Then I take back any mean posts I made.

Last edited Mon Jan 9, 2012, 07:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Good for you, and thanks.

But I still think she's an elitist rich-bitch for the situation as a whole. Just my personal opinion.

From all reports she's a very down to earth person.

n/t

To some that's probably not a real job, though.

One of my pet peeves about DU is this tendency (by some) to label anyone with money an elitist.


Personally, I've always felt that being an elitist is more about your attitude than the amount of money one has.

My opinion remains that she is an elitist. The amount of waste involved in the demolition of the existing home (above and beyond what she may have given to a charitable organization) was excessive. Imagine what all that money could have accomplished had it been used in some other, more worthy capacity.

It's not the fact that she has the means to do this. It's the fact that she chooses not to do something more conscientious.

n/t

ALOT. Makes me wonder where that spin originated.

for demolishing a $12M house and it really does seem like an extravagant waste. However, there is another side of the coin. I work in construction and I couldn't begin to tell you how many people will benefit when she rebuilds. Supplying the materials and labor for a house of that magnitude will put a lot of people to work for a long time and put a lot of money back into the economy.

I would imagine that the land values are very high in that area of Florida.

On my property tax bill, the land and structure values are listed separately and then added together for a total valuation amount.

I work in the land planning and development sector. Many times, homes and structures that have significant termite and insect damage are not worth remodeling when the costs of making stuctural repairs is considered. Also, many structural repairs simply cannot be performed without significant demolition.

its a reasonably safe assumption that the $12 million she was reported to have paid included both the land and the structure. It was a 17,000 square foot home and based on reports that it is part of a 77 acre gated community with 60 homes, a reasonable assumption would be that she has around an acre or so of property.

However, the fact that it's an exclusive gated community in a very posh locale adds significantly to the land value.

I bet they really stripped that place apart. Good for them. Too bad there was loss to the bugs.

That even before the bugs were discovered, she found that renovating the house would be more expensive than demolishing and rebuilding. It happens. Or maybe she wants to build something a little less extravagant. I haven't been following this story, so I don't know.