I worship and adore you,
like the goddess that you are,
loving you is easy,
you are my superstar.
I have put you up so high
through these years as one,
and when I don’t annoy you,
we do have ample fun.
So much time is writing
for this goofy blog,
You are petrified your prince
has morphed into a frog.
I enticed you with my fairytales
so you became my spouse,
my vision is through writing,
perchance we’ll get that house.
Your faith in me is rooted
you are patient like a tree,
Our family draws its spirit
from you, more than me.
The words they do elude me,
I know I can’t express,
the love I feel when with you,
the sight, the sound, the caress.
I have never felt so blessed
as when you became my wife,
with you I am happy,
you make my time a Life.
I promised you a poem,
for all the world to see,
it’s a clumsy, clownish cliche,
but what did you expect from me?
IrvineRenter
By special request: The Style Council – You’re The Best Thing
.
.
As part of my Valentine’s gift to my wife, I have asked her to show me her favorite house available for sale in Irvine. I told her it did not have to be realistically within our price range, it just had to be her dream house. If any of you have seen the video for The Secret, it does contain a thread of truth concerning goal setting and visualization of a better future. Although these things have no impact on a financial market, they can influence decisions in one’s daily life that have a powerful synergistic effect leading in many cases to the achievement of the goals and aspirations of one’s deepest vision. This post is my wife’s vision board of the perfect house.
Now if I could just get each of the 3,500 daily readers to donate $3,336.85 to my downpayment fund, I could raise the $11,679,000 necessary to buy the house. I haven’t quite figured out where I am going to come up with the $9,732 per month I would need to cover the property taxes, but according to The Secret, I don’t need to worry about how these things will happen, I just need to focus on the vision of it happening. Perhaps I am a bit myopic, but I have a hard time seeing this coming to pass…
Asking Price: $11,679,000
Income Requirement: More than you make
Downpayment Needed: More than you have
Monthly Equity Burn: Who cares?
Purchase Price: $3,969,400 for lot
Purchase Date: unknown
Address: 56 Golden Eagle, Irvine, CA 92603
| Beds: | 5 |
| Baths: | 6 |
| Sq. Ft.: | 11,700 |
| $/Sq. Ft.: | $998 |
| Lot Size: | 0.94 Acres |
| Type: | Single Family Residence |
| Style: | Mediterranean |
| Year Built: | 2006 |
| Stories: | Three or More Levels |
| View(s): | Mountain |
| Area: | Turtle Rock |
| County: | Orange |
| MLS#: | U8000513 |
| Status: | Active |
| On Redfin: | 11 days |
Tuscany inspired residence on one of Shady Canyon’s largest and most private lots. One of the finest homes yet to be offered in one of the country’s most prestigious private communities. This home features 5 large bedrooms, 6 full and 3 half baths, 3000+ square feet subterranean garage, commercial elevator and nearly 11000 feet of living area, huge pool and outdoor entertaining areas with multiple water features.
.
.
Let’s take a closer look at this property…
The view is fantastic. The rock outcrop provides an interesting focal point.
A great entertaining room with wet bar and big screen with beautiful wood inlays.
A modest room to hang out with the family. I particularly like how the indoor and outdoor spaces blend together by eliminating the separating wall.
This was one of my wife’s favorite features. Again the distinction between what is an indoor space and what is an outdoor space is blurred. The swimming pool becomes part of the environment.
The pool and spa are spectacular.
.
.
So there you have it, my wife’s Irvine dream home. I must admit, I like her vision.
For those of you who want to work on your visualization skills this Valentine’s day, I have a video for you: Kiss Me.
.
.
IR,
I hope you get the house one day……….
—–
I’ll second that hope and further it by hoping you get it for a more reasonable few million dollars.
That is, unless that’s the Fountain of Youth in the backyard, then maybe the $11.5 isn’t so bad.
IR & Wife:
Congratulations on your good life filled with love and wonderful vision for the future.
It is a gorgeous property. But is it priced properly for the area?
How do you value properties like these? It used to be that houses over $2,000,000 were their own, independent market because people purchasing at those price levels often paid cash. Then the house really was simply a traded commodity. That changed somewhat when banks started giving out 100% financing on multi-million dollar houses.
As for this property, it all depends on the buyer. For $10,000,000 you can get beachfront mansions in Newport or Laguna. IMO, that would be preferable to a canyon in Irvine, but to each his own.
Happy Valentine’s Day All…
Here’s hoping that we all find lasting love!
BD
I am not sure if I can afford to just look at the photos.
On a realistic basis, I don’t think your wife or anyone with children would like this home because it looks inpracticle, (sp?), to fence off the pool.
Yes, it would be impractical. I think it would be a challenge to have a big party with that pool so close. Some drunk it almost guaranteed to fall in.
Buy a Mega Millions ticket. It’s your only hope.
OMG best WTF house ever. 11 Mil for a 1 acre lot? Holy Frijoles Batman. I hope the fittings are gold plated. You can get beachfront in Malibu for less……..
Never say never in America.
IR could hit mega lot., or publish a best seller, or inherit from someone, or …..
Happy Valentine’s Day to all. I can’t believe IR is now writing poetry. What will he get himself involved in next?
Anyway, gotta love stories like this from the WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120294935869166831.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
The solution to all of our problems. Welfare (of the corporate kind.) Just love how any kind of government involvement in business is a bad thing as long as folks on Wall Street are getting rich. But as soon as there is a chance they will lose some money, they can’t get the government involved soon enough. Privative the profit, socialize the loss. American “capitalism” at its finest.
Yes, but not 11000 sf of luxurious space though.
In fact, only few in Irvine, Newport Beach (Coast included) are greater than 10000 sf.
Wet blanket time. That massive garage, if it’s under the main house, will have a “stack effect”, where exhaust gases will naturally pass through the framework into the rest of the house. If the garage is under the pool/spa/lake, you’re looking at water leaks in a few years.
Also, such a massive place would cost a fortune to cool and you would need a small army of servants.
All that being said, it’s a gorgeous place.
It is not anything money cannot buy or fix.
For some reason, I kept thinking it probably won’t be fun to invite your old friends over. I would be thinking: “Will any of them be envious? Will they think I am showing off?” I wouldn’t know how to behave…
Here’s another of the “$10 million per acre” properties:
http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1250099
You can save $233K if you buy it through Redfin.
who needs 10,000 sf? you’d only end up using a few rooms and the rest would be dust collectors. but that backyard is spectacular. but i’d probably pick an ocean view if i had $10 million to put into a house.
Your S. Pasadena mansion was last sold in 1997 for $4.3 million, and now listed at $52 million. What a bubble it has been – 11 times appreciation in 11 years.
Forget IR. I hope I get that house one day.
Great post – thanks for your hard work on this blog and thanks to your wife for her support of it!
IR, dont forget to get that Mega Millions Lotto. You may be closer to meet your dream that you think!
Hey IR…when you do get that house feel free to invite us all over for the opening day festivities. We promise we won’t be thinking about how envious we are or wishing bad tidings upon you. We’ll just be thinking about how lucky we are to have friends who live in such a cool house and invite us over to enjoy it with them!
Your wife sounds like an amazing woman!
You’re the ounce of optimism in a sea of daily pessimistic comments.
It’s not a matter of need, but it does seem to be a waste, unless the home represents less than 10% of your net worth.
To join the chorus always finding flaws, when you live near the ocean, commuting anywhere tends to be a nightmare. But if you’re not commuting daily, and you like hazy mornings 300+ days per year, then beachfront property’s great.
Okay, so in the spirit of IR’s dream post, I’m willing to try these “visualization techniques.” Tonight, I’m going to “visualize” that my Valentine’s date is Petra Nemcova rather the OC’s version of Tara Reid. If that doesn’t work, I’ll switch to plan B, the consumption of additional watermelon martinis.
Most people who own homes like that bought many other homes first. I don’t think you are going to rent your way into a home like that.
It requires taking risks.
Agree very, very nice home but this still is WFT pricing, I’m not sure where pricing should be but I’ll bet it’s more like $4.5-6.5 Mil
If you can afford that house, you can afford the 24 hour nanny for your kids 🙂
haha, what is the OC’s version of Tara Reid?
is that like every other girl here in her 20s?
This property reminds me of the presidential suite at the Bellagio.
I wonder, will IR make us pay for the mini bar when he invites us over?
Yes, it is a beautiful property, probably my fave in Irvine too. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
BTW, I noticed this place has had yet another price reduction:
http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1299824
It was just at $420k
# List Price High: $370,000.00
# List Price Low: $370,000.00
# Original List Price: $489,000.00
now at $279 a sq. ft.
what’s up with the “scraped ceilings” I always see listed? Aren’t they all scraped now?
All I have to say is FRIGGIN WOWSERS! Bring me a mimosa as i lay by the pool while the cabana boy fans me.
LOL. I have often thought of myself as the closest thing to a Bull on this board.
I think I’ve probably taken over as Resident Bull CW. I’m probably the only guy that has done a purchase contract this week at least… No word/counter/anything back from the bank yet though.
not before I snap it up first.
Is that a Prius in the garage? That is some kind of bizarre disconnect if a person thinks they can live in a 11,700 sq ft house while somehow being a friend to the environment by driving around town in a hybrid.
IPOP,
how much below peak price did you go?
how much below asking?
Who’s car is that?
I’m guessing the privileged 18 year old hippie daughter….. looking to save the world, one trust fund dollar at a time.
Hey, this is a nice house, but could the more experienced RE folk around here give us an idea of how much the construction costs?
I’m curious how much of the price is land and how much is ‘house’. I think that would give a better idea as to how much the ‘bubble’ has impacted a price like this.
Lets just pretend I had an acre in texas somewhere…how much would it take to build? 😀
Part of what makes these photos look so amazing is the colors of the environment (deep blue sky, green hillsides, etc.). Take it from a local Irvine resident- they shot the exteriors on the one crisp clear day we get around here (or they used photoshop enhancements). Even Shady Canyon does not look like these most days.
This house is silly. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. But it’s basically a resort. But, unfortunately, I have to work for a living so I’d only be able to enjoy it part time, like weekends. I think it would make more sense to take my $11 million and:
1) Rent a nice place for day-to-day living $2,900 – $3,200 per month
2) Go to the Montage or Ritz Carlton every Friday and stay until Monday morning, the plushest rooms ($2,000 per weekend x 3 weekends/mo, $6,000 per month total)
3) Invest my $11 million in something like $4 million in T-Bills (I know the rate is low now but assume it averages 4.25%) and $7 million in a global stock fund (assume an average of 9%), thus yielding a monthly income of $67,000 ($42,000 after tax)
4) Do whatever the hell I want with the extra $33,000 per month in free cash flow.
Bidding warrrrrrr!
I just put a check to you for $3,336.85 in the mail, best of luck!
That’s the point at which it becomes a party. I doubt people with $12mil worry much about practicality. I’ve been at office parties with less space around the pool than that, and to my knowledge nobody fell in.
Ipop,
You making a run for 26 Teak Bridge.
I was looking at that one myself.
It’s got a separate casita with full bath to keep guests from staying in the main house. Nice feature to ensure privacy.
did you take my advise and offer 150k less 8)
Didn’t make an offer on this one.
However, I took your advice and offered 750k less on 1 New Dawn. Unfortunately, my agent didn’t want to write it up.
Don’t worry Ipop, I am right behind you. I will definitely purchase in the next 12 months. I am planning on getting into my place for the next 10+ years…
This place should be free.
I’m told that high-end construction runs $400-500 per square foot, and if you start importing antique church doors from Italy…the sky’s the limit.
LOL CW! It’s pretty bad and of course, right next to the freeway. I like the WTF orig price they had on it…
you build this in TX and you will lose money for sure…. but you can also just enjoy living in it and not worry about it
I have a housed saved on my realtor.com site in Holmby Hills (Los Angeles) that has been listed for over a year. I’m watching the place along with all my $200K condos here in Chicago, just to see how it ends up.
First price, $53,000,000. That’s right, fifty-three million clams for 33 bedrooms and 41 bathrooms, if you can imagine.
It’s still for sale and the price has been reduced to $40,000,000. Such a deal! But the grounds and pool are beautiful.
I just can’t imagine that even the highest living highroller really wants 33 beds and 41 bathas. Somebody whose name we don’t know probably vastly regrets building this folly.
My guess is that this palace’s ultimate destiny is to become the headquarters of a wacko religious cult.
….And I’m right behind CW…I plan to be doing purchase contracts this time next year….
Ditto.
IR and Mrs. IR,
I hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day! As for a drunk falling in the pool, just don’t have an IHB house party…too many lushes.
My offer was around 20% less than peak pricing. There is no “list” price, as it’s not listed yet, but my offered price was perhaps 4-5% less than current market value based on what I think comparable listings in the area will sell for… Offer price is $320/sf.
Yeah ten, I saw 26 TB pop up. Betcha the sellers on Torrey Pine was very pissed right about now. Teak Bridge cost $75K more and they are listed $75K cheaper. If Torrey Pine dropped list to non-WTF, I’d make a run at them for $900K. I like the lot size and location on Torrey Pine.
T-Bills are yielding 2.27% at the moment.
Global Equities are heavily tilted towards developed market issues. I think the 9% ROR assumption is overly generous. I would suggest revising it to a more conservative 7.5% figure.
On the other hand if you want to heavily weight EM equities through something like MSCI EAFE, you may be able to achieve that 9% return target plus some more. You should be prepared for substantial volatility (sometimes as much as 40% in a single month!). That type of various would place considerable constraints on spendable cash, given you would probably want to stay invested at times of market weakness in order to avoid eroding principal.
Taxes, Taxes, Taxes. With the Dems congress, and a >50% chance of a Dem President get ready for a return to confiscatory tax rates especially on investment generated income.
The Ritz is a long commute on Monday mornings.
See what Real Estate™ is doing to you IR? Looking at MLS on Valentine’s Day! Hopefully your next anniversary isn’t going to be the in’s and out’s of Subprime.
Wow, you all have itchy trigger fingers.
If you aren’t going from renting to buying, please ignore that last sentence.
I think there’s more to this post than first meets the eye. Here’s my prediction:
By the end of 2008, IrvineRenter publishes his best-selling opus, “Shadenfreude: The Rise and Fall of the Irvine Real Estate Empire”. Midway through 2009, he and a few IHB commenters get their own real estate show, airing after “Mad Money” and borrowing heavily from the music lyrics theme of the web site. By the end of 2010, IrvineRenter pays cash for 56 Golden Eagle (and buys the lot next door to ensure that his views remain pristine).
Things start to go wrong in early 2011 when witnesses report that IrvineRenter was seen at the Shady Canyon club house, knocking back mai tais with fellow Shady Canyon resident and uber-realtor John McMonigle. After McMonigle is heard drunkenly slurring “well, I guess in theory, real estate values could go down…”, the two become best friends. They golf together, dine together and their families vacation together in the south of France. Sadly, IrvineRenter passes away at too young of an age when his head explodes from the irony of it all.
I think someone has already said it better but, I think IR should write a best seller outlining his life and times with his RE blog. Then, once it becomes a best seller he can write the companion text book for 8th graders on personal finance. I’m ready to buy the best seller for myself and pledge to buy 100 text books for our OC 8th graders.
IR you’re a couple of good books away from having a real “rich guys'” home on the water in Laguna or Newport. The heck with the pretend over priced stuff in Irvine….
BD
My prediction is that IR publishes the book and makes mad money……
However his identity is revealed and he is forced to drive around in the pope mobile with body guards surrounding him at all times to protect himself from angry vengeful home debtors.
LOL. I like the title…
BTW, Mav’s comment has crossed my mind…
That’s not a concept understood on this board mav. Here, every home is a piece of crap and is overpriced.
I think the trick is to be like Peter Schiff and just move on to the next bear market so you can be percieved as a perma-bear…… be percieved as a wacko to most even though you are a smart devil…. and stay on the Fox News payroll for years to come.
IR, Can’t you just get published ala “Primary Colors” ? Anonymous and all that ? Otherwise….what will we do ?
On a side note, thank you IrvineRentersWife for allowing us to usurp so much of your husband’s time !
Happy Valentine’s Day, to IR and your daring wife. Account on now, once
you got something big, there is always trade off. Nothing can buy time.
Holding back the years,
Thinking of the fear Ive had for so long.
When somebody hears,
Listen to the fear thats gone.
Strangled by the wishes of pater,
Hoping for the arm of mater,
Get to me sooner or later,
Nothing ever could, yeah.
Ill keep holding on,
Ill keep holding on,
Ill keep holding on,
Ill keep holding on.
Chance for me to escape from all I know.
Holding back the tears.
Theres nothing here has grown.
Ive wasted all my tears,
Wasted all those years.
Nothing had the chance to be good,
Nothing ever could, yeah.
Ill keep holding on,
Ill keep holding on,
Ill keep holding on,
Ill keep holding on
So tight.
the song from simply red
We are anchoring to the peak of the bubble, when it seemed like we would be doomed to a life of servile monotony residing in corrugated tin shacks along the 91. Now, Every time I see a price drop, my heart skips a beat!
How much are slaves these days?
I love the view and grounds.
Happy Valentine’s day.
I predict that it will be skipping a lot over the next few years then.
The 91 can kiss my white ass.
Nothing wrong with being a lush! And you better watch out…I might just jump in the pool!
However, this post made me all warm and fuzzy inside. Cute and witty poem, and a lovely dream of a house.
Today’s Los Angeles WTF listing:
http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1380882
And because it’s Valentine’s Day, something a little sexxxay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f1wNnjpCII
Enjoy your evening everyone 😀
Bet they’re trying to sell before that $120,000 supplemental tax bill comes due. Of course, with this property, they probably don’t really give a toss about $120,000 (except they haven’t paid their property taxes yet — let’s see if they pay them before they go delinquent in April).
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Now, turn off the computer, call your wife and go enjoy the sunset and have dinner on the OC coast. THAT is the reason to live around here!
What? No guesses as to who OWNS THIS HOUSE??? I really enjoyed looking at Chuck Norris’ house in Tustin Hills. It was less than this one though. Think of the guests who would show up at your party!
Hello, Mrs. IrvineRenter. I do think you two kids will envision this one into actually happening. IR’s best-selling book, The Knife Catcher and the Turkey will make it a reality. The choice will be difficult: Shady Canyon? Balboa Island? Newport Coast? Or Crystal Cove?
That’s a piece of realtor-ese to remember: “estate-sized lot” (.26 acre).
Great yard! I imagine that it is modeled after a ramshackle old place in Italy. In fact, I imagine that if you put a similar place anywhere but Irvine, you could easily achieve your little piece of paradise.
Style Council ! Holy memory lane! “Your the Best Thing” was the song my spouse and I chose for our ‘first dance’ at our wedding almost 15 years ago…
As for Shady Canyon, this is a great property – but if I had even $5 mil I’d buy a great property with an ocean view…and $11 mil buys an unbelievable home in Laguna. WTF ? Shady is just a canyon, people – with a view not unlike that you get riding down the canyon to Laguna Beach,or taking the tollroad out to the IE – the rest is hype! Oh, and a gate to keep out everyone who doesn’t pay a few extra mil to feel ‘exclusive’…
very touching on this “Single’s Awareness Day.” Also that home is absolutely breathtaking. The indoor outdoor feel of the room and the marvelous landscaping…wow.
IR and Mrs IR:
I hope you get the home of your dreams at the right price.
The home in the photos is truly gorgeous, but you also need lots of help keeping it clean so you need buckets of money to pay for taxes and gardeners and cleaners……. oh well.
Maybe if you write the sequel to David Lereah’s books and the “Dow 36 billion” you can make enough in royalties to pay for it during the next housing bubble 😉
I was going to buy that, but a 2BR condo on Garey in Pomona became available at the same time and at 1/1000th of the price. Gotta think about that commute, y’know.
Cameo Shores (CS) is tighter than the custom homes on Shady Canyon (SC) . Mind you, I love CS and the whole are of Corona del Mar west of PCH and just up by Spyglass Hill. But the homes are really packed up there and can not be compared.
Also, some people prefer view of mountains, not water. And CS has views of the Canyon that are really spectacular. Not every home, mind you.
Now, our expectations are simpler…. Either a home on TR Terrace with a view from Catalina to Mt. Wilson ( for 2MIL or less ) AND an 800 acre coffee plantation on Kailua Kona. If you want to talk ocean views, Kailua Kona is DA BOMB…. ;-D
Somehow I doubt the owner of this “hacienda” would make any runs to Home Depot. I figure the maintenance would be handled by some lackey. Possibly someone posting in this web site?
Traffic on the 91 is horrendous.. then you gotta deal with the Riverside interchange. The drive to Moreno Valley must test the patience of Job and require a car that can handle 300K miles of stop and go.
I got stuck going out of town the other day. Left Irvine at 3:00 PM via the toll road and didn’t make it to past Moreno Valley until 4:45!!!
As you note, as prices go down people move closer to their work. And as most work is in OC/LA you will see some level of RE support in OC and coastal LA. This means that areas like the Inland Empire will crater big time. This happened in ’90 and those areas lost 50% of their value. I can imagine that this time they will lose more.
Like Cramer said: “Bulldoze the Inland Empire”.
I drove by almost brand new shopping centers right next to the 60 that looked empty. 4:30PM in the afternoon and almost no cars at Home Depot and those fancy Home stores.
Abutting the stores were huge orange groves loaded with fruit. It struck me that today those orange groves are worth a lot more than the Home Depot shopping center.
Like the lady with the Rolls Convertible once told me… “you can only own so many stocks and bonds”.
You could expect that the person who owns a house like this would have a cash flow complete alien to you. Of course, they might be pretenders, but at this level they would still have some wherewithal even to pretend.
T-Bills… what a schmuck! The owner of La Hacienda would not bother with T-Bills.
Please man…. imagine yourself worth north of 80MIL (give 8r take 8 mil with the economy) with a yearly cash flow of 4MIL.
Now, come back and tell me about renting for 3000 a month.
ROTFLOL
Problem is that you can NOT buy a house with this view on Laguna Canyon or the Toll Road. See?
Hence the price for the view.