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May 28, 2023 by Brett Tams

In today’s modern world, the house goals of yesteryear are a distant memory.

Long gone are the days of window shutters, oversized crystal chandeliers, multiple small rooms, intricate designs, wrought-iron railings, small windows, and large porches with overhanging beams.

Modern mansions favor simple and clean designs with open spaces.

While traditional mansions offer intricate and elegant details, today’s luxury homes feature straight lines, geometric shapes, a flat or low-sloped roof, and clean exteriors with little to no texture.

Luxurious homes of the past featured building materials such as brick, wood, plaster, stucco, and stone. Meanwhile, contemporary mansions favor newer, more technologically-advanced building materials including reinforced steel and concrete.

And windows, lots and lots of floor-to-ceiling windows.

Sophisticated smart homes are all the rage, as are connected outdoor spaces, white rooms and simple color palettes, open floor plans, glass walls allowing for ample natural light, green features, security settings, and the utmost privacy.

While traditional mansions typically featured a number of small, single-purpose rooms, modern floor plans include seamless open-ended spaces.

After all, one cannot be confined to small spaces while living that luxurious lifestyle!

A closer look at 18 of our favorite modern mansions

When it comes to stunning estates, we’ve got you covered.

From wraparound pools featuring panoramic views to glass walls for days, to dream chef kitchens, to seamless indoor-outdoor living spaces, we’re taking a look at 18 modern mansions that have knocked our socks off.

And we think you’ll (really, really) like them too.

A Marc Whipple-designed modern mansion with a wraparound pool

Designed by acclaimed architect Marc Whipple, this massive 11,200-square-foot home in Beverly Hills is quite a stunner.

^{Photo by Tyler Hogan, courtesy of Sally Forster Jones of Compass}

Offering six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and two half baths, the multi-million dollar manse features disappearing walls of glass, so that its residents can enjoy the stunning views from each and every room.

Speaking of views, they’re completely unobstructed, with downtown Los Angeles, Catalina Island, and the coastline on full display. Those lovely landscapes can be seen from the home’s stunning wraparound pool.

Other luxurious amenities include a movie theater, a secret Zen garden, gym, guest house, glass wine cellar, gated driveway, and an outdoor kitchen.

^{Photo by Tyler Hogan, courtesy of Sally Forster Jones of Compass}

This Beverly Hills manse had its moment of fame a few years back, when it was rented by Rockstar hitmaker Post Malone. It was later listed for sale with a whopping $26 million asking price.

A breathtaking Hollywood mega mansion with museum-quality energy crystals throughout

Built in 2021, this mega mansion is located in the heart of Hollywood.

Boasting panoramic views of downtown Los Angeles, the Pacific Ocean, and the canyon, the home offers six beds, nine baths, and nearly 10,365 square feet of living space.

^{Photo credit: Sean Gordon courtesy of The Agency}

The sophisticated smart home features museum-quality crystals sourced from around the world and placed with extraordinary care throughout to energetically enhance the residence.

Offering double-height ceilings and incredible indoor/ outdoor living spaces, the California compound also includes a custom home theater, fitness center, wine cellar, second living room and all the finest custom finishes.

^{Photo credit: Sean Gordon courtesy of The Agency}

Setting a new gold standard for Southern California living, the picturesque backyard — which is front row to the city and canyons — features a beautiful sparkling pool/spa, a built-in BBQ area, and a grassy green lawn.

See more of this unique Hollywood mega-mansion here.

A striking $150M modern mansion in Bel-Air with 360-degree views

This beautiful home in Bel-Air has all the bells and whistles you’d expect in a modern mansion (and then some).

^{Photo credit: Matthew Momberge courtesy of Compass}

Designed by award-winning architecture and design firm, Saota, the private compound is perched on a promontory high above the city — opening up to unobstructed, 360-degree views of Los Angeles.

Set on a 1.15-acre lot, the swanky crib offers nine bedrooms and fourteen baths spread across 20,841 square feet.

Some of the luxury amenities include an infinity pool with a secluded cabana and pool-side sunken fire pit, three separate staff quarters, and a one-bedroom guest house with a separate, private pool.

^{Photo credit: Matthew Momberge courtesy of Compass}

This magnificent manse was owned by George Ruan, co-founder of online coupon-clipping company Honey (now part of Paypal).

The Razor House in San Diego, the real-life Iron Man house

The one-of-a-kind architectural masterpiece known as The Razor House was designed in 2007 by San Diego-based architect Wallace E. Cunningham.

^{Photo credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

The striking concrete and glass mansion — dubbed ‘the Iron Man house’ due to its resemblance to Tony Stark’s mansion in the famous Marvel movie — is perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Offering endless concrete terraces, the stunning estate has mesmerizing views of surrounding hills and the ocean below.

^{Photo credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

Featuring several outdoor lounge areas, the luxurious three-story home comes with six bedrooms and six baths, with nearly every room opening up to jaw-dropping views.

In 2019, Grammy Award-winning singer Alicia Keys and husband Swizz Beatz bought The Razor House in a $20.8 million deal.

Villa Vella, one of Europe’s finest contemporary homes

Spanish dream house, anyone?

Dubbed Villa Vela, this sprawling 23,476-square-foot property is located in the sun-bathed province of Andalusia, Spain.

^{Photo credit: The Agency}

Sitting behind its own gates, at the end of a sweeping driveway, Villa Vela offers a total of six bedrooms and six baths.

The posh property has been designed to be free-flowing and, as such, has an open plan, including floor-to-ceiling retracting windows that open directly onto a terrace that stretches from one end of the house to the other.

^{Photo credit: The Agency}

Not to mention, each of the suites has its own outdoor space, and they also all connect directly to the vast upper terrace, its lawn, garden, and dining area, and benefit from breathtaking views.

A futuristic, yacht-shaped mansion perched high atop the Los Angeles hills

This 17,000-square-foot modern residential oasis in the upscale LA neighborhood of Brentwood is redefining luxury living.

^{Photo credit: The Agency}

Southern California-based architectural firm de Loren & Associates purposefully designed the building by superior wellness standards, without sacrificing on design but rather adding to it.

Inspired by the clean lines and interior spatial layouts of yachts paired with the motion of the sea, the curving exterior facades are reminiscent of ocean waves, wind, and clouds that make not only for an exhilarating lifestyle but also appealing to the eye.

The modern mansion boasts seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and three powder rooms across three levels.

^{Photo credit: The Agency}

Featuring a massive list of upscale amenities, the beautiful Brentwood home offers a 610-bottle wine cellar, commercial speed glass elevator, movie theater, state-of-the-art gym, a 300 sq. ft. green wall, and a lower-level entertainment area with a full bar, pool table and more.

And there’s plenty of room for Stormi and Wolf to explore! Turns out, this luxurious residence is owned by none other than rapper Travis Scott.

A newly-built Encino mansion with bright, airy, and warm interiors

We can’t get enough of this amenity-rich mansion with modern interiors and a killer guest house.

^{Photo credit: LA Light Photography and The Luxury Level}

The seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom Encino home offers 9,081 square feet of living space enclosed within a private, gated estate with surrounding landscape.

The stunning estate is a beautiful example of modern California living, with picture-perfect interiors, exquisite finishes, jetliner views, and plenty of attractive amenities.

Featuring warm wood tones, the large windows and Fleetwood doors open up to unobstructed views and plenty of natural light.

^{Photo credit: LA Light Photography and The Luxury Level}

The carefully thought-out finishes give the home a modern vibe that extends into the bedrooms as well. The second level of this luxury Encino home has four bedrooms, including the master suite, which walks out to a 1,200-square-foot balcony with a fire table.

Naturally, this wonderful modern manse caught the eye of a famous buyer; it’s now owned by Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and husband Justin Mikita.

A modern 4-story house facing one of the most beautiful coastal shorelines in all of California

We love this modern mansion set in the most desirable area of Manhattan Beach, The Strand, an oceanfront neighborhood lined with modern-looking mansions that typically sell in the $5 million to $15 million range.

^{Photo credit: Paul Jonason courtesy of Stroyke Properties Group}

Spanning 6,978 square feet of modern living space, the home offers six bedrooms and eight baths.

Designed by renowned L.A. studio KAA Design, this four-story home was envisioned around life, in all its texture, at the beach.

Rather than cluster sleeping areas on a single floor, they’re strategically spaced across the four levels, with the third floor being home to a primary suite with a private office that’s luxuriously sequestered in the style of a penthouse.

^{Photo credit: Paul Jonason courtesy of Stroyke Properties Group}

The private elevator takes residents and guests down to the beach room, which is level with the Strand itself, and lounge on the patio, front row to a peaceful scene of sea, sand, and sky.

Read more about this beautiful modern mansion here.

A $70M contemporary marvel that reimagines luxury living for the 21st century

Located in the coveted Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, this modern mansion is what happens when a star-studded team consisting of award-winning architect Noah Walker, AD 100 interior designer, Jamie Bush, and renowned landscape designer, Christine London LTD comes together.

^{Image credit: Benny Chan courtesy of The Agency}

Spanning 19,000 square feet, this beautiful abode is set on a sprawling four-acre lot and offers six bedrooms and 12 bathrooms alongside many recreation rooms.

The plush property has 270-degree views of the city, ocean, and canyon, and a long list of amenities that include a theater room — with acoustical wall paneling and a commercial cinema-quality projection system — a gym with a steam room, a 75-foot indoor lap pool, outdoor architectural pool and dual offices.

^{Image credit: Benny Chan courtesy of The Agency}

We first covered this luxurious contemporary home when it first came to market last year with an ambitious asking price of $70 million.

Just a few months later, it was purchased by music mogul Scooter Braun (better known as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande’s manager, and Taylor Swift‘s manager-turned-foe) for $65 million.

The Ora House in San Diego, where contemporary architecture meets serene living

In the hilly, seaside neighborhood of La Jolla in San Diego, a modern cliffside mansion has all the dream house vibes.

^{Street view of the property. Photo credit: Blue Heron}

Built by Blue Heron’s BH Elite custom home division, the Ora House, as the property has been named, is a true architectural marvel.

The stellar design team incorporated the same innovative biophilic design and advanced Savant technology used in Blue Heron’s flagship home, VM001 in Las Vegas, to “enhance the flow of life while creating an overall sense of peace and natural wellbeing.”

The cliffside estate is set in La Jolla’s exclusive Bird Rock Waterfront enclave and totals 8,878 square feet of living space.

^{Photo credit: Blue Heron}

The architectural marvel has five bedrooms and eight baths across its four levels, with each level embracing the outdoors with spaces tailored for both entertaining and private moments.

A striking celebrity compound with a modern heptagon-shaped house

Check out this contemporary compound in La Crescenta, Calif.

^{Photo credit: Cameron Carothers courtesy of Compass}

Designed by AD100 architect Michael Maltzan, this dramatic, heptagon-shaped house has spaceship vibes, is surrounded by seven exterior walls (some made out of glass), and is anchored by an open-air courtyard that sits right at the center.

Nearly all the rooms of the house come with sliding floor-to-ceiling windows that open up to either the serene courtyard or beautiful mountain and city skyline views.

Some of the stand-out features of the modern mansion include a primary suite with an entire wall of glass that opens up to a generously sized balcony and a particularly unique bathroom with a blue curved penny-tiled wall surrounding the shower.

^{Photo credit: Cameron Carothers courtesy of Compass}

This unique home was owned by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael Peter Balzary, known professionally as Flea.

A $25 million Napa Valley glass house with killer views

Surrounded by over 40 acres of lush grounds set amidst California’s world-class wine country, this striking architectural home goes by the name of Karinya.

The highly suitable moniker originates from the Australian aboriginal culture and is simply translated as “peaceful home.”

^{Image credit: Adam Rouse courtesy of Coldwell Banker}

Built in 2017, the stunning estate is nestled in the small community of Deer Park right next to St. Helena in Napa County.

Spanning 8,837 square feet, the impressive residence was built with natural materials, a deep connection to the valley’s views, and a design that boasts both beauty and luxury.

Not a detail is spared at Karinya, with many luxurious features such as endless walls of glass, a 2,000-bottle wine room, and an acoustically-designed media/ theater room.

^{Image credit: Adam Rouse courtesy of Coldwell Banker}

Fitting a modern dream house, it also comes with a detailed smart home system with mobile phone control access that controls the music, air conditioning, security and programmable LED recessed lighting in 11 separate zones and a fire sprinkler system.

See more of this lovely Napa Valley home here.

A modern mansion that was once featured in the Oscar-winning “La La Land” movie

Set in the popular Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, this modern mansion offers an impressive cutting-edge design.

^{Photo credit: Compass}

The six-bedroom home wows with its soaring ceilings and walls of glass that bring the outdoors in.

Complete with an infinity pool and spa (with a cascading waterfall) and a nifty pool/guest house with a sundeck for outdoor entertainment, the home is peppered with outdoor spots to relax and enjoy the lovely Cali weather.

In case you’re getting a strong sense of deja vu, this beautiful home was featured in the popular film, La La Land.

^{Photo credit: Compass}

As the story goes, Mia (played by Emma Stone) and her friends attend a lavish party hoping to meet influential people in the business and finally get their lucky break.

You guessed it, this memorable movie scene was filmed at this gorgeous Los Angeles estate.

A celebrity chef’s former home with a massive kitchen anchored by a 24-foot stone island

Located in the coveted Via Bluffs enclave of Pacific Palisades, this modern mansion spans 6,500 square feet of luxurious living.

^{Photo credit: credit: Smith Cho / Compass}

Offering massive sliding windows that open up to beautiful views of Potrero Canyon and beyond, the sumptuous five-bedroom, five-bathroom home is filled with natural light streaming in from the surrounding floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors, while the skylights pour even more light onto the main and top floors.

The Pacific Palisades property also flaunts features like a dual-faced fireplace, a nearly 24-foot kitchen island, and a distinct living room that’s pouring out onto the outside deck overlooking the pool.

A large open-layout living area is anchored by an impressive dream kitchen.

^{Photo credit: credit: Smith Cho / Compass}

This beautiful home was once owned by celebrity chef, Everyday Italian, and Giada At Home star Giada de Laurentiis.

A beautiful modern mansion tucked in the Hollywood Hills

Built in 2019, this Marc Whipple-designed home is a true Hollywood gem.

Located on the glamorous Sunset Strip, in the Hollywood Hills West neighborhood of Los Angeles, this home oozes that clean-lined modernist approach, while still offering warmth and comfort.

^{Photo credit: credit: Jonathan Ducrest and Tom Hunter}

The posh property incorporates five bedrooms, six bathrooms, as well as two half-bathrooms, all with breathtaking views spreading from the Hollywood sign right to the Pacific Ocean.

The main entrance offers an open-concept kitchen and three terraces that total 5,000 additional square feet of outdoor living space.

And, the middle level features a second living room and a luxurious ‘floating glass box’ master suite.

^{Photo credit: Tom Hunter Photography.}

^{Photo credit: credit: Jonathan Ducrest and Tom Hunter}

^{Photo credit: Tom Hunter Photography.}

^{Photo credit: credit: Jonathan Ducrest and Tom Hunter}

All the bedrooms offer easy access to the infinity pool, which provides stunning views of the surroundings and a perfect setting to enjoy summer nights and sunsets in complete privacy.

A Malibu gem that’s often rented to high-profile celebrities

This Malibu celeb magnet is the epitome of indoor-outdoor Cali living, featuring large glass walls that seamlessly blend the interior with the grounds.

Perched above the Pacific Ocean, the three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,100-square-foot Malibu mansion is every bit the modern gem.

^{Photo credit: Hagai Aharon}

It’s the perfect property for entertaining, as it includes an infinity pool with fabulous ocean views, a spa, and a fire pit.

The entertainment continues inside, as the house includes not one, but three indoor fireplaces, as well as a media room, making sure you stay entertained throughout the entire year.

Amenities include everything you could possibly need, from in-unit laundry and air conditioning to five parking spaces, an outdoor patio, and a cabana.

^{Photo credit: Hagai Aharon}

The house not only rents out to celebrities such as Matthew Perry, Cardi B, and Taraji P. Henson, but it’s also owned by one.

Betty Moon, a celebrated Los Angeles musician, songwriter and producer, currently owns the plush property which she recently renovated before listing it for rent.

An impeccably designed modern mansion that embraces indoor-outdoor living

Located in the upscale neighborhood Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, this three-story home was designed and built by renowned developer/designer duo David and Eliana Rokach.

^{Photo credit: The Agency}

This multi-million dollar mansion offers a sprawling 13,543 square feet of modern living space and packs nine bedrooms and twelve bathrooms.

Boasting unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Canyon, the stunning estate offers an open-concept living/dining room finished in a chic, contemporary style.

The living room features custom-made electronic sliding steel doors that open to a beautiful outdoor area, which features a barbecue area, a grassy backyard, and an infinity-edge swimming pool opening up to views for miles.

^{Photo credit: The Agency}

A modern hillside lair with canyon views

Situated in Los Angeles’ coveted Brentwood neighborhood, this hillside lair with expansive living spaces, eco-friendly details, and ultra-high-end finishes gives us serious dream house goals.

^{Photo credit: Noel Kleinman courtesy of Compass}

The main entrance features a Japanese-imported Yakisugi front door and bonsai adorned atrium that leads to the open-concept living space.

Here, a chic palette of luxurious stone and reflective glass is accented by unique designer details, and floor-to-ceiling windows provide natural light throughout the day.

^{Photo credit: Noel Kleinman courtesy of Compass}

Offering sweeping views of the canyon, the four-bedroom home comes equipped with the latest technology for entertainment, comfort, and sustainability.

This includes a full automation system, Lutron Solar System lighting, home theater and surround sound from Bang & Olufsen, a home gym, and much more.

Apache is functioning normally

May 28, 2023 by Brett Tams

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Guest Post The Top 5 Neighborhoods in The DC Area for Runners You’re lucky you don’t live in Boston. They rank #1 in the nation for most hours lost to sitting in traffic congestion. Bostonians lose 164 hours staring at the back of someone else’s bumper. … [Read more…]

Apache is functioning normally

May 28, 2023 by Brett Tams

Would you be worried about noise, traffic, or unwanted media attention?

[find-an-apartment]

Mr. Bieber has engaged in some questionable activities, suggesting — for some, at least – a possibility of less than neighborly behavior. There was the report of an alleged egging of a neighbor’s home in Los Angeles, and also claims that Bieber has allegedly driven a car unsafely. A petition to deport Bieber from the United States has received over 269,000 signatures.

An informal poll conducted by the author among a few friends revealed varied opinions about hypothetically having Bieber as a neighbor:

“I’d move.”

“I’d worry for my safety, and take measures to protect myself.”

“I’d want to help and mother him.”

“I’d be thrilled to get close to the ‘celebrity life.’”

“I’d ignore or tolerate the extra attention…to a point.”

“I’d prefer Jennifer Lawrence.”

What challenges might a celebrity presence bring to a neighborhood? Any fringe benefits, perhaps?

Would you move if a celebrity became your neighbor?

Here at Apartment Guide, we thought the situation merited some thought on the nature of the neighbor relationship.

What is good neighbor behavior?

Good neighbors are respectful: they pay attention to loud music or other unreasonably distracting behavior which might annoy their neighbors.
Good neighbors are good pet parents. They control their pets so that neighbors don’t have to interact with them, if they would prefer not to.
Good neighbors follow parking and garbage disposal guidelines in the community.
Good neighbors don’t engage in unsafe behavior at home.
Good neighbors are tolerant of differences between people. They realize when personal prejudices might affect how they treat a neighbor.
Good neighbors watch out for each other. They’re aware of what’s going on in the neighborhood.
Good neighbors follow the Golden Rule: behave toward others as you would have others behave toward you!

Photo credit: JStone / Shutterstock.com

Apache is functioning normally

May 28, 2023 by Brett Tams

Considering a move to a larger apartment? Wondering if you can afford a second bedroom?

We wondered the same thing and decided to look at our data to see what metro areas had the biggest percentage rent increase from one bedroom to two bedrooms.

In metros with at least 50 apartment listings, we looked at the lowest-price one bedroom and two bedroom apartment units to determine the average percentage increase between the two inside the same community. We included only apartment listings for which there were both one and two bedroom offerings located on the same property.

The Top Ten

1 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	34%
2 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	32%
3 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX	32%
4 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	30%
5 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA	29%
6 Tulsa, OK	28%
7 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	28%
8 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	28%
9 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO	26%
10 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI	26%

They say everything’s bigger in Texas…

If you live in one of four major metros in Texas, there’s a premium on that extra bedroom. In fact, they were the top four on our list. These four Texas areas are the only ones on our list with 30% or greater increases between average one and two bedroom apartment rental rates.

The CBS affiliate in Dallas/Fort Worth recently attributed the booming rental market to high-paying jobs for younger people. According to national market analysis manager for MPF Research, Jay Parsons, “the apartment market key segment is the folks between the ages of 20 to 34-year-olds, and that segment has grown in DFW (Dallas and Fort Worth) by about 8-percent in the past five years,” helping the rental market there reach a more than 94-percent occupancy rate.

This growth in apartment demand may help explain why Dallas/Fort Worth tops our list. On average, it costs 34% more to rent a two bedroom apartment than a one bedroom in this rental market.

Where you might opt to move up

What about the other end of the spectrum?

It is least expensive, on average, to make the same move in these spots:

Birmingham-Hoover, AL	16%
Reno-Sparks, NV	16%
Columbus, GA-AL	16%
Akron, OH	16%
Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC	16%
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL	16%
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC	15%
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	15%
Fayetteville, NC	13%
Fresno, CA	12%

In Reno, renting a two bedroom apartment is less of a gamble!

Metros that fall somewhere in the middle

Several major markets fall more to the middle range, in our look at the data.

Portland, Oregon – arguably as hip a city as Austin – costs less on average to make the switch from one to two bedrooms.
For a time last year, Nashville, Tennessee, had the highest percentage rent growth in the nation. But renting a two bedroom apartment in the city is only, on average, 22% more expensive than renting a one bedroom – a more reasonable difference than in about 25 other metro areas on our list.
Major metros like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and the Washington, D.C., area are not at the top of this list, despite their popularity — and relatively high rent rates.

Methodology: In 2014, in CBSAs (Core Based Statistical Areas, also commonly referred to as metros) with at least 50 apartment listings on ApartmentGuide.com, we looked at the lowest-price one bedroom and two bedroom apartment units to determine the average percentage increase between the two inside the same community. We included only apartment listings for which there were both one and two bedroom offerings located on the same property.

Apache is functioning normally

May 27, 2023 by Brett Tams

If we were to ask you to imagine your dream home, what would your mind conjure up?

Perhaps you’d love a penthouse in the skies or a palatial property with sweeping gardens. What about a lush forest paradise away from civilization or an opulent oceanfront property?

Maybe a hillside mansion with an infinity pool or a good ol’ swanky apartment in a coveted address is more your style.

What if we told you that you no longer need to choose just one view or destination because you can have it all?

^{A luxurious penthouse on the NJORD Superyacht. Photo credit: Ocean Residences}

Welcome aboard the NJORD, a one-of-a-kind superyacht that redefines luxury living as we know it.

Aptly named after the Norse god of the wind and seas, NJORD is being developed by Ocean Residences Development and German shipyard, Meyer Werft.

A look at the luxury homes aboard the NJORD Superyacht

Once completed, NJORD will offer 117 private residences that range from 1,500 to 9,000 square feet with two to six bedrooms. There will also be 16 duplexes and triplexes that have their own private elevators.

The prestigious homes will be priced from $8.5 million to $70 million.

The project is expected to be completed by 2026, but the first ten homes aboard the NJORD Superyacht are already up for grabs. And they’re quite spectacular!

^{Bedroom of a luxury residence on the NJORD Superyacht. Photo credit: David Linley | Ocean Residences}

To add a personalized touch, the developers have brought many interior designers and architects on board including Kelly Hoppen and David Linley who have worked on the first 10 units as well as Jean-Michel Gathy, Francesca Muzio, Sabrina Monteleone, Taylor Howes, and 1508 London.

^{Inside a luxury residence on the NJORD Superyacht. Photo credit: David Linley | Ocean Residences}

Future residents can choose from 15 different floor plans and — while each residence is intended to be unique — there are also certain similarities like floor-to-ceiling windows, smart home technology, Gaggenau appliances, and of course, private balconies with spectacular views of the ocean.

^{Inside the luxury homes of the NJORD Superyacht. Photo credit: Ocean Residences}

The epic 948-feet superyacht also includes other features like gourmet kitchens with custom cabinetry by Studio Becker, walk-in closets, ensuite bathrooms, personalized housekeeping, laundry, and tailoring services.

The luxury doesn’t end there though.

The vessel comes with a travel and excursion concierge for the more adventurous residents, a Eurocopter 160, four superyacht limo tenders, two dive and fishing boats, a dive center, and an excursion lounge.

^{The deck of a penthouse aboard the NJORD Superyacht. Photo credit: Ocean Residences}

All of the residents’ culinary requirements will be taken care of in the six world-class restaurants and bars on board.

For the health and mental well-being of residents, there’s the Chenot Spa and Wellness Center and a Chenot Gym and Fitness Center.

Other than that, there’s also a telescope space observatory, a golf simulator and pro shop, a gourmet market and shops, a kids club, outdoor terraces, and multiple pools.

Lastly, the party never has to end thanks to the onboard nightclub, jazz lounge, and 10,000 -bottle wine cellar.

The first 10 private NJORD residences are now on the market

While the groundbreaking residential project is only slated for completion in 2026, the first private homes aboard the superyacht have recently been listed for sale.

^{The living room of a luxury residence on the NJORD Superyacht. Photo credit: David Linley | Ocean Residences}

The sales and marketing for the first ten residences aboard NJORD will be led by global real estate brokerage The Agency, with CEO/founder Mauricio Umansky and principal & managing partner Santiago Arana at the helm.

“We are proud to represent the sales and marketing for the first ten incredible residences aboard NJORD, one of the most innovative and exclusive residential offerings in the world,” says Mauricio Umansky.

“With its thoughtfully designed residences, endless array of amenities and philanthropic and scientific purpose, buyers have the unique opportunity to live aboard one of the finest vessels to ever be built,” Umansky added.

^{Bedroom of a luxury residence on the NJORD Superyacht. Photo credit: David Linley | Ocean Residences}

If Mauricio Umansky’s name rings a bell but you don’t know where from, you might know him from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (he’s Kyle Richard’s husband).

You’ll also be seeing a lot more of him on Netflix’s Buying Beverly Hills, which follows him and his stellar team of real estate agents. And we’re kind of hoping the new reality series will also give us a closer look inside the NJORD Superyacht and its luxury residences.

“We’re delighted Mauricio Umansky and Santiago Arana of The Agency will be at the helm of sales and marketing for the first ten luxury residences aboard NJORD,” said Kristian Stensby, Founder and CEO of Ocean Residences Development.

“With their combined record-breaking career success, global reach and white-glove service, we can’t think of a better team than The Agency to represent NJORD, the finest address everywhere in the world.”

Luxury meets sustainability

NJORD is more than just a collection of upscale residences.

^{The NJORD Superyacht. Photo credit: Ocean Residences}

It’s an adventure around the globe and, according to Alain Gruber, COO of Ocean Residences Development Ltd, residents can choose to either completely relax or participate in the activities and expeditions planned by the concierge.

The best part about NJORD (other than the fact that you will get to circumnavigate the planet) is that you will do so sustainably.

The developers aim to build it under strict environmental regulations to minimize its carbon footprint.

The vessel will not only use carbon-neutral fuel but also include a professional oceanographic laboratory, a cloud computing system, multibeam echo sounders, and other resources to help the scientific community tackle environmental issues like climate change.

Talk about a new wave of residential living!

More stories you might like

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A striking $150M modern mansion could set a new record for Bel Air
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Source: fancypantshomes.com

Apache is functioning normally

May 27, 2023 by Brett Tams

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

American Express, Capital One, Chase and Citi are four of the major players in the travel credit card space. As such, these issuers offer their own travel portals, where users can earn and redeem their points and miles for flights, hotels, car rentals and more.

These issuers also incentivize their cardholders to use the bank’s own portal, done by offering bonus points on bookings.

For instance, with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you’ll earn 10 miles per dollar on hotel and car rentals and 5 miles per dollar on flights — but only when booked through the Capital One Travel portal. Purchases made outside the portal earn 2 miles per dollar.

Likewise, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar on all travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Otherwise, you earn 2 points per dollar on those travel purchases.

Given the lucrative earning potential that booking through these portals presents, it begs the question: Is it worth your time to use them rather than booking directly?

In this guide, we put these four travel portals to the test when booking flights. We compared price, ease of use, redemption value and other metrics.

Methodology

For this analysis, we limited our research to flights and didn’t include hotels, rental cars or other travel. That’s because we generally recommend that you avoid booking hotels through a third party since you likely won’t receive elite-status benefits (if you have any) or earn elite-qualifying stay credits.

If you’re not concerned with earning hotel elite status or are booking an independent hotel, then booking your stay through a travel portal could be advantageous for you.

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It’s also worth noting that you can get elite-like perks at hotels, even without elite status, by booking with these programs: Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts, Amex’s The Hotel Collection, Capital One’s Premier Collection, Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, Citi’s Hotel Collection and Citi’s Luxury Hotel Collection.

With flights, you may be able to “double-dip” your earnings: You can usually earn bonus points on bookings through your card issuer’s portal and earn airline and elite-qualifying miles just as you would by booking directly through the airline. That said, here are the features we examined in each portal:

Results: Do you get comprehensive results when searching through the portal?
Price: How do the prices compare to booking directly with an airline versus through a portal?
Ease of use: Is navigating the portal easy for a user? What unique features or benefits do users get from using this portal?
Redemption value: Is it worth redeeming your points and miles for travel through a portal?

With these four factors in mind, here’s how the individual issuers’ travel portals stack up.

American Express Travel portal

AMERICANEXPRESS.COM

Any American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points grants access to the Amex Travel portal. Depending on your specific card, you may earn bonus points for booking through the portal.

The Platinum Card® from American Express, for instance, earns 5 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases annually, then 1 point per dollar) and 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotel bookings made through Amex Travel. The American Express® Gold Card, meanwhile, earns 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel.

You can search for flights, hotels, flight and hotel packages, rental cars and cruises on the Amex portal.

Related: Everything you need to know about Amex Travel

Capital One travel portal

CAPITALONE.COM

The Capital One travel portal offers a fresh interface powered by the travel tech app Hopper and is accessible with most credit cards earning Capital One miles or cash back.

Bonus earnings are available, depending on which card you have. Using the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card to book flights in the portal provides 5 miles per dollar; flights booked elsewhere earn 2 miles per dollar.

Currently, you can only book flights, hotels and rental cars through the portal. The portal also houses the Premier Collection for luxury hotels. However, this is only accessible if you have the Venture X or its counterpart, the Capital One Venture X Business card.

The information for the Venture X Business card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: How to use the Capital One travel portal — now with more cards and new rewards

Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal

CHASE.COM

Chase’s Ultimate Rewards travel portal was powered by Expedia for many years, but the issuer migrated to cxLoyalty in 2021.

You can access the portal with your Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card, including popular options like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Freedom Unlimited. Cardholders can book flights, hotels, cars, activities and cruises on the Chase travel portal.

Related: Why are some flights more expensive through the Chase travel portal?

Citi travel portal

CITI.COM

The overhauled Citi travel portal launched in March 2023 after months of delays. It’s powered by Rocket Travel by Agoda, part of the Booking.com family.

You can access the portal with any credit card earning ThankYou points, and several cards earn bonus points on bookings in the portal. Unfortunately, flights aren’t included in these bonus offerings.

With Citi’s new portal, you can book flights, hotels, rental cars and attractions of numerous types. The portal also offers two hotel programs: Hotel Collection and Luxury Collection.

Related: Ultimate guide to the Citi travel portal

Booking flights

I looked at a variety of round-trip routes with the same dates (roughly six months from now) and gathered the following prices:

Itinerary	Booked directly	Amex Travel	Capital One Travel	Chase travel	Citi Travel
New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) in economy with Delta Air Lines.	$533.	$541.	$540.	$523.	$540.
Tampa (TPA) to Bozeman (BZN) in economy with American Airlines.	$786.	$786.	$786.	$786.	$786.
Baltimore (BWI) to Las Vegas (LAS) in economy with Delta Air Lines.	$720.	$720.	$720.	$720.	$720.
Miami (MIA) to Boston (BOS) in economy with JetBlue.	$418.	$418.	$338.	$418.	$412.
Chicago (ORD) to Milan (MXP) in economy with United Airlines.	$902.	$902.	$902.	$772.	$732.
Nashville (BNA) to Bogotá, Colombia (BOG) in economy with American Airlines.	$535.	$535.	$535.	$535.	$415.
Toronto (YYZ) to Seoul (ICN) in economy with Air Canada.	$1,079.	$1,952.	$1,880.	$ 2,581.	$1,952.
New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) in Delta One.	$2,798.	$2,600.	$2,798.	$2,798.	Not available.
Newark (EWR) to London (LHR) in business with British Airways.	$3,272.	$3,272.	$3,300.	$3,300.	$3,300.
San Francisco (SFO) to Singapore (SIN) in business with Singapore Airlines.	$8,351.	$7,285.	$8,521.	$9,386.	$8,521.

Price

All of the travel portals generally fared well when it came to searching economy flights versus booking directly. However, there were a few major caveats worth noting.

Southwest Airlines is not bookable on any of the portals, and tickets for low-cost airlines like Spirit Airlines and Frontier are typically more expensive on the Chase and Capital One travel portals than booking directly. Amex Travel didn’t display any Spirit Airways or Frontier Airlines flights.

When it came to international flights, all of the bank portals struggled at times to match prices or give comparable results versus booking directly. For a deeper dive on some of these routes and flight prices, we did a broader comparison across 20 flights in this guide.

As a general word of advice, domestic flights should yield the same results and price, but it gets tricky when searching for international fares. Your best bet would be to compare the prices and only use a portal when the prices are identical.

Ease of use

The Amex portal is my favorite for a comprehensible search experience, fast load times for results and the simplicity of parsing through the various options.

AMERICANEXPRESS.COM

On the other hand, the Capital One portal offers one of the most visually appealing interfaces, with color-coded dates to indicate the lowest prices in a calendar view — plus price drop protection. However, the Capital One portal did not provide as many options as its competitors on some searches. It also yielded higher prices for international routes, but I’m hopeful that the issuer will continue to make improvements in the future.

CAPITALONE.COM

Based on millions of data points from Hopper, Capital One is supposed to let you know if this is the best time to book via its price watch prediction feature.

CAPITALONE.COM

To standardize the offerings across various airlines, Capital One also provides detailed insights into what flyers can expect from their chosen fare class. With the rise of “basic economy” fares, it’s not always clear what amenities are included in your ticket and what you’ll have to pay for as extras.

Capital One does an excellent job of explaining in-depth features such as seat pitch, aircraft type, and food and beverage options on board.

CAPITALONE.COM

Speaking of basic economy, it’s worth noting Amex Travel rarely (if ever) displays these fares. If you’re looking for basic economy, you should use another portal.

Citi’s new portal does a good job of offering a broad range of results in economy and offering upgrades on the payment page. And being able to book flights plus other travel elements in one transaction is great. However, searching directly for business-class fares is tricky on this portal.

Finally, the Chase portal has seen vast improvements since fully migrating toward its cxLoyalty interface. Previously, when Chase was powered by Expedia, users complained about slow load times and much higher prices than those offered directly by the airlines. Some of those issues seem to have been resolved.

CHASE.COM

While the Ultimate Rewards portal could use some work in cleaning up the interface, the overall user experience is much better than before. That said, it’s also the portal with the highest frequency of price divergence from booking directly — sometimes higher and sometimes lower.

Redemption value

This is not a criterion we used for evaluating these bank travel portals for this particular article. The value of your points or miles can depend on which particular rewards card you carry. Still, it is worth remembering if you intend to use your credit card’s travel portal to earn or redeem points and miles.

Your credit card points or miles are typically worth 1 cent each for flights in your respective travel portal. That’s the case with Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points and Capital One credit cards. Even with the Capital One’s premium card (the Venture X), your points are only worth 1 cent each when redeemed for travel through the Capital One portal. The same applies to credit cards earning Citi ThankYou points.

On the other hand, Chase’s credit cardholders are incentivized to use the Ultimate Rewards portal via a higher redemption value. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, your points are worth 1.5 cents each toward travel bookings, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred Credit Card fetch 1.25 cents per point in value.

CHASE.COM

While not as consistent of a program, American Express offers “Insider Fares,” allowing cardholders to redeem their points for a better value than 1 cent apiece on select domestic and international itineraries. However, these can be quite specific.

AMERICANEXPRESS.COM

Select Amex business credit cardholders can also leverage the Pay with Points benefit to get a 25% to 50% points rebate when booking select airfare through Amex Travel — yet another incentive to book through the portal.

Due to all these card-specific circumstances, we didn’t make redemption values a main criterion for judging these portals for booking flights. Rather, we focused on each portal’s user interface and the availability of competitive fares — as those two factors will probably be the determinants as to whether travelers end up using them.

Related: Why I love the Amex Business Platinum’s Pay With Points perk

Bottom line

Credit card issuers have improved their travel portals over the years, but they’re still far from perfect. While there isn’t a clear winner for the best travel portal, each has unique features and incentives for its cardholders.

If you decide to book a flight through your issuer’s travel portal, be sure to compare that price against booking directly with the airline to get the best deal possible. And don’t forget that you may want to book directly anyway to avoid any headaches down the road. If you need to change or cancel your airfare, booking with a third party can complicate matters when plans change.

Additional reporting by Ryan Smith.

Source: thepointsguy.com

Apache is functioning normally

May 27, 2023 by Brett Tams

If you’re not familiar with John Lautner’s iconic Beverly Crest mansion, or with the estate’s flamboyant owner, then you’re definitely missing out. This 1963-built mansion is an architectural gem and one of Hollywood’s best-kept secrets.

The Sheats Goldstein residence: John Lautner’s organic architecture dream

The 4,500-square-foot Sheats-Goldstein residence was designed by John Lautner (one of the most noteworthy American architects of the twentieth century) and built between 1961 and 1963, in Los Angeles’ Beverly Crest neighborhood.

The concrete-and-wood house was built into the sandstone ledge of a hill, and it’s a testament to the connection between man and nature.

Each space is open and offers stunning views of downtown Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean, with glass walls throughout that serve to blend the indoors with the outdoors.

^{View from the bedroom of the Sheats-Goldstein residence in Los Angeles, California. Photo credit: Grueslayer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

John Lautner designed the American Organic Architecture house for Helen and Paul Sheats and their three children. After going through a couple of different owners, it was acquired by James F. Goldstein, a businessman, real estate investor, and fashion designer, in 1972.

At the time, the house had fallen into disrepair and was in dire need of a makeover, so Goldstein reached out to Lautner to help bring the residence back to its former glory.

SEE ALSO: 18 modern mansions that redefine house goals

What emerged was a two-decades-long partnership to remodel the house, which ended when John Lautner passed away in 1994. However, Goldstein never stopped tweaking and upgrading his Beverly Crest dwelling, even adding a nightclub to the list of amenities.

The James Goldstein house turned museum in 2016

The Sheats-Goldstein Residence, as the property is now known, still maintains all the original designs and touches that John Lautner carefully created.

^{Living room of the Sheats-Goldstein residence, Los Angeles, California. Architect John Lautner reportedly added the glass walls to the living room at owner Jimmy Goldstein’s request. Photo credit: Grueslayer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

His work is not limited to just the architecture of the house; Lautner also designed the interiors, the windows, lighting systems, all the furniture, the rugs, and other details.

James Goldstein worked with the designer for years to ensure every little detail was in tune with the overall theme of ‘organic’ architecture.

The result is a house so unique, so carefully crafted and fresh, that Goldstein wants everyone to be able to tour it and be inspired by it.

That’s why, in 2016, he decided that he would donate the house, with everything in it, to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

^{Kitchen of the Sheats-Goldstein residence, featured in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Photo credit: Grueslayer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

James Goldstein entrusted the home, its surrounding estate, as well as a 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and his eclectic wardrobe to the museum. This way, his and Lautner’s legacy will continue to inspire and attract curious minds and aspiring architects and designers. And let’s not forget about the celebrities.

Why Jimmy Goldstein’s house is Hollywood’s best-kept secret

The James Goldstein house, besides serving as home to the elusive businessman, has also been used by various showbiz producers and directors.

If you thought the house seemed familiar, you might have seen it in The Big Lebowski, as the home of porn merchant Jackie Treehorn, or in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, where it played the part of Alex’s house (Lucy Liu).

The house has also served as a setting for fashion ads and commercials, glamorous events, and, well, porn flicks. James Goldstein has always kept an open mind, apparently.

Then there’s the nightclub. Dubbed Club James, for obvious reasons, the venue was Goldstein’s idea, to keep Hollywood parties out of his house, but still close by.

^{Club James inside the Sheats-Goldstein Residence in Los Angeles. Photo credit: Grueslayer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

Exclusive parties and events are held at Club James round the clock; Rihanna celebrated her 27th birthday party here, with Jay Z, Mick Jagger, and Leo DiCaprio in attendance. Needless to say, Goldstein wants the good times to keep rolling at Club James even after he’s gone.

Movies filmed at the Sheats-Goldstein residence

James Goldstein’s unique house is one of the most popular filming locations in Los Angeles, for obvious reasons. There’s just no other place quite like it, and its intricate design and stunning architecture draw celebrities like a magnet.

Various Hollywood movies and TV shows were filmed at the Sheats-Goldstein residence, including the now-iconic The Big Lebowski.

It’s by far the most recognizable house featured in the movie, set up as the home of adult film producer Jackie Treehorn, which earned Jimmy Goldstein’s house the moniker of ‘the Big Lebowski house’.

^{Scene from The Big Lebowski showing Jeff ‘The Dude’ Lebowski inside Jackie Treehorn’s house (The Sheats-Goldstein Residence).}

The other striking property in the movie is Lebowski’s opulent mansion, which is actually another popular filming location, namely the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. This is where movies like The Social Network, Eraserhead, The Witches of Eastwick, The Prestige, and X-Men were filmed.

But while the Sheats-Goldstein residence is known by many as Jackie Treehorn’s house or the Big Lebowski house, it’s been featured in quite a long list of other movies, including Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Star Time (1992), and Bandits (2001, starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett).

It was also featured in music videos, including Doja Cat’s Say So, Nelly’s The Fix, Babyface’s We’ve Got Love, and Snoop Dogg & Pharell’s Let’s Get Blown.

SEE ALSO: Casa Loma in Toronto, another Hollywood favorite

The house is so impressive that in 2021, Kanye West aka Ye enlisted James Goldstein to help him design and spruce up his newly-purchased Malibu mansion.

The rapper was reportedly impressed and fascinated with the architecture of the Sheats-Goldstein house, and wanted to do something similar with his $57 million new home.

Unfortunately, those plans were put on hold, according to The Sun, after the star lost billions due to some very controversial remarks.

In the meantime, the residence is available for rent for photoshoots, and we’re willing to bet we’ll be seeing more of it in upcoming movies, TV shows, and music videos.

Decoding the mystery: Who is James Goldstein?

If you’re wondering, who the hell is this James Goldstein and why haven’t I heard of him before, unfortunately we don’t know a whole lot about him either.

Despite his flamboyant style and constant public appearances (he’s an avid NBA fan and attends as many matches as he possibly can), James Goldstein still remains somewhat of a mystery.

^{James ‘Jimmy’ Goldstein attends the Playboy App Kick Off Launch Celebrating Eugenia Kuzmina at The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood, in Los Angeles, on August 18, 2022. Photo credit: Eugene Powers / Shutterstock.com}

We know he grew up in Milwaukee and then moved to California to attend Stanford University, after which he got into real estate and started investing heavily in developing Century City in L.A. He’s always been into fashion, constantly in the front row at glamorous fashion shows, and he even has his own fashion line.

Back in the day, he’s also said to have had an affair with American actress, singer, and Playboy Playmate Jayne Mansfield, who was married to someone else at the time. Still, he never married, and he has no children, which is why the decision to donate his unique home to LACMA came naturally.

This is the first-ever architecture donation made to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and it’s surely one that will continue to inspire young architects, interior designers, and art and fashion aficionados for many years to come.

For now, James Goldstein is living his best, most glamorous life up in his hillside mansion overlooking the City of Angels.

What’s more, James Goldstein’s net worth is reportedly around $350 million – not a bad way to live life in your 80s, is it?

If you want to see more, take a virtual tour of the residence with Goldstein himself below:

[embedded content]

All image credit goes to James Goldstein.com

Frequently asked questions

Who lives in the Sheats Goldstein residence?

Businessman James Goldstein has been the sole owner of the Sheats-Goldstein house since he purchased it in 1972. He continues to spend time at the residence, but also often rents it out for photoshoots or as filming location for Hollywood movies or TV shows.

Where is the Goldstein residence?

The Sheats-Goldstein house is located in the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, just up the hill from the Beverly Hills city limit. Due to its location, the house offers amazing views of the city, but is also very secluded.

How much is the Goldstein house?

The James Goldstein house was in a state of disrepair when the businessman purchased it in 1972 for $185,001. Nowadays, the property is reportedly worth roughly $75 million or more.

Can you visit the Sheats-Goldstein residence?

Unfortunately, the Sheats-Goldstein house is a private property, so it’s not open to the public. But, you can rent it out for photoshoots.

Where is the Jackie Treehorn house?

The Jackie Treehorn house from The Big Lebowski is, in fact, the Sheats-Goldstein residence, owned by elusive businessman James Goldstein. It’s located in L.A.’s Beverly Crest neighborhood and it’s a private property.

More stunning homes

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House (Featured in Blade Runner) is a True Architectural Marvel
The House that Zaha Hadid Built: The Story of the Only Residence Ever Designed by “The Queen of the Curve”
The Chemosphere House and 6 other striking John Lautner-designed homesAlicia Keys’ house is a Modern Architectural Masterpiece

Source: fancypantshomes.com

Apache is functioning normally

May 27, 2023 by Brett Tams

PacWest Bancorp has sold its residential business-purpose business, Civic Financial Services, to real estate lending firm Roc360, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. The struggling Los Angeles-based regional bank closed the deal on Tuesday, but didn’t disclose financial terms, according to the report. Roc360 will take on Civic’s business operations, including its brand, data, … [Read more…]

Apache is functioning normally

May 27, 2023 by Brett Tams

A 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter/producer, not to mention best-selling author, entrepreneur and The Voice judge, Alicia Keys is a trailblazer.

With a thriving career that spans more than two decades, the Empire State of Mind singer is one of the biggest names in the music industry. And her personal life is equally full of achievements.

Back in 2010, she married record producer/rapper Swizz Beatz (by his real name, Kasseem Daoud Dean), and the two welcomed two children to the family: Egypt Daoud and Genesis Ali Dean.

So it only makes sense that this exceptional artist lives in a house that’s just as impressive as her neverending list of trophies and awards.

^{Alicia Keys’ house in La Jolla, California. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

In 2019, Grammy Award-winning singer Alicia Keys and husband Swizz Beatz paid $20.8 million for a striking cliffside mansion in San Diego’s upscale La Jolla neighborhood.

The high-profile purchase even made its way to our TV screens, as part of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listings LA show, which brought the already-famous property back into the spotlight.

The one-of-a-kind architectural masterpiece — widely known as The Razor House — has been getting people talking since it was first designed in 2007 by San Diego-based architect Wallace E. Cunningham.

The imposing concrete and glass mansion is perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

And while many have been dubbing it ‘the Iron Man house’ due to its resemblance to Tony Stark’s house, it may be time for a new nickname that suits its famous owners better.

^{Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, the famous owners of the Razor House. Image credit: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

A closer look at Alicia Keys’ house, an architectural marvel overlooking the ocean

The modern cliffside mansion was designed by AD100 architect Wallace E. Cunningham, most famous for his striking residential projects, which he likens to sculptures.

More specifically, as the architect himself put it, he designs “one-of-a-kind sculptures for people to live in.”

SEE ALSO: Drake’s House in Toronto, the Star of his ‘Toosie Slide’ Video, Is Peak Luxury

And that couldn’t be more true for some of his iconic residential projects: the Harmony House and the Wing House in Rancho Santa Fe, and the architecturally distinct Razor House that Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz now call home.

^{Alicia Keys’ house in La Jolla, CA, known as The Razor House. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

Perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the concrete and glass structure has long been rumored to be the real-life version of Tony Stark‘s futuristic mansion.

But the home has never made an appearance in any blockbuster movie.

^{View from the Razor House at sunset. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

It was, however, used for a VISA Black commercial and a luxurious Calvin Klein ad, but that’s pretty much all the screen time the mansion got.

That’s a shame because the house itself is worthy of the biggest screens on earth.

Nearly every wall in the residence is glass, while the floors are mostly hewn from travertine stone. An extra-long infinity pool (one of many) juts out over the cliff’s edge, turning swimming into the stuff dreams are made off.

^{Front-facing view of Alicia Keys’ home. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys’ house has endless concrete terraces that make the most out of the mesmerizing views of surrounding hills and the ocean below.

The three-story home comes with 6 bedrooms and 6.5 baths, with nearly every room opening up to stunning views.

SEE ALSO: Lizzo’s house in Los Angeles, a $15M luxe ‘treehouse’ with a celebrity past

^{Inside Alicia Keys’ house. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

^{Bedroom with ocean views inside Alicia Keys’ house. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

Fashioned with a state-of-the-art kitchen and giant round living room anchored by a fireplace, Alicia and her music producer husband, Swizz Beatz, have everything they need to unwind with their sons, Egypt and Genesis, including several outdoor lounge areas.

^{Inside Alicia Keys’ house, La Jolla, CA. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

SEE ALSO: Where does Adele live? A look at the $58M ‘house that Rocky built’

^{Inside Alicia Keys’ house, La Jolla, CA. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

Among its most notable amenities, the Razor House lists: an extensive fitness space, two steam rooms, a den, a theater, and a library with a custom-made Ralph Lauren pool table.

^{Inside Alicia Keys’ house, La Jolla, CA. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

The Razor House was initially listed for $30 million

Initially listed for sale in 2018 for $30 million, La Jolla’s most famous home took a little over a year to make a buyer fall in love with it up to the point of committing enough to put a ring around…. those house keys.

^{The Razor House in La Jolla, CA. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

But when it did, it nabbed more than just a nice selling price and some very famous new owners.

Putting an end to the property’s year-long run on the market, Alicia and her powerhouse music producer husband Kasseem Dean, better known as Swizz Beatz, purchased the Razor House for a cool $20.8 million.

The $20M+ selling price (despite being a considerable drop from the initial asking) made it one of the most expensive homes sold in La Jolla, California in 2019 — proving once again that whatever Alicia Keys does, she does in style and ready to set new records!

Neither Alicia Keys nor Swizz Beatz (who has produced hit singles for the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z and Beyoncé) had any connection to La Jolla or the larger San Diego area when they bought the home, leading people to speculate that the iconic residence will serve as a vacation home for the couple.

But a tour given to Architectural Digest in late 2021 proved them wrong.

Not only do Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz live in the Razor House, but they’ve turned it into an elegant, art-filled, inviting home. Take the tour:

[embedded content]

The history of the Razor House before it became Alicia Keys’ home

According to the San Diego Reader, the futuristic structure was named after the land it sits on, a three-quarter-acre lot near Razor Point.

Created for original owner Don Cooksey (a software designer and entrepreneur who later filed for bankruptcy) many architects initially backed away from the ambitious project, calling it “rebuildable”.

That’s until Cooksey approached Wallace E. Cunningham, who bought the modernist gem to life — and built the dramatic estate to match the breathtaking landscape that surrounds it.

By 2011, following the financial hardships of its initial owner, The Razor House ended up in bankruptcy sale.

^{The Razor House in La Jolla, CA. Credit: Gary Kasl courtesy of The Agency}

According to Realtor.com, Donald Burns, a Florida-based telecom entrepreneur and inventor of the magicJack — a device that allows you to make calls from your computer — purchased the property as a second home at the 2011 bankruptcy sale.

Burns paid $14,097,000 for the home and invested heavily in the property.

“He made a lot of upgrades to it,” Matt Altman, one of the property’s listing agents and star of reality TV show Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles said.

“He updated to the next level. He wasn’t doing this to make money; he was doing this to make a nice home. He did a significant amount of work on this house.”

The entire home is automated and optimized for iPad control of everything from audio and visual systems to motorized window coverings and control of the home’s radiant floor heating, air conditioning.

There’s also a backup generator to ensure power never goes down, and an entire computer room is dedicated to housing the home’s automation control systems. So basically, The Razor House may not be Iron Man’s house, but it does comes with its own Jarvis.

*This article was first published in September, 2019, reporting on the famous couple’s purchase of the home. It has since been updated for timeliness and accuracy.

More celebrity homes

Travis Scott’s House is a $23.5M Ultra-Modern, Yacht-Inspired Mansion
Where Does Lady Gaga Live? Check Out Her ‘Gypsy Palace’ in MalibuZendaya Owns a $4 Million Home Fit for a Disney Princess
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s house in Beverly Hills

Source: fancypantshomes.com

Apache is functioning normally

May 27, 2023 by Brett Tams

Alejandro Lazo | CalMatter

In this economy, who has enough money for a down payment on a house?

Despite a projected $25 billion budget deficit, the state of California does. At least for now.

The California Housing Finance Agency is poised to launch a scaled-down version of its new shared equity home loan program on March 27. With the Dream for All program, the state plans to provide $300 million worth of down payments for an estimated 2,300 first-time homebuyers.

The complicated program involves the state paying some or all of the upfront costs for buying a home — the down payment, for instance — in exchange for a share in the home’s value when it is sold, refinanced or transferred.

If the home appreciates in value, those gains to the state would then be used to fund the next borrowers — a little for the seller; a little for the next aspiring buyer.

Everybody wins — as long as prices go up.

The trouble is that home prices have been declining in the state for months, even as higher mortgage interest rates have made monthly mortgage payments more expensive.

A potential economic downturn looms as well, as the Federal Reserve weighs raising borrowing costs even further as soon as today.

And California’s tech industry is taking a beating and laying off workers, contributing to a decline in personal incomes. Income taxes are the state’s biggest revenue source.

Given the uncertainty, Gov. Gavin Newsom in January proposed a significantly smaller version of the 10-year, $10 billion program originally envisioned by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego. In his January budget, Newsom proposed spending an initial $300 million on the program, a cut from the $500 million compromise signed last year.

Optimism and expectations

The size and scope of the Dream for All program will likely be a subject of negotiations between Newsom and the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature this year. The governor is expected to offer a revised state spending plan and a new financial forecast in May. Lawmakers must pass a balanced budget by June 15 in order to get paid.

The proposed cut “will not impact the Administration’s commitment or timeline for implementing the program,” Newsom’s Department of Finance said in January.

In a Feb. 13 email to CalMatters, Christopher Woods, budget director for Atkins, said her office will seek more funding for the program.

“The Governor ‘proposing’ to pull back some funds has very little to do with what will actually happen,” Woods wrote to CalMatters, in response to earlier coverage of the program. “No one should expect the program to be cut, and we should all fully expect additional funds – perhaps as much as $1 billion – to be allocated in the 2023-24 Budget Act.”

“With interest rates rising, the program is needed more than ever … and there are several innovative ways to fund the program,” Woods wrote.

Woods declined to answer follow-up questions for this story.

Atkins, who championed the equity sharing program last year, has said the Dream for All program is a priority. She said in a recent statement she isn’t giving up on getting more money for it.

“Our state is about to launch a program that will help change people’s lives for the better, and make the dream of homeownership a reality,” she said. “While existing funding for the California Dream for All is a great first step, we are working to allocate additional funding in the upcoming state budget — with the ultimate goal of providing $1 billion per year — to help even more families set the foundation for building generational wealth.”

Falling equity

The uncertainty in the economy and housing market has been a subject of discussion at CalHFA for months, as officials and political appointees seek to launch a program meant to take advantage of rising home prices at the very moment home equity is falling.

State officials said buyers positioned to hold onto a property for the long-term are those best suited for the program when home prices are falling.

In a presentation to its board of directors in January, CalHFA officials also said the agency is planning for a program with a potentially “very short life cycle.”

“Having lived the dream of buying a house in Los Angeles in 1989, when the market peaked, and then selling it at a loss almost a decade later, I can appreciate that the market doesn’t always go up,” Jim Cervantes, CalHFA’s chair, said during that Jan. 19 meeting.

“Disclosures, whatever we can do to mitigate — or rather, have prospective buyers understand what they’re getting into — would be extremely valuable, because no one’s a good market timer.”

California home prices, already rising for years, saw big gains during the pandemic, as mortgage interest rates hit historic lows and families sought more space for their remote work set-ups to practice social distancing.

The median price of a previously-owned, single-family home in California, as tracked by the California Association of Realtors, increased 47% from March 2020 to May 2022, when it peaked at $900,170.

That same month the Federal Reserve, in order to tackle inflation, began its most aggressive interest rate hikes in years driving up mortgage costs for consumers.

Since May 2022, the state’s median home price has fallen 16.5% to hit $751,330 in January.

Market change

Despite the decline in home prices, monthly mortgage costs continue to make the state’s housing market more unaffordable than at nearly any point in the last 15 years, particularly for lower- and middle-class families. Only 17% of families in California could afford a median-priced single family home at the end of last year, according to the Realtors group.

Given the rapid market changes, Tiena Johnson Hall, CalHFA’s executive director, called the governor’s reductions in Dream for All funding prudent at CalHFA’s January meeting. “There’s still a lot of room for (home) values to continue to decrease, and that is what we expect to see,” she said.

In February, the state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst projected a revised $25 billion deficit in next year’s state budget. Since then, job growth nationally and in California has remained strong, except for layoffs in the tech sector.

The full details of the Dream for All program — for instance, which lenders will offer the shared equity loans to borrowers — are not yet available from CalHFA.

And loans will not be immediately available to consumers when the program launches this month. Lenders will need a month to six weeks to roll out the loans and begin marketing them to consumers, said Ellen Martin, a CalHFA official tasked with designing the program.

“We do know that there’s a lot of excitement out there,” Martin told CalMatters in a recent interview.

How it will work

Some details have been revealed in CalHFA board meetings, public hearings and a report to the state Legislature. Here are some of the program’s key components.

The loans will not be available for all Californians. Only those who earn 150% or less of the median income of others in their county qualify. Those income limits vary by county, with $300,000 being the cut-off in pricey Santa Clara and San Francisco counties, but $159,000 for many inland counties such as Fresno and Merced.

The loans will cover as much as 20% of a home purchase. Whenever a home is sold, transferred or refinanced, a borrower will owe the state the original amount the state invested, plus a percentage of the home’s increase in value. If the original loan was 20 percent of a home’s value, the seller would owe the state the original loan plus 20 percent of its increased value, though that amount would be capped at 250% of the original loan amount.

A social equity feature of the program will be included for those who earn as much as 80% of the area median income. They will get to keep more of their equity when they sell, refinance or transfer their properties than others with higher incomes. Also about 10% of the initial state funds, or $30 million, will be reserved for those lower-income borrowers.

The loans can be used to fund down payments and closing costs, including interest rate buydowns.

Given the complexity of the program, borrowers will be required to complete a homebuyer education course.

Advocates’ concerns

The complexity of the program has some consumer advocates worried.

Lisa Sitkin, a senior staff attorney with the National Housing Law Project, said it would be wise for the agency to ensure borrowers receive periodic notices about the loan’s atypical details.

“As time goes by, people tend to forget and treat it as a normal loan, and I think it is useful for people planning to be reminded,” said Sitkin, a member of a working group advising CalHFA on the program.

A proposal to sell the loans as mortgage-backed securities also has her worried. California officials are exploring the idea of pooling the shared equity loans into securities and selling them to investors, to help provide additional money for other borrowers.

Many Wall Street financial institutions bundled often poor-quality mortgage loans into securities during real estate’s boom years and sold them to major investors. But during the years of downturn, getting help to homeowners was complicated by the difficulties identifying who exactly owned these loans.

“If they are sold into private, securitized trusts there is a lack of transparency about who owns your debt, and a lack of information about options if there are problems,” Sitkins said. “I really want to be sure that there are guardrails and protections for the borrowers.”

Consumers are cautious

As CalHFA officials were designing the program last year, they held several listening sessions online, taking comments from the public. Jake Lawrence, a 41-year-old cannabis entrepreneur in Willits who also runs a nonprofit, said he liked what he heard.

“I’m very interested. The problem we face is that there’s such a flux in what’s going on,” Lawrence said. “We’re in the middle of a housing market bust, so we’re gonna watch prices tumble for a minute.”

What’s more, one of the county’s biggest industries, the marijuana trade, has been hit hard by declines in cannabis prices. “It’s beyond suffering,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence also wondered how the state will calculate equity if he makes improvements to a home.

Despite his questions, he is considering the idea.

“It doesn’t hurt my feelings to share equity with someone who invests in me,” he said of the state. “And anybody that understands any kind of financial literacy should understand an investor should be able to have their expected ROI (return on investment). For me, I have zero issue with the idea.”

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