Real Housewives of New Jersey Home Up For Auction!

Reality TV stars are celebrities too, and they have financial problems just like the rest of us.  And now, you might be able to get the chance to buy her home at auction.

I’ve heard there is an upcoming auction involving “Real Housewives of New Jersey” personalities Teresa and Joe Giudice: The contents of their lavish 10,000-square-foot New Jersey mansion are scheduled for auction on Aug. 22. This luxury estate could be yours, although camera crews are not included.

It was originally a local affair. Auction house A.J. Willner  says it received so many inquiries from around the world, it decided to add an online component.

Potential bidders can sign up  at Proxibid, a website that does as many as 800 auctions a month and reports bidders from 175 countries around the world. Items involving celebrities – or, in this case, reality-TV personalities – can command a premium, says Bruce Hoberman, Proxibid’s president. A $750 silk Mets jacket once owned by convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff commanded $14,500 in November.

In this case, it is unclear exactly what will be up for grabs. The Giudices, who filed for bankruptcy protection, formally objected to the auction, says Mike Sklar, a partner with A.J. Willner. A hearing is planned Aug. 16. The couple-who could not be reached because their phone is disconnected–says some of the items scheduled for auction were purchased after the bankruptcy petition, while others belong to relatives, Mr. Sklar says. Such objections are typical, he adds.

If a judge allows the auction to proceed, Mr. Sklar says he’ll rush to inventory the Towaco, N.J., mansion and what’s left of its fancy contents. Items possibly up for grabs include a grand piano–expected to be popular –a suit of armor, snow plow and foosball table.

Mr. Sklar says he hadn’t seen the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” show until recently. “I have no idea who these people are but obviously other people do,” he says. “I’m not really a reality TV person. It’s not my cup of tea.”

This shows everybody is effected, even tv stars.  I guess it actually is a reality show.  Luxury Real Estate from all areas of the country are having their ups and downs.

Joe Montana’s Calistoga Home: Buy It For Only $49 million!

Football great Joe Montana has listed his 500-acre estate, with acreage in Sonoma County’s wine country, for $49 million.

The Calistoga property includes a 9,700-square-foot Tuscan-inspired main house, an equestrian center, two year-round creeks, a pond, a regulation-sized basketball court, a skeet shooting range, a caretaker’s residence, a guesthouse, a swimming pool with a spa, a gym, a boccie ball court and a producing olive farm.

The main house has a loggia open to the outdoors, a sitting room in an upstairs tower and a climate-controlled wine cellar and tasting room. There are three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms.

Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the home has a courtyard with hand-painted frescoes, antique statues and fountains. The Montanas often take guests up in the outdoor viewing tower, which has panoramic views of Mount Saint Helena and Knights Valley.

Montana, 53, started his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers in 1979 and was with the team through 1992. He played two more years with the Kansas City Chiefs. The quarterback was a three-time Super Bowl MVP, among other honors, and a four-time Super Bowl champ.

Atherton real estate can be very pricey, but his estate takes the cake as the highest listing in the area.

Coldwell Banker Previews International and Pacific Union/Christie’s Great Estates have the listing at www.villamontanaestate.com.

Jerry Rice’s Atherton Estate Listed For Sale

Jerry Rice, who will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, OH this August, is one of the best wide receivers of all time. He has won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and also won an AFC Championship with the Oakland Raiders during his 20 seasons in the league. He was selected to the Pro Bowl a record 13 times, and was also named All-Pro a total of 10 times throughout his career.

Rice’s estate in Atherton, CA is also back on the market and is listed for a price of $14.75 million. His home was previously listed for $22 and $15.995 million in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Jerry Rice’s 6 bedroom, 4 bath Atherton Luxury Estate home listed for $14,750,000
This three-story property is a massive 16,180 square feet on 1.41 acres, and was built in 2001. The home’s interior features a formal entryway, a step-down living room, and a family room complete with a full bar. Additionally, the mansion has a library, office, wine room, home theater, full gym, game room and parking for at least three vehicles. Outside, there is a pool and spa, game court, barbecue area and cabana.

I see Jerry around town and know the agent that has it listed.  Maybe I’ll do a video tour of his home on my Real Estate Insider show?  If so, it will post here first.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen Buy in Brentwood

Husband-and-wife actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen have paid $3,110,000 to purchase a four-bedroom house in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood.

Front of Danson House

According to Big Time Listings, the couple’s recent purchase was made under the radar screen through a trust. Ted and Mary are one of Hollywood’s highest-profile acting couples (even more so now, given the split of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon). Recall that the Steenburgens had gone into something of a real-estate ownership vacuum (in L.A., at least) since selling their oceanfront, Cape Cod-style house at 23610 Malibu Colony Road (also known as 58 Malibu Colony Road) in the Malibu Colony in Malibu, Calif. in May 2008 for $15,500,000.  Hey, the economy is tough on all of us, even celebrities.

The couple’s purchase of their new house, which measures 4,076 square feet. Built in 1930, the house has three and a half baths, a formal dining room, a spacious kitchen, a breakfast area, and a warm living room, according to public records and listing information. Outdoor features on the 0.26-acre property include a treehouse and a detached office and studio, according to public records and listing information. The house had been listed for $2,999,000.

Danson's New Dining Room

The seller is noted screenwriter Channing Gibson, who has been a story editor and producer on TV’s “St. Elsewhere,” a writer and co-executive producer of “NYPD Blue,” and the screenwriter of several films, including “Lethal Weapon 4.”

In case you don’t follow them, Danson and Steenburgen own other properties, including in Ojai, Calif. and in Chilmark, Mass. on Martha’s Vineyard.  Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen have both starred in many awards winning tv movies, theatrical movies, and theatre.  For most of you reading this article, Ted is most famous for his leading role in the long running tv series Cheers playing the lovable but airheaded bartender Sam Malone.

Kim Kardashian, Buy Your Way Into Her Bedroom!

Kim Kardashian has listed her  S. Clark Drive, Los Angeles, CA condo on the market for $1,099,000. It’s a 1,750 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms condo that is uber chic.  It’s design fuses with ultimate luxury to provide you with one of the most sought after units to hit the market. The 1,750 SF condo has no expense spared. One of the trendiest buildings in West Hollywood, this unit boasts a massive walk in closet in the luxurious master suite. This crown jewel is centrally located and just steps away from the high end boutiques and cafes of Robertson.

Miss Kardashian, an entrepreneurial gal who has somehow managed to turn her interesting boo-tay and a tawdry sex tape into a “career,” is the daughter of O.J. Simpson attorney Robert Kardashian (now deceased) and momanager Kris who is currently married to Olympic decathlete turned airplane salesman Bruce Jenner. Along with the rest of the Brady Bunch style Jenner/Kardashian clan, Miss Kardashian appears on the reality program Keeping Up With The Kardashians. She also models for a few clothing lines, released a work out tape, recently launched a shoe shopping service called ShoeDazzle, was photographed in her birthday suit for the pages of Playboy and in the fall of 2008 she was voted off in an early round of Dancing With The Stars. It’s not exactly the resume of a bonafied Tinseltown talent, but it’s none the less made her rich enough to scoot about town in a $200,000 customized Bentley Continental.

Listing information indicates the 1,750 square foot unit is located in one “the trendiest buildings int West Hollywood.” Listen chickens, trendy is as trendy does and, like beauty, trendy is in the eye of the beholder. A certain set of Angelenos will likely consider the building well located being just blocks from Beverly Hills, the Beverly Center, Kitson and The Ivy.

The long living room has honey colored wood floors, recessed lighting, a brown sofa with a slew of tiger striped throw pillows and a regrettably gigantic wooden wall panel with some Eastern religious figure’s face in bas-relief. The dining room has a tray ceiling slathered with gold leaf and a glass and mirror dining room table paired with an Asian style armoire and chairs. The kitchen has a lot of workable counter space, high grade stainless steel appliances and plenty of Shaker style cabinetry for food and other kitchen things.

The guest room has been outfitted with a white, tufted fabric headboard, white linens, a crystal chandelier, a giant mirror leaning up against the wall and a white Louis-ish bergère–ish armchair. Miss Kardashian’s ultra feminine, champagne colored bedroom is all tufted things and mirrors. There is a tufted headboard, a tufted bench at the foot of the bed, there are mirrors on the back wall, mirrored chests beside the bed and a gigantic, glitzy mirrored armoire.  Listing information indicates the master bedroom has a “massive walk in closet” and in addition to all her many toiletries, lotions, potions and perfumes, Miss Kardashian’s all beige master bathroom offers double sinks, a lot of mirrors–natch–a soaking tub surrounded by enough candles to light up Los Angeles, and separate shower. Just another celebrity home for sale that we might wonder how she became a celebrity.  How she got the money to buy a million dollar home is easier to figure, I just hope she holds her money in case celebrity runs out.

Whoopi Goldberg Buys In Jersey

Whoopi Goldberg bought a home in Oak Bend Road, West Orange, NJ for a reported $2,800,000.  It’s a 9,486 square foot house with 8 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half bathrooms.  It is a  Colonial Mansion that sits in the heart of world famous Llewellyn Park. Home of the Edisons, Chubbs, Colgates, etc.  Whoopi’s home sits in lush gardens with carriage house, servant’s house, and greenhouse.

The property was built in 1927 and sits on a 2.34 parcel in the leafy, gated community of Llewellyn Park. Llewellyn Park, located just 14 miles west of lower Manhattan, was established by a Mister Llewellyn in the 1850s and bills itself as the first planned community in the United States. The 425-acre community offers residents a 24 hour guarded gate, bucolic streets lined with period gas lamps, and a 50 acre landscaped park called The Ramble that meanders through the community.

Whoopi joins a long lists of former notable residents including members of the Colgate family (soap and toothpaste), the Merck family (pharmaceuticals), and the Chubb family (safes) as well as Thomas Edison (electricity) whose estate Glenmont is a National Historic Site, and former minister turned abolitionist James Miller McKim whose Llewellyn Park house contained secret rooms used to hide escaped slaves traveling on the Underground Railroad.

Listing information indicates that beyond the curving circular driveway and the columned portico, the historic home counts 23 rooms including a grand entrance hall, a paneled living room with a black, veined marble fireplace surround, a banquet hall sized dining room, a family room lined with a series of tall, arched windows and an newly renovated eat in kitchen with a large work island, cream colored faux-antiqued cabinetry, granite counter tops and all the over-sized stainless steel appliances one can and should expect in a house of this weight and cost.

Having once lived in a spectacular house in blue-blooded Tuxedo Park, NY, Whoopi is certainly no stranger to upscale gated communities in suburban New York City. Property records also show that the Whoopi, whose real name is the Caryn Johnson also owns a house in Pacific Palisades, CA and she may or may not still own and 8,000 acre spread in Vermont, a small house (or duplex) in Berkeley, CA and some kind of property in Cornwall, CT

Whoopi loves her real estate and her talk show and comedy appearances still require her to travel from east to west coast.  If you can have nice homes on both coasts, why not.  It’s all funny money to her.

Nicholas Cage Celebrity Mansion

Actor Nicolas Cage has chopped the asking price of his celebrity estate of approximately 11,000+ square feet – once owned by Dean Martin. He first put it on the market for $35M in 2007, then cut the price to a bargain hunting $17.5M, and now it’s reported that he’s lowered the minimum asking bid to $9.95M.

Is this a deal or what?  You decide for yourself by looking thru the photos of his home.