Perhaps as a way of catering to its readership, the Wall Street Journal does not call its weekly housing section “Real Estate”, but rather “Mansion”.
And Mansion is a good description of the houses that are featured every Friday. For example, here are three of the headlines from this week’s edition:
A Natural Gas Exec Turned His Colorado Ranch Into a ‘Mini Country Club.’ Now He’s Selling It for $220 Million.
The Hamptons Home Where Jackie Kennedy Summered as a Child Asks $7.5 Million
Mike Tyson’s Former Maryland Home Lands on the Market for $8.5 Million
But the one that really caught my eye was a house that wasn’t even for sale, it was a rental.
The Pacific Palisades megamansion was built by Los Angeles developer Ardie Tavangarian. Mr. Tavangarian said he decided to rent rather than sell the amenity-laden home to capitalize on increased demand for luxury homes from renters, especially those coming from densely populated cities like New York and San Francisco.
So what do you get for a rental price of $350,000 per month?
- An acre of land perched atop a promontory overlooking the Santa Monica Mountains and the ocean
- The mansion next door is owned by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
- A 40-foot-tall statement wall on the property that cost roughly $2 million (not really sure what a statement wall is)
- Six bedrooms
- A fully stocked wine cellar
- A spa
- A movie theater
- A large garage that can double as an events venue, with a car turntable that can be transformed into a dance floor.
- The master suite, accessed via a retinal scanner, has a custom-designed roof that retracts to reveal the sky, either entirely open or through glass. It can also be used as a projection screen to watch movies in bed.
- The house is fully furnished with pieces Mr. Tavangarian said he hand-selected, including a Damien Hirst painting. (I don’t know who Damien Hurst is).
- An infinity pool with a hidden Jacuzzi
- Custom cabanas
- A “sauna pod” designed to frame the mountain views
- An outdoor dining area surrounded by olive trees.
- Two safe rooms
Here’s a video tour of the house:
The house is listed with husband and wife team Branden and Rayni Williams of Hilton & Hyland.
And to give you a sense of who the target market is, here’s what Rayni had to say:
“If you figure that the elite and wealthy aren’t going to be in Europe this summer and on their yachts, they might come to L.A. and rent a very luxurious home in lieu of that yacht.”
I was always curious how the elite and wealthy spent their summers, and now I know.
But then a new thought entered my mind. Are all these people teachers? How else to explain having a summer of leisure? And if so, where did I go wrong?
P.S. There was no mention of a bathroom, but I’ll assume that there is at least one…
Damien Hirst would be devastated by his anonymity, Jim 😉
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Now I feel guilty… I’ll look him up later today. 🙂
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Hope you have a strong stomach for some of his work 😉
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Not too many teachers living in a place like that.😎
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Maybe a whole school’s worth of teachers… 🙂
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I would like to live in the sauna pod, but don’t think I could even afford that
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Just give me access to the pool, the jacuzzi, the cabana, and the sauna pod. That’s all I need. I’d never have to go inside…
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yep!
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I don’t know about faculty, but I am sure there are some Deans who can afford this and they have the summers off too. I hate it when they hide the jacuzzi. Great post, Jim! Entertaining and informative, as always!
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Thanks, Brad! My wife was concerned about the hidden jacuzzi as well. Otherwise, we may have considered the place…
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I am with her…who hides a jacuzzi? Just makes me suspicious. I hope it isn’t hidden in one of the safe rooms, which I also assume are hidden.
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Now that would be quite a safe room!
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My wife and I looked at staying there, but the internet/wireless sucks, so we decided to stay home and Binge watch Peaky Blinders and other Netflix series instead and save the money for a rainy day
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Good idea; and after just three months, you will have saved over a million dollars 🙂
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My only concern is 1..I don’t want a Damien Hurst original hanging in my house and two that oven is just not big enough…I am also choosy about my neighbours…Apart from that it was ok but I think I will look around some more it was a bit basic…Who am I kidding…sigh
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You’ve got better weather.
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I forgot that its a given here…sigh…I won’t add I was in the shower at 2 o’clock this morning as it was just too hot….
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Hmmmm….. that doesn’t sound good…
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I love the closet and sauna room and the cut out tub! But maybe if I just play that music at my house I can pretend! 😊
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The music was great.
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I knew that most teachers are well paid, but didn’t knew it was so much..:’D
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We are part of the 1% 😀
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Not sure I would if I could, but the opportunity to test myself would be nice.
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I’d be happy to just try it out for a weekend. Maybe hang with Tom Hanks.
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Sheesh! I was about to say, “Oh, how the other half live!” But, let’s be serious: It’s the one percent.
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Or more likely half the 1%
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For real! 👏🏻
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At about $440, it is tempting to rent the home for an hour if possible. Or maybe get a bunch of friends to pitch in and rent for a day. 🙂
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Maybe it’s available through Airbnb. 😀
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For that price I expect a chef and meals cooked to order, and a bathroom each 😂😂
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And a personal trainer, and a masseuse, and a chauffeur, and a… 🙂
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Wow imagine having enough money to spend summer in a mansion like that!
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Or even one night!
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Yeah even one night would be amazing!
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I think I will have to crack open my piggy bank. I may be able to afford the 1 bathroom that it must have! Is it stocked with toilet paper too?
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Toilet paper is $5,000 per month…
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Jim, this is a box. A pretty big one. It has no character, we’d spend all our time looking for our family and dusting. No thanks. For the beach is a beach house. A shack for me. You might afford a light bulb, or maybe one handtowel. LOL it’s obsene.
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It is outrageous, Chrissie. But I guess if you could afford that you could hire someone to keep the place clean…
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Why? All my money goes to pay a cleaner because I can’t do it. So I lose out on things I’d like. That saying is weird… I’ve spent ages trying to even like your posts. Something weird is going on with wordpress.
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I guess for the one-percenters, having someone cut their grass or clean their house doesn’t stop them from spending money on things they like. And yes, there is no explaining WordPress…
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LOL Glad I ain’t elite or wealthy. Just some forever wannabe. 🙂
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I wouldn’t mind giving it a shot to see what it’s like… 🙂
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That is a ridiculous amount of money. I enjoyed the tour, but still a ridiculous amount. 🙂
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I can’t even…
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Neither canI! 🙂
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Jim, your discussion reminds me of watching long ago episodes of “The Rich and Famous.”
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yes, that was a fun show to watch…
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