Mansionmania continues. I'm going to show you the most expensive homes in every state and a few territories, with a few extras thrown in from the largest states to get the tourney up to 64. It'll be a single-elimination tournament.
You will choose among each pair of houses with the following assumptions:
The purchase price for you is $0.
All maintenance, utilities, property taxes, HOA fees, and cleaning is included.
You must live in the home for the rest of your life.
You can't travel more than 100 miles from home (via google maps drive time) other than 1 two-week vacation each year.
You get $250,000 per year as a living allowance
You get an additional living allowance at the cheaper home, which will be valued at 1% of any cost difference annually. I will note this amount in the poll.
You get the furnishings. If unfurnished, you get an allowance that will give you mid-grade furniture in every room.
You get any vehicles in the garage. But only the garage - nothing parked outside.
I encourage you to click on the maps in the listings to see the general location and neighborhood.
Also, I will only enter contestants if they have a sufficient number of photos to judge, as determined by me.
Originally Posted by Zebedee DuBois:
the castle has 29 bedrooms in addition to 53 other room.
I don't know that many people that I would care to have stay overnight.
I'd move to a different one every month just for fun. It would give me something to do for years. [Reply]
The wine stays with the house in Seattle, right? Both have some really cool features, but I think I'd get tired of the RI Skipper and Bitsy thing. Seattle has more temperate weather and seems a little more homey, so I'll take WA. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RedRaider56:
exactly. Plus the stylized pictures in the listing really turned me off. I don't understand why realtors have to go all HDR on these photos.
You guys are invited to my first Gatsby party. [Reply]
Rhode Island looks like something straight out of the Gilded Age with ghosts of robber barons. Definitely not my style. Providence has some mean Portuguese Chourico Stew, which in my opinion is the single best comfort food dish on the planet, but not a whole lot else.
It would be the Washington house and Seattle area for me. [Reply]
I must say, I'm surprised at how this heat is going. Washington is great, but I thought that few would pass up a Newport castle. I figured Washington would make a good showing but that Rhode Island would win rather handily. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
I must say, I'm surprised at how this heat is going. Washington is great, but I thought that few would pass up a Newport castle. I figured Washington would make a good showing but that Rhode Island would win rather handily.
I think the absence of furniture in the RI house really contributes to a cold feel.
This shows the importance of "staging" to evoke a feeling of homeyness. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Zebedee DuBois:
I think the absence of furniture in the RI house really contributes to a cold feel.
This shows the importance of "staging" to evoke a feeling of homeyness.
Good point. It would cost a fortune to fully stage a house like that, but even if they did three or four rooms it would help to visualize the place. [Reply]
Furniture, artwork and heating that damn RI mausoleum would be WAY over the stipend. Yeah, parking a used Ford Festiva out front might be embarrassing. [Reply]