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Tag: houses

  • Mark Zuckerberg Reportedly Pissing Off His Neighbors with Round-the-Clock Construction

    Mark Zuckerberg Reportedly Pissing Off His Neighbors with Round-the-Clock Construction

    According to his neighbors, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spent way too long and way too much turning a $10 million “fixer-upper” into a “fortress.”

    According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, a supervisor whose territory includes the Dolores Heights neighborhood says he’s received multiple emails from residents complaining about Zuckerberg’s fixing upping.

    Apparently, Zuckerberg’s construction on his 1920s-era home has left some residents flustered over the commotion. The Chronicle paints a picture of “dozens of construction workers, using backhoes and jackhammers, are busy installing everything from a new kitchen to bathrooms and decks — and tearing up the sidewalks for new fiber-optic cables that will connect to the home…” for nearly 17 months, since construction began in April of last year.

    Not only that, but some residents have found parking on the street scare, as construction crews have installed “no parking” signs around the site.

    In all, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have reportedly taken out millions in construction permits.

    If this sounds familiar, that’s because Zuckerberg’s been in the news for his real estate ventures before. This Dolores Heights home? That’s just a second property. Zuckerberg’s original “fortress” sits in Palo Alto. Last year, Zuckerberg reportedly bought up the four adjacent lots, spending between $30 and $43 million on the properties.

    Why? Apparently, he just wanted a little privacy. According to Mercury News, Zuckerberg “acted after he learned of a developer’s plan to buy one of the properties next door to the Facebook co-founder.”

    Earlier this year, he was sued over that deal.

    Image via Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook video screenshot

  • Moore, Oklahoma Toughens Building Codes for Future Tornado Incursions

    New residential building codes went into effect Thursday for one tornado-prone town.

    The city of Moore, Oklahoma is taking preventive measures to protect the area from any further destructive damages incurred from tornadoes.

    The city recently set in stone tough construction codes that will ensure every future home is built firmly to withstand winds up to 135 mph. This includes sturdy roof shields and wind-resistant garage doors.

    The previous standard for the building code was 90 mph, which is mainly the same for all states nationwide.

    But, as the first city in the country to ever take such action, residents have expressed how excited they are about the new code-especially following the tornado in May 2013 that still has families rebuilding their homes.

    Last spring’s tornado-an EF-5 level-injured nearly 400 people and took the lives of 24 Moore residents.

    One tornado victim told KFOR-TV how the storm has been very difficult to recover from the last 11 months.

    “It was pretty tedious and I definitely don’t want to do it again,” Sarah Patteson said.

    The University of Oklahoma is one of five universities in the National Science Foundation that helped develop 11 new building codes for the city. After extensive assessment of the ruined homes, researchers used engineering technology to come up with the best possible solution.

    “This last tornado is over $2 billion in costs,” said Dr. Chris Ramseyer, associate professor of civil engineering at OU.  “And with better homes, stronger buildings, that destructive force will be minimized and the cost will be minimized.”

    Ramseyer says the costs are a “small expense for the homeowner…one or two cents per dollar on a home.” However, this new code will only apply to those that have yet to start building a new home.

    Moore, which has experienced similar, damaging twisters in 1999 and 2003, tends to be a center point where most catastrophic tornadoes occur in Oklahoma.

    City officials hope that this new adoption will at least be the answer to “homes [being] safer and more durable for smaller, more frequent storms.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Eric Schmidt Reportedly Just Spent $22M on a House Near the Playboy Mansion

    As a man worth an estimated $8.3 billion, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt could buy pretty much any house he wants. If a report from the NY Post’s Page Six is accurate, what he wants is to live within a stone’s throw of the Playboy Mansion.

    The heart wants what the heart wants.

    According to the Post, Schmidt has just purchased a 9,182 sq. ft., 7-bedroom house on “the most sought-after street in all of Los Angeles. The house, which is currently listed at $24,995,000, was reportedly snatched up for $22,000,000.

    A long private driveway leads to this elegant and grand French chateau with over 9,000 sq.ft. of living space on the most sought after street in all of Los Angeles. Sited on approximately 1.3 acres of magnificent grounds, this estate provides an exceptional lifestyle with wonderful space for both luxurious living & lavish entertaining. Walls of glass and French doors throughout allow the light-filled environment to integrate with the beautiful lush exterior. Downstairs are the formal living room, family room, formal dining room, chef’s kitchen and breakfast room, 2 maid’s rooms, laundry, 2 powders, and the guest suite. Upstairs, 3 family bedroom suites, office, and master suite with terrace, fireplace, his and her baths, dressing rooms, and walk-in closets. The grounds offer a serene setting and great space for entertaining with abundant patio space, expansive flat park-like grounds, manicured gardens, and swimmers pool.

    That official listing description fails to mention that the home formerly belonged to Veronique Peck, the late wife of actor Gregory Peck.

    Oh yeah, and it’s basically right down the street from The Playboy Mansion.

    If true, the purchase will do little to quell the various rumors surrounding Schmidt and his…uh…rapport with the ladies.

    Images via Google Maps, Wikimedia Commons

  • Steve Jobs’ Old House Now a Historical Site

    2066 Crist Drive, Los Altos has now been officially designated as a “historical resource.”

    The house (and more importantly, its garage) is better known as the place where Apple Computers was founded. Back in 1976, the home of Paul and Clara Jobs provided a roof for Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne to form Apple. There, Jobs and Wozniak built the first Apple 1 computers and sold that first batch for $500 a piece to a store in Mountain View…and so the story goes.

    After two years of review, the Los Altos Historical Commission, a 7-member group designated with recommending historical sites in the area, has approved the location’s spot on the historical registry.

    According to Mercury News, the home was also where Jobs held talks with early investors.

    The vote was unanimous.

    “Steve Jobs is considered a genius who blended technology and creativity to invent and market a product which dramatically changed six industries – personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing and digital publishing. His influence is expected to be felt by multiple generations forthcoming,” said the property evaluation. “These significant events took place at the subject property.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Steve Jobs’ Old Home (or the Garage Where Apple Was Built) Could Become Historical Site

    We all know the story of Apple Computer, and how the company was formed in Steve Jobs’ parents’ garage back in 1976. It was an important moment in the tech world for sure, and now the garage (and the house it’s attached to, of course) may be granted protection as an official historic site.

    The Los Altos Historical Commission, a 7-member group appointed by the Los Altos City Council with the task of recommending historical sites in the area, is holding a historic property evaluation on Steve Jobs’ childhood home.

    “Steve Jobs is considered a genius who blended technology and creativity to invent and market a product which dramatically changed six industries – personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing and digital publishing. His influence is expected to be felt by multiple generations forthcoming,” says part of the property evaluation, obtained by CNN.

    And it’s that influence that may lead to the former home of Paul and Clara Jobs being given protection as an historical site.

    The house became Steve Jobs’ home when he was a young teen. Paul and Clara Jobs adopted Steve at birth in 1955.

    Jobs first met Steve Wozniak through a friend at Homestead High School in Cupertino, California. A few years later Wozniak, having built the Apple I computer, joined forces with Jobs and Ronald Wayne. The trio formed Apple Computer in that garage in 1976. Wayne soon left the newly-formed company.

    The commission has actually been reviewing the 2066 Crist Drive property for the past two years. You can check out the full evaluation here.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell Sell Malibu Home For $9.5 Million

    The downturn in the housing market has affected nearly every community in the U.S. Now, it appears that even celebrities are not immune to lowered housing prices.

    Actress Goldie Hawn and her longtime boyfriend of 30 years, Kurt Russell, have just sold their Malibu beach house, according to a Los Angeles Times report. The couple reportedly sold the 4,200-square-foot house for a cool $9.5 million.

    According to the Times, the house had been listed only two years ago for over $14.5 million. A Zillow blog post claims that the house has also been previously rented out for $90,000 a month.

    The house is located on the beach, just off of the Pacific Coast Highway, and was renovated in 2005. It reportedly has a 3-car garage, a designer kitchen, a media room, and a private deck over the beach. A guesthouse includes a gym and “meditation room,” according to Zillow.

    Hawn is the star of hit 70s, 80s, and 90s movies such as Overboard and Death Becomes Her. The 67-year-old is now largely retired from acting, but now lends her name and image to charity gatherings, such as the Cinema Against AIDS charity auction held at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

    In addition to her charity work, Hawn is an avid cyclist and spends time with her children and grandchildren. The actress just welcomed her first granddaughter, Rio, into the world this month. Rio was born to Hawn’s oldest son, Oliver Hudson, and his wife Erinn Bartlett. Hawn tweeted a greeting to the baby girl just last week:

    (Image via Zillow)

    (via Los Angeles Times)

  • Bruce Willis Wants To Sell His $22 Million Mansion

    Do you want the mansion belonging to Bruce Willis? That will be $22 million.

    TMZ reports that Willis has put up his Beverly Hills mansion on sale for $22 million. He paid $9 million for the mansion back in 2004.

    So, what will you get for $22 million? It’s a 10,379 sq. ft. home with 11 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. It’s surely large enough for anything you could possibly have planned in the Beverly Hills area.

    If you want another piece of Willis’ housing, you can grab his home away from home in Trump Tower for a cool $11.65 million.

    Earlier this year, Willis picked up a place in New York for $8.85 million. He’ll probably get a new place on the West Coast if he’s successful in selling his current home. Even if he doesn’t sell it anytime soon, he probably got a pretty decent amount for a down payment after starring in this year’s G.I. Joe film. He could always toss together another Die Hard film as well if he’s really desperate for a bigger home.

    [Image: Caroline Bonarde Ucci]