This week's Celebrity Real Estate News courtesy of Zillow.com leads us to a Lost Island, a Ranch in Aspen, Sinbad and Fantasia setting the record straight. Enjoy this week's edition and we will see you next week for more juicy Celebrity Real Estate stories.
Aspen’s Stony Creek Ranch Listed for $47 Million
By: Diane Tuman, Zillow Content Manager | January 29, 2010
There are many expensive homes for sale in the U.S., but there is one that piqued our curiosity in Aspen. Called the “Stony Creek Ranch,” this 10-acre property is listed for $47 million.
The interesting part is that Stony Creek Ranch is owned by Karen Davidson, the widow of Bill Davidson, who died last March at age 86. Bill was the owner of NBA’s Detroit Pistons and, earlier, the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning — winners of the Stanley Cup in 2004. While Karen has taken over ownership of the Pistons (the Lightning was sold in 2008), it appears that in addition to selling Stony Creek, she is also interested in selling the Pistons.
As the WSJ reports, at age 61 and without Bill, Karen wants to downsize and the rugged Stony Creek Ranch is part of the downsizing. Bill purchased the ranch in 1996 for $8.25 million as a place to spend holidays and summers with their families.
Stony Creek Ranch is located midway between Snowmass Village and Aspen, which is a huge selling point since it has quick and easy access to both locales, plus skiing. According to the listing description, it has a “signature big red barn along Owl Creek Road is one of the most recognizable structures in the entire Aspen area.” The ranch has 11,000 sq ft, including a main house, plus five additional buildings (two guest houses, stable and two barns). The grounds have a pond and vegetable garden and, as can be imagined, include various visits by wildlife such as deer, migrating elk, fox, and an occasional bear.
> See more photos of Stony Creek Ranch
> See homes for sale in Aspen
> See Aspen home values
Do You Love TV’s ‘Lost?’ Own a Piece of the Island
By: Sarah Greenleaf, PR Intern | February 1, 2010
The season premiere of Lost is upon us (yes! finally!) so we will find out exactly what has been going on, right? RIGHT?
One of the best characters on the show is the island itself, with its gorgeous beaches, lush tropical forest and mountains. Turns out, the island is not quite so hard to reach – most of the filming is done on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.
According to my extensive Lost Internet research, many of the beach scenes are filmed on Oahu’s North Shore, which is famous for its amazing waves and surfing. However, much of the filming is done on a sound-stage (yawn) in Honolulu, HI.
Interested in losing yourself? There are some lovely homes for sale on the North Shore, many in Haleiwa, HI:
1. Check out the lovely porch at 59-660 Alapio Rd Haleiwa, HI (below) – perfect for keeping an eye out for smoke monsters, I’m sure.
2. This stunning new construction at 61-300 Kamehameha Hwy Haleiwa, HI (below) looks like paradise itself.
3. If you don’t get enough sun outside, the light-filled home at 66-023 Alapii St Haleiwa, HI (below) will make sure it is never dark. Ever.
Fantasia Sets the Record Straight: No Foreclosure
By: Whitney Tyner, Zillow PR Specialist | February 4, 2010
American Idol’s Season 3 winner, Fantasia Barrino, is hitting the talk-show circuit to promote her new album and set the record straight on her much-publicized financial drama. The 25-year-old singer owed $65,000 that she borrowed in 2006 to pay back taxes she owed the IRS and as a result, was at risk of losing her home.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Fantasia spilled all.
“The house problem wasn’t a foreclosure, and it wasn’t that I didn’t have the money. I’m not the richest, but I’ve always been a hard worker … and I thank God I’m still able to make ends meet. It could have been a lot better for me though if I would have had better management and better accountants…They ended up not paying my taxes and I had to clean up all that stuff. I had to hustle and bustle and make sure that was taken care of.”
Fantasia also told Oprah Winfrey that the situation was “very embarrassing” and confirmed that it was an auction on her home, not a foreclosure, that was threatening ownership of Fantasia’s Charlotte, NC home.
An attorney for the Broward Energy Partners lending company said in a statement that the auction was called off because an agreement has been reached between both parties. If the agreement between the two parties had not been reached, the singer’s home would have been sold at auction on Monday, Jan. 12.
Zillow’s Zestimate for the home is $1.16 million and it is located in the Rain Tree neighborhood of Charlotte where the Zillow Home Value Index is $263,300, down 8.8% from the previous year. In Rain Tree, 0.09% of all homes were foreclosed upon in November 2009.
Barrino is looking to reclaim her superstar status with a new VH1 reality series “Fantasia For Real“.
In December, we reported that actor/comedian Sinbad was in trouble with the IRS, owing $2.1 million to the state of California, as well as another $8.5 million in delinquent federal taxes and the U.S. Attorney General’s office wanted his house sold to pay the debt, according to The Detroit News.
Well, it looks like it’s happened: Sinbad’s home at 5950 Spring Valley Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302 is now for sale for $3 million. See more photos of Sinbad’s home.
