains
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more than 18,000 square feet. In 2008, the property was assessed at more than $8 million, according to public records. Leonsis notes that the entire estate was extensively renovated in 2011 -- Barnes Vanze Architects and Gibson Builders completed the renovation. Added were a new underground parking garage for 10 cars, a 100-foot-by-100-foot gravel entry court, a family kitchen, a second staircase, en-suite bathrooms for all bedrooms, a tennis court, two outdoor pavilions, and fish and sculpture ponds.

In 2009, the median estimated value of a home in Potomac was $802,892, according to city-data.com.



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]]>aol executiveAolExecutiveted leonsisTedLeonsiswashington capitalswashington wizardsWashingtonCapitalsWashingtonWizardsLauren Kim2011-01-05T16:58:00 00:00RE Exec Sues Over $195,000 Rental of Hamptons "Dump"http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/01/re-exec-sues-over-195-000-hamptons-rental-that-was-a-dump/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/01/re-exec-sues-over-195-000-hamptons-rental-that-was-a-dump/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/01/re-exec-sues-over-195-000-hamptons-rental-that-was-a-dump/#commentsFiled under: ,

Imagine plunking down $195,000 for a six-week rental only to find it was a dump? That's what happened to New York real estate executive Keith Rubenstein when he rented what he thought was a luxury Southampton beach house on New York's Long Island last summer for six weeks. Or so he alleges. The oceanfront estate turned out to be a "nightmare" with "dangerous conditions," including cracked pool paving stones, loose and splintering beach-deck boards, a debris-filled pool, broken front steps and a "thorn-filled" path that led to the beach, he charges.

Rubenstein, of real estate firm Somerset Partners, filed suit earlier this week in York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. He's seeking to recoup at least a quarter of the rental fee ($68,250) and the $19,500 security deposit.
"Defendant failed to tender the house in a safe and habitable condition," the New York Post says Rubenstein said of the 4,590-square-foot home, at 210 Meadow Lane in Southampton, in the complaint. "The pool stones were also cracked and loose, a condition that, together with the presence of young children at the house, could have led to unspeakable tragedy.

The owner of the rental, Mid-Summer Dream, which is held by Russian socialite Janna Bullock, says Rubenstein and his family left damages to the home in excess of $24,111 (which includes an additional $4,644 on top of the security deposit) to cover those damages. Rubenstein is denying those charges. The home was purchased for $14.8 million in 2005, according to HamptonsFineHomes.com.

Robert Wolf, the landlord's lawyer, told the Post, "This is an attempt at a shakedown by an ungrateful tenant seeking the return of security deposit and rent. The tenant enjoyed the use of this fine luxury home all summer and brought this claim well after their tenancy expired."

As it turns out, the 7-bedroom, 6.5-bath home on Meadow Lane has been on the market for about a year with Sotheby's International Realty. The asking price is $34.5 million. Harald Grant has the listing. The home is also still a rental, he says.

While he would not comment on the lawsuit, he says the house is a "wonderful Norman Jaffe designed home with a tennis court and a pool in a trophy location." The listing says that the home has been "fully renovated in 2007."

A claim Rubenstein would dispute, I gather.

 

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]]>hamptonsJanna BullockKeith Rubensteinlong islandluxury real estaterentalvacation homeLauren Kim2010-03-01T13:29:00 00:00Charles Schulz's Home: $2.2M, Snoopy's Doghouse Not Incl.http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/02/23/charles-schulz-can-be-had-now-for-peanuts/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/02/23/charles-schulz-can-be-had-now-for-peanuts/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/02/23/charles-schulz-can-be-had-now-for-peanuts/#commentsFiled under:

Charles Schultz's HomeCartoonist Charles Schulz passed away 10 years ago this month, but Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang lives on in the hearts of many of Schulz's fans worldwide.

The Santa Rosa, Calif., home in which Schulz penned many of his comic strips has been on the market since November for $2.9 million. But attention Peanuts fans: the asking price is being dropped to $2.275 million, broker Gus Kyriakos of Pacific Union tells me.

The reason for the price drop is that the home was originally being offered with an adjoining 2-acre buildable lot, but that parcel is now being marketed separately for an additional $600,000, Kyriakos says.

Mr. Schulz purchased the home for around $250,000 in 1973, and lived there in the 1970s, Mr. Kyriakos says. The current owner, who bought the house in 1996, is the second owner after Schulz, he adds.
Some of details original to when Mr. Schulz lived in the Montecito Heights-area house are still present in the home, like the chapel Charles Schultz's Homewhere Mr. Schulz married second wife Jeannie Clyde in Sept. 1973. (He purchased the home from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa shortly after divorcing his first wife, Joyce, with whom he had five children.) The book, "Schulz and Peanuts, A Biography," says that Schulz converted the chapel into what he called a "combination gym and family room."

Located just a few miles from Santa Rosa and the Charles M. Schulz Museum, the 7,230-square-foot home, which was built in 1949 and is located at 3699 Montecito Avenue, is on a park-like, gated setting that has hilltop and city views. It sports four bedrooms, including the main- and second-floor master suites; five full baths plus a powder room; a 1,000-square-foot guesthouse with a kitchen and two bedrooms; an in-ground pool; and a cabana with changing rooms and showers.

Dog house, alas, not included.

 

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]]>Lauren Kim2010-02-23T13:50:00 00:00Feeling Heat from IRS, Sinbad Will Sell LA Homehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/02/14/feeling-heat-from-irs-sinbad-will-sell-la-home/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/02/14/feeling-heat-from-irs-sinbad-will-sell-la-home/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/02/14/feeling-heat-from-irs-sinbad-will-sell-la-home/#commentsFiled under: ,

SinbadSinbad's been talking 'bout the tax man recently. But this time, it's no joke.

The actor/comedian reportedly owes $8.5 million to the Internal Revenue Service and other $2.1 million to the state of California, and declared bankruptcy late last year. In fact, he was named as one of California's biggest tax evaders in 2009. It's also been said that the IRS may want to force the sale of his home in order to help pay off his debt.

Sinbad may be trying to get a jump on them: He recently listed his Los Angeles home on the market for $3 million, no doubt to raise money to pay off his debts.


The home, at 5950 Spring Valley Road, is in the exclusive gated community of Hidden Hills, at the end of a long private driveway. Famous residents of Hidden Hills include Howie Mandel, Lisa Marie Presley and Nicollette Sheridan; Jennifer Lopez has reportedly also just purchased a home there.

I chatted recently with the broker who has the listing for Sinbad's home, Marty Trugman of Teles Properties. Trugman says the 5-bedroom, 5-bath home has been on the market for just a few weeks. He characterizes the 5,064-square-foot house built in 1954 as "English style," and says it sports a recording studio, a tennis court, a basketball court and a pool, all spread on over 2.5 acres.

Trugman offered no comment on Sinbad's tax issues. But if he gets his asking price, Sinbad will make a tidy profit: he reportedly purchased the home for just over $1.5 million in 2007.

Have no idea who Sinbad is? That might be part of his problem. Sinbad, whose given name is David Adkins, was a television fixture in the 1980s and 1990s, starring in shows such as "The Sinbad Show," "The Cosby Show" and "A Different World."

But the actor, 53, is making a comeback of sorts. An aptly titled 1-hour comedy special, "Sinbad: Where U Been?" will air Feb. 21st on Comedy Central, and he will also appear in NBC's new season of "Celebrity Apprentice," which beings March 14th.

You can bet the tax collectors will be watching.

 

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]]>celebrityHidden Hillslistinglos angelessinbadsinbad comediantax evadersLauren Kim2010-02-14T14:15:00 00:00