Brand new $25 million mansion now up for $6 mil. - Not your typical suburban home

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1823183,CST-NWS-castle14.article

October 14, 2009

BY SANDY ILLIAN BOSCH Pioneer Press

<snip>The 30,000-square-foot home, once listed at $25 million, was placed on the market last summer after a Chicago area doctor who had the house built decided to move to a warmer climate, said real estate broker Michael Berland.

Anyone wanting to see the house, which has six bedroom suites, 2,400-square-foot ballroom and 20-car heated garage, must buy a $30 due-diligence package. snip

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/25m-mansion-now-up-for-only-6m.html

<snip>But then, Villa Taj isn't your typical suburban home.The 30,000-square-foot abode has not one but six master suites, each with its own full bath, dual 30 feet by 30 feet living rooms, a ballroom, nine fireplaces, 15,000 square feet of wrap-around terraces and a 20-car garage, to name a few of the features. Materials used in the construction include Jerusalem limestone, mahogany, Italian marble and sterling silver doors.

One more detail: It's never been lived in. In fact, it doesn't have a certificate of occupancy yet.

Owners Husam Aldairi and his wife, Rawaa Attar-Aldairi, built the house for themselves and their three children. Aldairi took almost 1 1/2 years off from his dental practice to monitor the construction but halfway through the project, Attar-Aldairi said she decided the house was too big.

Bidding at the Nov. 4 auction will start at $6.265 million for the house, which was on the market earlier this year for $25 million.

The house hasn't been appraised but the property, on the Cook County side of County Line Road, was partially assessed last year at $613,587.

"It hasn't been appraised because there's nothing to compare it to," said Michael Berland, a real estate broker whose firm, Chartwell Group LLC, is handling the auction. "It's impossible to figure out a number, it's like picking a number out of the air. It looks like a mosque and it's built like a fortress, with 14-inch walls."

[jaksavage]

1. Too much money

and the garage is too small.

[Mari333]

2. LOL and imagine the cleaning!

[Gormy Cuss]

3. It's a house, not a home.

A home is where someone lives. No one has ever lived in this behemoth.

[NNN0LHI]

4. Looks more like a shopping mall to me

[Incitatus]

5. No indoor swimming pool, WTF?

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Looks like an embassy

[frazzled]

7. I'd say that will be a hard sale even at $6 million

A 30,000 sq. ft. mosque-style house? It's a pretty specific market, I should think.

How freaking rich are these people that they could take a year and a half off his practice, build a 30,000 sq. foot home with silver doors, and then just leave it to move south?

[dugaresa]

13. what did he charge his patients to afford such luxury? or did he inherit his money?

[KansDem]

8. Wait! It's missing this on the front gate!

[LuvNewcastle]

9. Looks like a fancy parking garage.

[TwilightGardener]

10. I don't know how many wealthy midwesterners want to live in a mosque.

The size and price put it in a narrow market to begin with, the style even more so. And they're abandoning it because of climate? REALLY? It didn't occur to them that Chicago gets cold?

[ingac70]

11. That is ugly. n/t

[dugaresa]

12. at a first glance it looks like an office building but it could be softened a bit

with flowerboxes hanging off of the terraces. I would love to see pictures of the inside of the home.

6 master bedrooms? could be an upscale bed and breakfast or perhaps a Saudi dignitary with multiple wives will buy it??

[GermanDem]

14. Here's a link to pictures:

www.villataj.com

Looks like an arabian palace to me!

[ladjf]

15. It looks like a parking deck with an Indian style portico. Ugly! nt

[NNN0LHI]

16. I would consider bidding on it but ...

... I bet just the the monthly water bill for the sprinkler system is more than my current mortgage payment which I can barely afford now.

Don