Luxury Real Estate

By Christine Watson
From her blog: Hide Your Personals! Protecting your privacy when selling your home!

Putting your luxury home on the market poses two very personal concerns:

1. Invasion of privacy: that your personal life will be on show;
2. Theft: your personal effects are prey to any “prospective” buyers

De-clutter your property before placing it on the market: this is my first piece of advice for those vendors concerned with their privacy being publicised to the world.

To some it means removing everything from bench tops, cupboards and shelves and to others it means keeping the home clean, neat and tidy. But how do you protect your privacy and hide your personal items?

Your home generally depicts your personal life, showing your taste in furnishings, colours, art, antiques and family photographs. Is opening your home to the public an invasion of your privacy? Absolutely!

 

The experience of Marquette Turner Luxury Homes shows that people buy the home that “ticks most of the boxes”. When selling your home, you should take the distractions away so the buyer can concentrate solely on looking at your home.

Furthermore, we are not great advocates of open inspections in a troubled market and it is important to appreciate that household-contents insurance does not cover the loss of personal effects during a viewing of a property. Remove the opportunity for theft and protect yourself as if you were a celebrity like Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise or Hugh Jackman.

Selling your home can be stressful enough without the concern that someone is taking an interest in your personal life and possessions.

Marquette Turner Luxury Homes we will not allow anyone to view your home without showing their photo identification. If someone objects they are not respecting your home and are not serious about buying the property. Only a luxury agency can truly protect your privacy.


Editor’s Note:
Christine Watson is a Director of Marquette Turner Luxury Homes, a member of Luxury Real Estate in East Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded on Australia Day 2007 by Michael Marquette and Simon Turner, Marquette Turner is a property consultancy company covering the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. Along with Marquette and Turner, now we have a new blogger providing excellent content for the Luxury Real Estate Blog. Wonderful! Thank you very much for the excellent advice, Christine. Don’t forget that both sellers and real-estate agents are at risk at open houses, so it’s best to be as safe as possible. The photo above is from www.flickr.com/photos/jef/1526987585 and it is the copyright of Jef Poskanzer.

By Robert Lockard

I have some very fun news to share. A new TNT movie starring Oscar® winner Cuba Gooding Jr. is currently filming in the Detroit area, and part of the filming is being done at a waterfront luxury home on Windmill Point Drive in Grosse Pointe Park. This property is being represented by Higbie Maxon Agney, Inc. Realtors, a member of Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate and the Board of Regents.

Check out this wonderful story in the Grosse Pointe News that I received earlier this week. Sorry I don’t have a link to the story online. Apparently, that newspaper doesn’t post some of their stories on their Web site, but luckily I have a PDF version of the printed article.

The movie is called “Gifted Hands: The Story of Ben Carson” and it follows the life of Ben Carson, born into poor conditions, who was able to lift himself up and become a famed pediatric neurosurgeon. It’s scheduled to debut on TNT on Feb. 7, 2009. I love inspirational stories about good people triumphing over difficult circumstances. Actually, this discussion reminds of a blog entry that Jim Walberg, the co-Owner/Broker of The Bay Area Team, just wrote about not giving in to fear despite our difficult financial market.

The luxury property on Windmill Pointe Drive is quite remarkable. It includes near two acres of land, its own private dock and 12,000 square feet of living space for $7.3 million. If you’d like more information, you can contact Heather Adragna Ulku or check out this brochure on the property.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate's newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. Feel free to share your good news like this with us, as well. I love reading and writing good stories for the Luxury Real Estate Blog. The photo of Cuba Gooding Jr. is from www.flickr.com/photos/rafamado/2635448556 and it is the copyright of Rafael Amado Deras.

By Robert Lockard

Nick Antonicello, Director of Sales for Unique Homes, pointed out an interesting story to me last week in the Los Angeles Times Blog. You might have already heard about it, but I just want to put in my two cents about the whole affair.

Peter Viles, Senior Producer for Real Estate at LATimes.com, wrote in his blog entry that Donald Trump, possibly the best-known real-estate developer in the world, is seeking to buy Ed McMahon’s mansion to save him from foreclosure.

In an even more bizarre turn of events, Mr. Trump now might be having some competition for buying Mr. McMahon’s luxury home. That’s according to a new blog post today by Ann Brenoff, author of the Los Angeles Times’ weekly “Hot Property” feature.

As Mr. Spock would say, “Fascinating.”

To be honest, I’m not sure what to make of this story. I mean, Mr. McMahon certainly seems like a good man who simply let his finances get out of control until he went from delivering oversized million-dollar checks to being unable to pay for his multimillion-dollar luxury property. His story just seems remarkable and bitterly ironic.

Since he went public with his mortgage troubles, it appears that Mr. McMahon will now be able to make it through this difficult experience fairly well. Competing offers on a house that’s about to be short sold is pretty impressive, I think.

I guess, in the end, my point is: Is this justice? I mean, not everyone can be helped like this. Is Ed McMahon’s celebrity status the main reason why he is receiving this attention and assistance? I’m uncertain of the answer to these questions. I hate to see anyone suffer, but is some suffering just while other suffering should be alleviated, and how do we judge that?

I believe that life is generally good, although it is difficult and filled with perils. Mr. McMahon seems to have had a very good life, gaining much more success and fame than most people will ever know. I feel bad that he is facing failure near the end of his life, but perhaps that is a lesson he needed to learn. I am sure we all must face failure and seek to succeed afterwards. Hopefully we will learn to be better people in the process.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. I was really tempted to call this blog entry “Wake up with the King” Luckily, I refrained. You can share your blog entries on the Luxury Real Estate Blog by emailing them to me. By the way, ordinarily I would link to the two blog entries above via their TrackBack links, but they don’t appear to be working, so I just used their regular links. The photo of Mr. Spock is from www.flickr.com/photos/cultureculte/2306916969 and it is the copyright of culture.culte.

By Robert Lockard

There are so many fun one-liners I could use to sum up this story, it’s hard to pick just one. I’ll go ahead and try this one: Elvis has left the building, and now that building can be yours! Yeah, that’ll work.

Elvis Presley’s “Graceland West” estate in Palm Springs, Calif. is now for sale. Talk about a house with some history, this two-acre estate, nestled in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains, is where Elvis (the king of Rock and Roll) lived for almost eight years, recorded eight songs in the living room in 1973 and spent his last birthday. He died on Aug. 16, 1977 at the age of 42.

The seller of the estate is being represented by Honey Brooks of Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate, a member of Luxury Real Estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you’d like more information about this historic luxury property, email Honey Brooks or call her at 415.345.2585. You can also read much more about this property in a news release by Karen Monroe on LuxuryRealEstate.com.

By the way, whenever I think of Elvis Presley, the first thing that comes into my mind is the scene from “Top Secret” (1984), one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, where Val Kilmer sings his hilarious rendition of Elvis’ famous song “Are you Lonesome Tonight?” Thanks to the magic of YouTube, you can watch Val Kilmer’s version and Elvis’ original below. Toward the end of his parody of the song, Val Kilmer sings so well that it’s hard to distinguish him from the king!






Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. I was really tempted to call this blog entry “Wake up with the King” Luckily, I refrained. You can share your blog entries on the Luxury Real Estate Blog by emailing them to me. The Elvis Presley portrait is from www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/2491351807 and it is the copyright of dbking.

By Dr. Carl Peralta

Giorgio Armani, together with his super yacht “Main”, spent a lovely holiday in Malta. For more information on his visit, read the article in the Times of Malta.



Although Malta is not like the Greek islands, St. Tropez, Sardinia & Monte Carlo, it is a unique, picturesque place set right bang in the middle of the clean Mediterranean Sea.

Other famous personalities come along together with their super yachts, such as Roman Abramovich (Chelsea FC owner) with his 114-metre “Pelorus” and Tom Perkins (Danielle Steele’s ex-husband) with his 88-metre “Maltese Falcon” built by Perini Navi!


Editor’s Note:
Dr. Carl Peralta founded 77 Great Estates in 2003. He is a member of the global Luxury Real Estate network. Business being his chief interest, Dr. Peralta has successfully co-organized many large-scale entertainment events since 1995. It sounds like Giorgio Armani couldn’t stay away from Malta. Actually, I wrote an editorial on luxury yachting communities in the spring 2008 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine. Very cool! The size of these yachts Carl mentions in this blog entry is incredible. You’d need a huge dock at your luxury home or a nice luxury marina to park them.

By Jim Johnson

From his blog: Move to Bend Oregon for the Music

One of the reasons people are buying homes in Bend, Oregon is the music. The Les Schwab Amphitheater is where a lot of that music happens. It is a beautiful outdoor riverfront amphitheater built in the historic Old Mill District in 2001. The amphitheater was named in honor of a remarkable Central Oregonian, Les Schwab.

The amphitheater canaccommodate approximately 8,000 patrons for concerts and other events in a casual outdoor setting. All summer long it will host some of the biggest names in entertainment plus free concerts by local and national performers every Sunday.

BB King just finished a concert here. Brooks and Dunn will perform on Wednesday, August 6th. Cheryl Crow will be here on Thursday, August 28th. There are many other great artists who will be performing through August. Music is one of the many reasons people live in Bend. You can see the schedule of performers here.


Editor’s Note:
Jim Johnson is the Principal Broker of Century 21 Gold Country Realty. He has lived in Bend, Oregon since 1981 and is familiar with its finest properties. In case you’re familiar with the Western United States and you’re curious, yes the Les Schwab mentioned in the first paragraph is that Les Schwab. We welcome wonderful blog entries like this in the LuxuryRealEstate.com Blog. Share the positive points of your communities so potential buyers can see different sides of cities they might miss otherwise.

By Dr. Carl Peralta

MTV has yet again chosen Malta as one of the destinations for its summer concerts. This year’s concert was held five minutes away from the 77 Great Estates office in Valletta.

International music artists, including Enrique Iglesias, Lady GaGa, One Republic, The Kooks and N.E.R.D., rocked thousands of foreigners who flew over for this amazing concert in the middle of the Mediterranean.

The artists fell in love with Malta’s sun-drenched island and we are sure LuxuryRealEstate.com’s clients will enjoy Malta, too. We will be more than happy to assist LuxuryRealEstate.com clients to purchase/lease a property in Malta. For more information about the event, please visit: http://isleofmtv.mtv.co.uk/.


Editor’s Note:
Dr. Carl Peralta founded 77 Great Estates in 2003. Business being his chief interest, Dr. Peralta has successfully co-organized many large-scale entertainment events since 1995. Events like this are great for bringing international attention to luxury hotspots. The celebrities at this concert, and I’m sure many of the fans, have received a taste for the beautiful island of Malta, and I hope that this will provide some excellent incentives for them to return. Feel free to share your positive events like this in the LuxuryRealEstate.com Blog.

By Robert Lockard

As a follow-up to my last blog entry, I’d like to report on the interview LuxuryRealEstate.com Publisher/CEO John Brian Losh enjoyed on Lakefront Radio on Friday, June 20, 2008. It went very well, and I have to give a lot of credit to hosts Mary Thompson, Chuck Thompson and Lee Kantor for asking great questions and being a lot of fun on air. They sound like they really enjoy their work.

You can listen to the full 38-minute radio show online.

Mr. Losh discussed the recent sale of Donald Trump’s $100 million estate and some other great news items. He also went into great detail about LuxuryRealEstate.com, the most-viewed luxury real estate website in the world, and several aspects of the Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate network, including membership requirements. He specifically focused on Atlanta, naming Harry Norman, Realtors, the Board of Regents member in Atlanta, and Jenny Pruitt & Associates, REALTORS® as two prominent members in the area.

As I mentioned earlier, I was really impressed by Lakefront Radio hosts Mary, Chuck and Lee. They were all so easygoing and patient in their approach at the microphone, something I found very refreshing in talk radio. Some shows sound like the speakers are constantly interrupting each other, but these hosts found a great balance in their style. Great job!

Mr. Losh said that some of the finest luxury locations in the world are in South America and East Europe. He also mentioned that his favorite city in the world is Venice, Italy because it’s so quiet, with no cars or motorbikes to disrupt the peace. His favorite city in the United States (besides his hometown of Seattle, of course) is Carmel, Calif., near Pebble Beach, because it’s “popular, but not too popular” and very relaxing.

All in all, it was a great radio show. I hope you’ll enjoy listening to it if you have the time. Be sure to check it out every Friday because the hosts are dedicated to talking about positive real-estate news that can sometimes fall by the way when large media outlets focus so much on negative news. Truly an admirable endeavor!


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. Be sure to visit the Lakefront Radio website to hear the whole program. It was very nice.

By Meghan Barry

It’s not unusual for the members of Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate to represent high-profile individuals in a real estate transaction – actors, professional athletes, musicians, Fortune 500 CEOs and politicians are frequently on our members’ list of clients. Celebrities often demand the highest level of service, and have the means to afford luxury living.

Country-music superstar Kenny Rogers is selling his $7.9 million Atlanta, Ga. home to live full-time on his 150-acre estate in Athens, Ga., according to a Wall Street Journal article. Although he still tours part of the year, Mr. Rogers is thinking about retiring. “This may be my last year,” he says.

In Newsday, we find that stylist couple Jonathan Adler, judge of “Top Design,” and Simon Doonan, creative director for Barney’s, recently bought a second home on Shelter Island. “We stumbled upon Shelter Island and just instantly fell in love. It’s just so mellow and chill, and there’s something about that five-minute ferry ride, it keeps it all away.”

The Montana ranch of late fashion designer Liz Claiborne sold for close to its $7.5 million asking price, The Wall Street Journal said. About 75 miles north of Missoula, the ranch includes a private lake and a nearly 9,000-square-foot house with indoor pool, guest house, indoor riding arena and a helicopter pad.

Halstead Property represented Joy Behar of ABC’s “The View” in the purchase of a $2.555 million for a two-bedroom co-op apartment in the Astor Court building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Husband-and-wife actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen sold their five-bedroom house in Malibu, Calif. for an undisclosed price – the property was listed for $16.75 million.


Editor’s Note:
Meghan Barry is the Executive Vice President of LuxuryRealEstate.com. She works closely with CEO/Publisher John Brian Losh to organize a variety of Luxury Real Estate programs, events and services. Lifestyles of the rich and famous – that’s the first thing that popped into my head when I read this blog entry. Luxury real estate is definitely a magnet for the wealthy and well-known, so it’s no wonder we find LuxuryRealEstate.com members working closely with big names.

By Michael Edlund

“The view is out of this world.”

I overheard this comment at an open house during our recent Luxury Real Estate Spring Retreat in San Diego. We visited an amazing property on top of a hill with vast spectacular views over a beautiful landscape. Spectacular, but still of this world. No matter how crazy, ridiculous and out of touch with reality it seems today, there might actually be a day when we buy and sell property elsewhere in the solar system.

There were a few articles published recently that made me think of this. First of all, I read about Virgin Galactic currently building Spaceport America with the support of the state of New Mexico. It’s a huge-scale initiative by the Virgin Group’s eclectic founder Sir Richard Branson, aiming to bring commercial space travel to the general American public no later than 2012. It is now decided that Virgin will build Spaceport Sweden as the gateway for European space travelers.

It’s not a matter of if but when wealthy individuals can add space travel to their wish list of spectacular experience and adventure travel. And it seems to be happening sooner than many might imagine.

With space travel, I would say that there will inevitably be a whole new service ecosystem created around this new branch of the travel industry. I would guess that one of them will be accommodation. That brings attention to The Lunar Republic Society, which sells acre-sized lots on the moon through its shop Lunar Registry.

Buying land on the moon sounds like a joke to us. Nobody owns the moon. Well, the natives of America told the European settlers back in the day that it was a joke to them to claim that man can own land at all. Manhattan was sold for $24 because nobody could imagine that land had any tangible value.

Yes, I see the difficulty for this organization to claim the right to sell moon property. But being the “Earth’s leading lunar real estate agency,” the tens of thousands of individuals that have purchased lunar lots though them are backing them in their claim. Regardless of which organization that officially wins the right to sell moon property, they will be in a very good position to do so.

Just for laughs, I did buy an acre lot in The Sea of Tranquility a while back. I never thought, of course, that there would be even a remote possibility for me to see it in my lifetime. But hey, who knows? I’m wishing Sir Richard Branson all the best of luck with his ideas – ideas that are truly out of this world. Talk about opening up a new market...


Editor’s Note:
Michael Edlund is the Director of Technology with LuxuryRealEstate.com. He is in charge of all of LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Web projects, including Web site creation, software updates and implementation, and much more. Lunar luxury? That's loony. Pardon my pun. It’s funny because I recently watched “The Right Stuff,” the great 1983 movie about the original Mercury 7 astronauts who paved the way for the Apollo missions and other space exploration. It’s funny to look at their primitive ideas of space travel, but maybe in 50 years we’ll look back with similar feelings about our current steps reaching for the moon and other worlds. I think I’d prefer to buy some property on Europa or Io.