Daily Archives: January 23, 2014

Russian oligarch’s record $75M co-op buy in peril | Katonah NY Real Estate

Roman Abramovich and 828 Fifth Avenue

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s move to buy a Fifth Avenue mansion owned by the estate of the late real estate mogul Howard Ronson for $75 million is in jeopardy, because Ronson’s widow believes she can squeeze even more cash out of the oligarch.

Abramovich, who is the owner of the Chelsea Football Club, agreed in October to buy the 828 Fifth Avenue home for $75 million, and were the deal for the 22-room property to close at that price, it would dwarf the $54 million David Geffen paid for 785 Fifth Avenue, which is currently the record sale price for a co-op in the city.

But sources close to Ronson’s widow Angelika Ivanc told the New York Post that Abramovich was willing to pay even more for the mansion before trustees for Ronson’s estate accepted the offer. Ivanc is now looking to challenge the executors’ approval of the co-op sale in court in the English Channel island of Guernsey, according to the newspaper.

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/01/22/russian-oligarchs-record-75m-co-op-buy-in-peril/

At $130M, Nation’s ‘Priciest’ Manse is No Longer the Priciest | Pound Ridge NY Homes

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Copper Beech Farm, the 50-acre Greenwich estate that roared onto the market last May with a record-setting $190M price tag, has been mercilessly slashed, first down to $140M and now again down to $130M. At 68 percent of its original ask, the property is no longer home to the priciest mega-mansion in the country, having ceded the throne to Dallas’ Crespi-Hicks estate, which is still holding strong at $135M. (Jackson Land and Cattle, a 1,750-acre estate in Jackson Hole, Wyo., has been asking $175M for a while, but there several homes on that ranch and most people would consider it a working farm with investment potential instead of, say, a single-family home.)

So let’s talk details. >>

But, please, back to the blockbuster home at hand. Owned by timber mogul John Rudey, the property is stocked with a 12-bedroom mansion, a whopping 4,000—yes, four thousand—feet of water frontage, and not one, but two offshore islands. Rudey originally told the Journal that he was selling the spread, which he bought 31 years ago, because his kids had grown, but that may have been only half of the truth. According to a followup piece in the Times, Rudey’s timber holdings have been decimated by transportation issues, endangered species conservation, water limitations, and the spruce budworm, a tree-burrowing insect. These setbacks might not have impacted the Copper Beech Farm property at all had Rudey not used the sprawling waterfront estate as collateral on a series of huge loans. At one time, according to the Times, the debt attached to the property totaled a whopping $203M. (After the 2006 collapse of one of Rudey’s timber holding companies, the banks came calling. In 2011, Bank of America began foreclosure proceedings on a portion of Copper Beech Farm. The bank later backed off, but Rudey may have been forced to sell off much of his remaining timber holdings, and his $16.5M Fifth Avenue apartment, to keep creditors at bay.)

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/01/22/at-130m-nations-priciest-manse-is-no-longer-the-priciest.php

‘Overwhelming’ California Mega-Manse Wants $15.9M | Bedford Hills NY Homes

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Location: Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Price: $15,900,000 The Skinny: There’s an extremely fine line between awe-inspiring opulence and self-parody, a line that this newly renovated SoCal mega-manse smashes with a diamond-encrusted sledgehammer and then plows over with a gold-plated Rolls Royce that runs on cognac and burning bales of thousand dollar bills. It’s not that, as a matter of principle, there’s anything necessarily wrong with wine cellars, or wainscoting , or even drapes, if that’s your thing. In practice, however, an unlimited renovation budget combined with a desire to project refinement can lead to real trouble (not to mention an overabundance of reproduction statuary). Still, where one person sees trouble (wall paintings) someone else may see a home full of killer features (shooting fountains), and this mansion’s decor certainly provides plenty of opportunities for judgment-passing one way or the other. Even the brokerbabble pays homage to the sheer physical power of the place: “Upon entering, the beauty of the home instantly overwhelms you,” though whether it’s beauty that overwhelms is an open question. The six-bedroom, 10-bathroom home, which tops out at 12,500 newly bedazzled square feet and also boasts a 100,000-gallon pool, is asking $15.9M.

Countess LuAnn Slices $500K from Bridgehampton House Price | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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280 Highland Terrace Bridgehampton

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Countess LuAnn de Lesseps of The Real Housewives of New York City has lowered the asking price on her Bridgehampton house. She is apparently downsizing now that her kids are older. The price is now $9.45M, which seems fairly reasonable. This is a lovely house set on 2.2 acres, with six bedrooms, 5.5 baths in 6500sf. It’s nicely decorated and the new owners should be able to move right in. The beautiful garden overlooks preserved farm fields. “It feels like Idaho,” de Lesseps told the Wall Street Journal. “There’s a wide open feeling.” · Bridgehampton South Estate with Forever Farm Views [BHS via HREO] · RHONY Star Countess LuAnn Offers Bridgehampton House at $9.999M [CurbedHamptons] · ‘Real Housewife’ Lists Hamptons Home [WSJ]

Lovely Hook Pond Cottages Are Yours for a Mere $28M | Armonk Homes

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81 Ocean Ave East Hampton NY

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The brokerbabble for this listing begins, “Magical Hook Pond Properties are being offered together for the first time since 1968.” No arguments there—they’re lovely. One has been recently tastefully renovated and the other is “ready for an update.” The newer cottage is four bedrooms and four baths on about one acre; the older one is three bedrooms and three baths on about one acre, “with endless expansion possibilities.” Location is right on Hook Pond, with a large beach parking lot right next door! Oops. The price is going to have to come down, we think, to attract a buyer. For about the same price, you could get oceanfront. · Immediate Ocean Access on Hook Pond [Sotheby’s]