In this age of MTV cribs and other celebrity oriented shows, the general public is more aware than ever of the lavish residential accommodations where their favorite entertainers reside. While purchasing a showcase primary residence is usually publicized, many additional purchases and their purposes elude the average person. As with everything else, there are pitfalls to avoid and best practices to observe. While the amount of money at stake amplifies the cost of the mistakes, it also magnifies the value of the rewards.
Just to be fair, we need to acknowledge that at this level of wealth, a real estate purchase is a less stressful endeavor. Besides the obvious need for a primary residence, an entertainer makes those purchases for a variety of reasons: secondary residences, vacation homes, investment properties or even a gift for a relative.
The nomadic nature of an entertainer’s life leads the majority of them to own various properties, whether on both coasts or in various cities where they split their times (i.e NYC and their hometown in Alabama for example). From my experience, such polarizing cities include New York, Los Angeles, Miami or Atlanta, based on the prevalence of enough power players of a specific industry (Film, music) to warrant their presence in that city. The purchase of a vacation homes is made in order to provide a pied-a-terre in locations where the celebrity makes recurring trips to relax or escape (i.e South Beach, Cabos, Aspen, etc…). When it comes to investments, those purchases arise from a good opportunity that presents itself or from an active pursuit of such opportunities, in which case the entertainer does it out of passion. They either want to flip those properties, or add them to their portfolio for appreciation purposes or even combine them with their existing property to increase the value of the compound-like property it will form. Finally, celebrities purchase properties for their parents, siblings and sometimes un-related parties (yes, the other woman too). This is usually done to upgrade the living conditions of the people mentioned and let them share in the wealth.
Depending on the location, different types of properties are available on the market to meet the aforementioned purposes. It is therefore important to match the right type of accommodation to each specific situation. In general, mini-mansions, sprawling condos or penthouse units are considered for secondary homes. This is necessary because the whole family or entourage makes trips to the second home which features the same type of amenities as the primary residence. The vacation home is usually adapted to the location and therefore varies in size: a condo in south beach, a villa in Cabos or a cottage in Aspen. However these are general guidelines and not everybody should adhere to those. A recent trend is to go the condo-hotel route with luxury providers such as Four Seasons or W Hotels for example. The investment properties are usually big ticket items where the fact that the previous owner was a celebrity may increase the re-sale value. Someone out there is wiling to pay a premium for the privilege of living in Usher’s former house, trust me. They are usually single family units in a neighborhood where the entertainer themselves live in or would want to live in. Family members usually get whatever is appropriate for them, from a townhome to a house or a condo, although rarely of the same caliber or neighborhood as the celebrity.
Just to be fair, we need to acknowledge that at this level of wealth, a real estate purchase is a less stressful endeavor. Besides the obvious need for a primary residence, an entertainer makes those purchases for a variety of reasons: secondary residences, vacation homes, investment properties or even a gift for a relative.
The nomadic nature of an entertainer’s life leads the majority of them to own various properties, whether on both coasts or in various cities where they split their times (i.e NYC and their hometown in Alabama for example). From my experience, such polarizing cities include New York, Los Angeles, Miami or Atlanta, based on the prevalence of enough power players of a specific industry (Film, music) to warrant their presence in that city. The purchase of a vacation homes is made in order to provide a pied-a-terre in locations where the celebrity makes recurring trips to relax or escape (i.e South Beach, Cabos, Aspen, etc…). When it comes to investments, those purchases arise from a good opportunity that presents itself or from an active pursuit of such opportunities, in which case the entertainer does it out of passion. They either want to flip those properties, or add them to their portfolio for appreciation purposes or even combine them with their existing property to increase the value of the compound-like property it will form. Finally, celebrities purchase properties for their parents, siblings and sometimes un-related parties (yes, the other woman too). This is usually done to upgrade the living conditions of the people mentioned and let them share in the wealth.
Depending on the location, different types of properties are available on the market to meet the aforementioned purposes. It is therefore important to match the right type of accommodation to each specific situation. In general, mini-mansions, sprawling condos or penthouse units are considered for secondary homes. This is necessary because the whole family or entourage makes trips to the second home which features the same type of amenities as the primary residence. The vacation home is usually adapted to the location and therefore varies in size: a condo in south beach, a villa in Cabos or a cottage in Aspen. However these are general guidelines and not everybody should adhere to those. A recent trend is to go the condo-hotel route with luxury providers such as Four Seasons or W Hotels for example. The investment properties are usually big ticket items where the fact that the previous owner was a celebrity may increase the re-sale value. Someone out there is wiling to pay a premium for the privilege of living in Usher’s former house, trust me. They are usually single family units in a neighborhood where the entertainer themselves live in or would want to live in. Family members usually get whatever is appropriate for them, from a townhome to a house or a condo, although rarely of the same caliber or neighborhood as the celebrity.
To be continued...
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