Prominent American family's summer estate for sale

ecBy Richard C. Lewis

NEWPORT, Rhode Island (Reuters) - A mansion overlooking the Atlantic Ocean that was the summer home for the Astors, one of the most prominent families in America, is up for sale. And some think it could go to an overseas buyer.

Listed for $16 million, Beechwood is a 19,000-square-foot (1,765-sq-metre) residence set amid a row of opulent homes that staged the elaborate summer social circuit for New York society during the Gilded Age around the dawn of the 20th century.

One of the designers of the 39-room, Italianate-style home was Calvert Vaux, a principal architect of Central Park in New York City.

Real estate experts said the property is a signature symbol of Newport's heyday as the playground of the rich and famous and yet can be had for a fraction of the price of luxury residences in many parts of the world.

"In London, I've seen apartments on the market for 85 million pounds," said Ron Phipps, a broker who sells luxury properties in Rhode Island, the smallest state in the country.

"When you start talking about those numbers, $16 million is a lot but it's not obscene."
Realtors said the property could well be sold to a foreign buyer taking advantage of the weak dollar and recent slide in U.S. stock markets. Melanie Delman, Beechwood's listing agent, said she has had inquiries from overseas parties.

The home was bought in 1881 by William Backhouse Astor Jr., grandson of John Jacob Astor, the German immigrant who made a fortune in the fur trade and in Manhattan real estate.

Astor Jr.'s wife, Caroline Astor, hired an architect to add a waterfront ballroom with 800 glass panes, mirrored walls and French doors that established Beechwood as a highlighted stop of the summer social season.

Other famous family members include William Astor's son, John Jacob Astor IV, who died in the Titanic sinking, and Brooke Astor, a New York philanthropist and socialite who married into the family. She died on August 13 at the age of 105.

Composer Cole Porter is said to have written "Night and Day" during a visit and the mansion appeared in the movie "High Society" starring Fred Astaire and Grace Kelly, according to the listing firm.

"It's part of the old Newport that was the Vanderbilts, the Astors, the Carnegies," said Cecile Cohen, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. "It's going back to when Newport was the place for that group of people."

The mansion now houses a living history museum and is rented out for weddings and corporate functions.

Rueter 2007

Elementary Real Estate Vocabulary: List Price, Sales Price, Appraised Value and Assessor's Value

If you are doing any research on property values later you see a lot of conflicting information. To understand what real value is, one needs to understand the four different definitions of property value: List Price, Sales price, appraised value, and Assessors Value:

The list price is that price that a property owner sets as an asking price. Generally, this is done with awareness of the market and some experienced advice from a Realtor. In this market the list price is generally higher than the sales price, but not always.

The sales price is the negotiated price at which the buyer is willing to buy and the seller is willing to sell. In an arms length transaction, it is often referred to as market value.

The Appraised value is the price that a licensed appraiser determines ‘fair value’ to be.
In most sales situations, the appraiser has a copy of the purchase and sales agreement which shows the actual sales price. In this instance, the appraiser, with comparable sales, verifies the sales price. Appraised value is sometimes used for estate purposes, tax purposes and refinancing.

The most interesting value is the Tax Assessors value. By State Law, each town and City has an obligation to revalue all of the property in the city and town. Said revaluations typically happen between three and ten years. In East Greenwich the revaluations were based on 100% value of the property as of December 31, 2005. As the market has cooled, it is very common for the assessed value of an East Greenwich house to be 10 percent (10%) ABOVE the sales price. This should not be of major concern as the point of the assessor’s value is contextual: It should be fair value in relationship to all of the other properties in town. In the largest sense, it is.

If you valuation, however, is much higher than similar houses and the neighborhood, it may make sense to do some research. If assumption is correct and the value is higher, it will be of value for you to appeal your assessment. There is a process and documentation will be required.

www.phippsrealty.com

The Next Technology Revolution

Link to the site below and view what maybe one of the single biggest leaps in technology is the past fifty years. Simply said: this is amazing.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/129