Luxury means different things to different people, for instance a large manicured garden is one person's idea of heaven but some else's hell! So, where do you begin? The first choice is fairly obvious, town or country. This choice is very much about the kind of person you are and what lifestyle you prefer. A luxury townhouse can be every bit as opulent as a luxury house in the country.
Wherever you choose to live the basics are the same. The property must be well built and properly finished. It must look expensive and exclusive and this cannot be done shoddily or on the cheap, therefore good quality materials must be used in the construction of the house. The architecture should be elegant and the interior cleverly designed, so that you can decorate and set the rooms out to your tastes and demands. It is down to personal choice as to how many rooms you have and what you plan to do with them. For instance, a large sumptuous marble bathroom complete with spa bath could be one of your 'must haves'. Others may prefer a purpose built library with wood panel walls and columns of shelves for the books. The reception rooms should be bright and airy with the look and feel of lots of space, tastefully decorated and furnished with the finest furniture that money can buy. The kitchen can be equipped with hideaway appliances which gives a clear and clean look with plenty of work space. There should also be lots of cupboard space and perhaps natural stone or tile flooring. Bedrooms should be bright and spacious with at least one being en suite and having a dressing room attached. Windows should be large and double or triple glazed, you can then adorn them with sumptuous curtains or swags. Décor should enhance every room, it doesn't matter whether you prefer bold colours and patterns or something a little more subtle, whatever style you prefer, it should flatter and not detract. Nothing should clash and keep clear of gaudiness in any form as this really will depreciate your luxurious home.
The garden or grounds should be in keeping with the property and should be landscaped to compliment the house. Fencing should be unobtrusive but secure and the entrance gate should again be in keeping with the rest of the property, for instance a large pair of ornamental iron gates would be appropriate for a large mansion style house.
Wherever you choose to live, your luxury home should look and feel sumptuous with no expense spared. There should be ample parking and the grounds should be carefully and expertly laid out, giving the impression of style and grandeur without looking vulgar in any way.
Also, in these days of high technology, a luxury home should be fitted with cat5 high speed wiring throughout the house, so that the joys of the internet can be used wherever you want.
However, style and elegance are the main watchwords, so do consider every aspect before making your final choice.
Lets talk about luxury homes for a minute as I get a lot of inquiries about investing in them. A luxury home by definition will vary depending on the area. In Orange County, California where the median priced home is almost $800,000.00, a luxury home would have to be at least several million dollars to be classified as a luxury home in my opinion. Where as in my area the median priced home is in the $200,000 range then a luxury home would be anything around $1,000,000.
Many investors, especially new investors, call me or email me with a luxury home that they have found and are real excited about because they think its a real good deal. For example, I had someone recently email me a deal that was worth $1,000,000 and they could buy it for $800,000. Even though it looks like there is $200,000 in profit to be made I want you to realize that with luxury homes you must buy them at a larger discount simply because the values of a luxury home fluctuate so much. Ive seen the value from appraisal to appraisal change as much as 20%. In the example above there goes ALL of your profit.
My solution, which I actually learned from luxury home expert Frank McKinney, is that you need to be able to buy a luxury home at no more than 50% of its value to make a good profit on it. This is because there is less of a market for a luxury home making them harder to sell and because of this they can vary in price quite a bit. Please keep this in mind and dont get too excited when you can get a luxury home at a 20% discount. Thats a good place to start but you need a better deal than that. Dont think that you cant buy a luxury home at 80% and retail it and make money on it. Thats not what I am saying at all because there are more things that also come into play here. If you are in a hot market and you know you can sell the property fast at retail and you are totally comfortable with the appraised value then you can make money on an 80% deal. Just remember luxury home values can change fast and there are fewer buyers for them.
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