Live like a Real Housewife: The Coto de Caza Home
Last week, I wrote a post about Lauri Waring’s wedding and how to go about getting a piece of that extravagance at your own ceremony. In a world that is over-the-top, however, it isn’t just weddings that are expensive…everything is top of the line. So, I thought I’d do a little series for you all to show you even more about how “the other half” lives. Today, let’s talk about the homes found in Coto de Caza - and who better to study for that information than the one and only Jeana Keough, one of Re/Max’s top real estate agents.
If you head to Jeana’s Re/Max page, which is kept updated daily just like almost all agents’ pages, you can see what’s for sale in the Coto area. And woah mama look at those prices. In Orange County - well, the Coto area at least - an acre of land is easily worth a million dollars. Most of Jeana’s properties are in the $1.5 - $2.5 million range, although some are significantly higher. Break out the calculator here for a moment. I’m not exactly sure what the average % commission is for real estate agents, but let’s just go with a modest 5%, figuring that her average house sells for $2 million. That means Jeana’s average commission is $100,000. If she sells just one house, she’s already made more than I make in three years. Um…maybe I’m in the wrong business.
So after check out some of the homes listed on Jeana’s site and what they have to offer, I decided to pretend I have $3-4 million to spend on a home. What are some of the features I want and could get?
- At least 5 or 6 bedrooms
- A walk-in pantry off of my enormous kitchen
- A fireplace
- Walk-in closets in every bedroom
- A pool and hot tub
- A view of the mountains
- At least 2 or 3 acres of land
- French doors leading out to my Master bedroom’s balcony
- A home theatre
- Intercom systems
- Cathedral ceilings
- A Library
Put an emphasis on the library. I love me my books, hehe.
But let’s come back to the real world. I can’t afford a 3 million dollar house, nor will I probably ever be able to. That said, I am moving at the end of the month out of my tiny apartment and into a cozy 2 BR house. I’m super excited - it may not be Coto, but who needs a live in maid anyway?
My new house:
So, if you could plan a dream house with no budget, what would YOU include?
October 23rd, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I’m not sure if things are different out there or not, but the selling agent may get 5% but they have to share that commission with the buyer’s agent, as well as pay off certain fees to the company she works for. (Unless she’s a private agent not working for a company). So in your example, she probably isn’t making $100k commission per avg, but more like $30 or $40k. Still nothing to sneeze at, but not as horrifically mind blowing for the rest of us.
Congrats on your new home by the way! And good luck with the move.
October 24th, 2007 at 12:13 am
More for your list…
- Secret garden
- Spiral staircase
- Guest pool house
- Cat Palace
- HDTV
- Heated driveway
- Marble counters
- And c’mon Allison, MULTIPLE libraries, maybe by genre?
November 5th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
[...] this post, Allison talks about three and four million dollar homes in Orange County, California. These houses [...]