Federal F*CK-UP: Part I

Ah, politicians. Can't live with 'em/can't send 'em to Mars. Usually, we would feel sympathy for someone facing foreclosure, but WTF?!! California congresswoman Rep. Laura Richardson --who has an M.B.A. -- surely has some explainin' to do.

First, she bought her house in Sacramento with no money down and a subprime mortgage. Then, she didn't even bother to maintain her home, pissing off the neighbors by failing to mow the lawn or remove garbage and rotting fruit. In fact, the Sacramento department of code enforcement declared her home a "public nuisance" and "blighted."

She also failed to keep up the mortgage payments, ultimately owing $40K more than the purchase price of the home, $535K. After the bank foreclosed on the property, an investor bought it for $338K and started renovations. But, in an unusual act, the bank rescinded the foreclosure and withdrew the sale, apparently giving Rep. Richardson some sort of preferential treatment.

Needless to say, Richardson is now the subject of a House ethics committee investigation.

Too bad. The house looks sorta cute. (Photo by Randy Lynn Beach for the L.A. Times.)

Davie Mansion - One of Largest Homes in Florida

This Victorian Mansion in Florida is one of the largest mansions in Broward County.
One of the largest houses in Florida, this Davie mansion boasts 10 bedrooms, 14
bathrooms, and a 5-car garage and sits on a 7-acre lot with 27.000 sq/ft of living
area. Built in 1965 but is fully updated. It features everything you could ever
want. Several movies and tv commercials have been filmed here.

The entertainment wing houses a two lane-bowling alley, custom built bar with antique mantle on the fireplace, a billiard room and a movie theater. There is a tennis court in the yard, custom designed pool with 7 waterfalls, Jacuzzi, amethyst geodes carved into the stone and a waterslide; built in BBQ gazebo and a custom built cabana bath.

All the bedrooms in this huge Florida home feature full bathrooms with Jacuzzis and are all designed with separate themes. The kitchen is fully updated and features a butlers pantry
for serving guests. The library has an antique custom finishing and a grand
entranceway. There is a service elevator that will lead you through all the
floors including the upstairs gym and massage room.

The maid quarter/in-law quarters features a separate kitchen for convenience.
The house is wired to have 30 phone lines, 7 A/C units and a state of the art security
system. This is truly a mansion in Florida that is unlike any you have seen
before.

ENTERTAINMENT WING - This section of the house features a
fully equipped movie theater with custom leather stadium style seating. The
house is wired with speakers that are controlled through the media room. The
theater has custom lighting that can be dimmed to your satisfaction and is fully
equipped with surround sounds. Next to the media room is a billiard room with
a full service bar built in the 1940s with 2 refrigerators and a fireplace with
an antique mantle from the 1920s. The wall sconces featured are from the 1800s.
The entrance to the bar is elegantly equipped with western style doors. The
bowling alley adds a nice touch as it features 2 regulation sizes lanes, music
and lighting as if you were in a real bowling alley. The sauna is located next
to the entrance to the pool area for convenience.

BACK YARD - The pool is a masterpiece florida luxury pool
featuring 7 waterfalls, a functional waterslide all laid out in an elegant stone
setting. There are amethyst geodes that have been carved into the stone. The
pool also features a large Jacuzzi and a seating table for convenience.

GYM/MASSAGE ROOM - The gym features a custom built gym floor
designed for aerobic exercise with springs beneath the flooring and a railing
along the wall. In addition the massage room in this florida mansion is conveniently
located next to gym and features a sun roof and a spacious atmosphere. What else would you expect from one of the biggest houses in florida.

MOVIES MADE IN THIS HOUSE:

*** 3 blind mice, CBS made for TV movie *** 2 commercials for South American
Banks *** Yearly shoots for K-Mart, limited too photos shoots *** Outdoor furniture
store, multiple photos shoots *** Telemundo, Body of desire soap opera.

MORE ABOUT DAVIE: Davie is host of the South Florida

A Closer Look at Kate Hudson's Malibu Digs

Last week, we learned that Kate Hudson's Malibu digs were up for rent for a cool $90K/month. Today, we just thought we'd scrutinize her pad to see if it's truly worthy of that kinda moola. After a closer look, all we can say is . . . maybe!

We've gotta admit, it gets mega points for actually being ON the beach. The views from the main living and dining areas are lovely!We're definitely debating the decor though. According to her realtor, the decor is Balinese inspired. We're thinking it's more like Balinese-TIRED.

Take this bar for example. Too theme-ish!
And this bedroom is tasteful enough, but just a little bit too hotel-y for our taste.

Nevertheless, it's got some degree of Hollywood pedigree. The home was a wedding gift to Kate from her mom Goldie Hawn. That counts for something, right? We're just wondering if it's enough to justify $90K a month!

World's Largest Green Certified Home - Manalapan, Florida

After 20 years of building multimillion-dollar mega-mansions, real estate developer Frank McKinney is betting $29 million that what luxury home buyers want now are environmentally-friendly estates. His speculative 15,000 square foot mansion, named Aqua Liana, in Manalapan, Fla., will be the first home of its size to be certified green by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Florida Green Building Council. This $29 million speculative mansion in Manalapan, Fla., will be the first home of its size to be certified green. The home is situated at 620 South Ocean Boulevard in Manalapan, Florida

In addition to eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, two elevators, two laundry rooms, two wine cellars (one for red, one white), a movie theater and guesthouse, the house will also have a state-of-the-art air purification system and eco-friendly light fixtures that will reduce energy consumption by 90 percent.

Making this mansion green probably tacked on additional costs of between 7 and 10 percent for McKinney and, ultimately, his buyer. It also required him to explore using different materials than he normally might.

For instance, instead of using a rare Brazilian cherry for the home's hardwood floors, he's using reclaimed teak - thus sparing 7.5 acres of Brazilian rain forest, he said. The house will also have a massive solar panel system (price tag: $120,000), a water system that uses "gray water" from the showers and sinks to irrigate the lawn and gardens, as well as a series of pools, reflecting ponds and water gardens to cool down the 1.5 acre property by 2 to 3 degrees.


The $29 million home is slated to be completed and has been sitting for over a year waitign for a buyer. It's a remarkable leap of faith, but that's just the way McKinney is accustomed to doing business. McKinney recently sold one of his developments, located in Palm Beach, Florida, for about $50 million.

Tiger Woods Estate- Jupiter Island Florida Mansion

Tiger’s Jupiter Island house is believed to be 10,000 square feet of living area, and features a glass elevator, three bedrooms, a master suite, basement with wine cellar, movie theater & gaming room, a boat house & dock for his yacht, a mini golf course, pool, gym, three-car garage, tennis court, and guesthouse. Woods is building the main house with an elevator, a guesthouse, a guardhouse and boathouse on his 12-acre site, which stretches from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean. He purchased the property in two portions in 2006 and 2007 for a total of $44.5 million. He then tore down the existing home to build his "more modest" estate! Just in, we have new pictures of Tiger Woods, Florida Mansion:


Little of the construction on the property Woods owns in the 400 block of South Beach Road can be seen from the road. Most of the work is hidden behind a thick group of trees and a tall, chain link fence with privacy shielding on it. But a view from the air shows Woods’ property is a hub of activity with workers and equipment scattered across the property.

Tiger already owns a $39 million estate on Jupiter Island, Florida, he is reportedly building a 16,500 square foot “palace” in Dubai, oh, and Tiger has a $16 million, 155-foot long yacht named Privacy. Depending on the time of year, and the PGA schedule, Tiger could be living in New York, Florida, Dubai, or well, anywhere in the world on his yacht. Below is a tour and some great pictures of Tiger Wood's Florida estate:

Buy Dan Marino's Florida Mansion - Weston, Florida

Dan Marino, the prolific quarterback of the Miami Dolphins from 1983-1999 who frustrated pursuing linebackers with his fast release and strong throwing arm, can’t seem to shake a different kind of problem: selling his home in Weston, FL. Dan' Marino's house is for sale for a mere $13.5 million. Frustrated by the lack of action, he is now sweetening the deal on his 4-acre, 15,000 sq ft home located at 3415 Stallion Lane, Weston, FL 33331 by throwing in $1.5 million worth of furniture and a signed football, according to the Wall Street Journal. View Virtual Tour of Dan Marino's House Here.

The sprawling Tuscan-style home is neatly tucked into the gate community of Windmill Ranch Estates, which is approximately 25 miles west of Fort Lauderdale. It has 10 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms to accommodate his family of eight, although three kids are in college and one is graduating high school, which means Dan and his wife will have a huge empty nest once all the kids have flown the coop.

Dan marino built the estate in 1998 and first listed it in 2006 for $15.9 million, then dropped the price to $14.5 million in 2007 and now it’s listed at $13.5 million. It looks like many celebrities are having a hard time unloading their florida mansions as A-Rod and Britney can attest.

Richard Nilsen of Mattress Giant's Fort Lauderdale Mansion

The 34,565-square-foot residence at 3305 Fairfield Ln. in the exclusive Windmill Ranch Estates subdivision in Ft. lauderdale is almost 1 ½ times bigger than the largest home on Broward County's tax roll. Owned by Richard Nilsen who was part of the team that built Mattress Giant from a fledgling business with a handful of stores in South Florida to a major bedding retailer

''It's big,'' deadpanned Fred Weeks, a Broward County structural-plan examiner who has inspected thousands of homes. "The size of it would compare to a commercial building. ''Actually, it's bigger than the typical Office Depot, which averages 27,000 square feet.
The house itself covers three-quarters of an acre. The mansion, has nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms; two- and three-car garages, along with a separate garage for a limousine; a ballroom; a media room with a concession stand; a safe room, and a workshop, according to building plans filed with the county.

Nilsen's new neighbors include Florida Panthers owner Alan Cohen and former Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino.