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5 Cities Where Homes Are Still Cheap

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If you're bargain shopping for a home, don't be discouraged by the gigantic leaps home prices have been taking lately. There are still places where you can find cheap homes. You might start with the 10 best cities to buy short sales.

Short sales and foreclosures made up 43 percent of residential sales last year, according to RealtyTrac. And why is that? Because of the huge savings for buyers. A short sale or foreclosure offers a 30 percent to 40 percent discount off a non-distressed property, RealtyTrac said. And they're gaining in popularity: Short-sale purchases bumped up 4 percent from a year prior; foreclosure sales notched up 6 percent.

Market Watch took a look at some cities with cheap homes, led primarily by their abundant short sale and foreclosure offerings:

Santa Barbara, Calif.Santa Barbara, Calif.

Average short-sale price: $283,825.
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 42.69 percent.

Short-sale purchases in Santa Barbara rose 107 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to a year prior. That was the largest increase in the U.S. It's not hard to see why: The median price of all properties in the city was about $600,000. That lured a lot of homebuyers back into the market.

Find homes for sale in Santa Barbara, or search listings in your area.

Phoenix

Average short-sale price: $149,094.
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 37.84 percent.

Though investors make up a large chunk of the short sale and foreclosure buying activity, Phoenix has the added benefit of everyday homebuyers getting in on the action, too. Short sale and foreclosure purchases rose 43 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to a year prior. But time is of the essence for buyers: Inventory of these properties is falling rapidly.

Find homes for sale in Phoenix, or search listings in your area.

Las Vegas

Average short-sale price: $124,555
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 33.4 percent

It's what's coming in the Las Vegas market that makes it ripe for real estate deals. About 8,000 homeowners in Vegas are in default on their mortgages, according to RealtyTrac, and their properties could flood the market as short sales or foreclosures very soon. "Short sales aren't going anywhere for another two to three years," Paul Rowe of Henderson, Nev.-based Shelter Realty told Market Watch.

Find homes for sale in Las Vegas, or search listings in your area.

Cleveland

Average REO sales price: $57,782
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 56 percent

Bank-owned homes are dirt cheap in Cleveland, and that has enticed many buyers. REOs were selling for less than $60,000 on average in Cleveland in the fourth quarter of 2012. That's a 56 percent discount on the average price of a non-distressed property there.

Find homes for sale in Cleveland, or search listings in your area.

Charlotte, N.C.

Average REO sales price: $111,260
Average discount vs. non-distressed sales: 43 percent

Bank-owned home sales in Charlotte increased 109 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 from a year prior, according to RealtyTrac. The hike is apparently coming from new residents who are moving to Charlotte from more expensive markets like New York and Boston. These out-of-towners are using the money from the sale of their old homes to buy bank-owned properties in Charlotte in cash, Market Watch said.

Find homes for sale in Charlotte, or search listings in your area.

See also:
Homebuyers Searching for Deals in Hurricane Sandy Wreckage

10 Best Cities to Buy Foreclosures in 2013
10 Best Cities to Own a Home

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Stunning New York Manor Is Cream of the Crop (House of the Day)

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This week's #housepornthurs contest was no competition: @HoulihanRE won almost everyone over with this amazing manor in Bedford, N.Y., an estate made for the most refined of us all. But we have to give it up for our runner-up, @PartnersTrust, who submitted this Spanish villa with spectacular ocean views in Malibu, Calif. You're both deserving of the crown!

But there can only be one winner, so back to it: The Colonial New York manor is luxurious living at its best, "brilliantly designed for the way we live today," the listing says. Soaring ceilings open up the huge living spaces, and you'll feel like a movie star climbing the floating staircase and stopping on the rich walnut indoor balcony to gaze upon the expansive living room. Several fireplaces flanked by wood, stone and marble fill the home, and large arched windows wash the rooms in natural sunlight. As you travel the winding hallways, stop for a workout at the home's personal gym or catch a flick in the home theater.

In most of the main rooms are French doors leading to the gorgeous ground outside. (Did we mention that the 9,200-square-foot house sits on 4 lush acres surrounded by trees?) Take a dip in the inviting pool, relax in the spa or meditate in the colorful gardens. All this for $4.85 million? Sounds like a deal to us. Not that we're saying we could afford it anyway. (But if you can, this would make a great Christmas present. Just thinking ahead.)

Patti J. Howard of Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate has the listing.

Find more homes for sale in Bedford, N.Y., or search listings in your area.

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Got a tip for House of the Day? Know of an exceptional or unusual property currently listed for sale? Please email colin.croughan@teamaol.com with your suggestions and be sure to include links to listing details and photos. (Due to the volume of response, we unfortunately are unable to reply to each submission.)

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Village at Grand Traverse: Empty Michigan Asylum Now Glam Digs (PHOTOS)

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What if we told you that you could live in a former mental hospital? We can already tell what you're thinking. Images of rundown buildings with boarded-up windows, creaking doors and dark, dingy hallways -- the types of places that ghosts haunt -- must be coming to mind. On the contrary: Look at the photo above. That's the place we were referring to.

The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, tucked away among the trees in the picturesque postcard-ready town of Traverse City, Mich., evokes nothing of its storied past. For a century, it was known as the Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane, the state's largest mental institution. According to The New York Times, it once housed as many as 3,000 patients. But today, it's an Old-English-style village with a splash of Victorian elegance and offices, bakeries, a cheesecake shop, a wine bar and adorable apartments and luxury condos. And it's one of the most amazing conversions we've ever seen.

The complex had been left to rot once the asylum, opened in 1885, shut down in 1989. For the next decade, while under the control of the local government, it fell into ruin, and the main building was considered for demolition, according to Curbed. But preservationists fought for a like-minded developer to take over the property -- and that's what they got.

The Minervini family acquired the then-vacant 63-acre property for only $1 in 2002. Sinking tens of millions of dollars into remodeling and restoration, the Minervinis slowly turned the complex's chipped walls, broken windows and floors covered in layers of dust and broken plaster into chic, modern and bright residences. With units ranging from 300-square-foot studios to 3,800-square-foot luxury condos (three of which are priced at $500,000), the mental institution-turned-village will be able to house some 1,000 residents once the entire project is complete. Remember, we told you it's one of the most amazing transformations we've ever seen, so take a look at some before and after photos of the village in the gallery below.

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See more:
Best and Worst Home Transformations
Extreme Home Makeovers: From Sorry to Stunning
Conversion Therapy: Turning Old Factories Into Glam Homes

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Bubba Watson Buys Tiger Woods' Home for a Major Remodel

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It was long ago that Tiger Woods threw his Windermere, Fla., home -- the site of that car crash in 2009 that tipped off revelations of his sex scandal -- on the market. But we always wondered who it was that scooped up that scandalous piece of property. Now fellow golf champ Bubba Watson is giving us some answers: It was him.

Watson told Golf.com in an interview that he closed on Tiger's former digs last summer and has been renovating the crap out of it ever since. The renovation has changed about 95 percent of the home's layout, and only now are he, his wife and their son, Caleb, ready to move in. "I looked at probably 50 houses before I looked at Tiger's," Watson said. "A lot of the houses there are old, and we ended up changing everything. We probably saved maybe 5 percent of it. We built it all around Caleb. There are, like, three playrooms."

Property records show that Tiger bought the home for $2.475 million in 2000, but it was assessed at $2.2 million in 2012, ESPN reported. The price that Watson paid for the home was undisclosed. According to the Daily Mail, the original layout of the home pre-renovation included eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a swimming pool. The home measured 6,800 square feet, but Watson is reportedly expanding the size.

Watson told Golf.com that he wanted a home in a gated community to protect his family. "We've seen things in the news -- our world is crazy," he said. "And it's nice to have that peace of mind when we take walks or go outside."

Find homes for sale in Windermere, Fla., or search listings in your area.

See more:
Super Bowl Champ Ray Lewis Selling Palm Beach Trophy Home
Michael Jordan Buys Massive North Carolina Home for a Great Deal
Barry Bonds' Beverly Hills Home Is a Real Estate Hall of Famer

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Pope Francis Gave Up Archbishop's Palace for Humble Apartment

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Pope Francis' Apostolic Palace

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, now Pope Francis, will soon have his own private apartment at the offical papal residence at Palazzo Apostolico (the Apostolic Palace, pictured above) in the Vatican. But his dwellings weren't always so high-profile. According to numerous reports, Pope Francis is a humble man of simple origins and tastes -- and this was reflected in the way he's lived until now.

Pope FrancisCNN reported that before being elected pope, Bergoglio (pictured at left) passed up the opportunity as Argentina's archbishop to live in the grand Archbishop's Palace in Buenos Aires -- the official residence. Instead, he chose to live in a "small room" in a downtown Buenos Aires apartment building, where he commuted by bus to the Metropolitan Cathedral. In this humble space, Cardinal Bergoglio even did his own cooking -- and the place was only heated by a small stove, said USA Today.

Still, we have a feeling the new pope will settle into his new, higher-profile digs just fine. Meanwhile, his predecessor, Benedict XVI, is staying at the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo and will soon settle permanently at the convent of Mater Ecclesiae, which is still inside Vatican territory (see the video below).

 

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Chelsea Clinton, Marc Mezvinsky Buy $10.5 Million NYC Apartment

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Chelsea Clinton home

Ah, the sweet life of rich political families. Looks like former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky (both pictured below), are about to swap out their stunning $4 million New York City "starter pad" for a $10.5 million home nearby. The New York Post reported that Clinton and her hubby signed the contract for a sprawling 5,000-square-foot spread at The Whitman building just last month.

Chelsea Clinton, Marc MezvinskyClinton's new home at 21 E. 26th Street features four bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, a home office, a media room and a family room with a full view over Madison Square Park. According to the listing, the master bathroom is decked out in Italian marble. The Post reported that Clinton's parents, former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, toured the couple's home during a visit last week.

The Daily Mail said that the couple's current $4 million pad is equally gorgeous but much smaller: It only has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a gym and a doorman. Maybe they're expanding to make room for a third member of the household? Just sayin'.

Melanie Lazenby and Dina Lewis of Douglas Elliman have the listing. See Chelsea Clinton's new digs in the gallery below.

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See also:
Bill Clinton's Home Declared National Historic Site
White House Value Climbs During President Obama's First Term
Live in the White House -- Sort Of

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Is Bill Clinton The Best Dad Out There?

 

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What Can You Buy for $500,000?

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For $500,000, how much house can you get? We asked our friends at Realtor.com to pull out some of the best homes for sale right now for $500,000. You might be surprised at what's out there: Some great deals can be had, but in markets that have been on the rise, the money buys you a little less than it used to. Click through the gallery below to see what $500,000 buys you.

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'Rocky II' House in Philadelphia Hits Market at Knockout Price (House of the Day)

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Rocky Balboa was built like a brick ... well, you're probably familiar with the phrase. Fortunately, so was the Philadelphia row house Rocky bought in 1979's "Rocky II." And if you're in the market to snap up the home of film's most famous boxer, you're in luck! Rocky's pad -- a very non-fictional, 1,306-square-foot house -- is on the market for a shockingly reasonable price: $139,900.

The listing uses Rocky fame to its advantage, immediately pointing out that the home is "for all you movie buffs." The listing's agent, Joe Biancaniello, even remembers how much buzz the home got when filming for the action flick was going on back in the '70s. "I was friends with the owners, and they let me come over and watch the filming from inside," he told the Daily News. "It was a big deal at the time. People came from all over the place, the police had to shut down streets. You know, Sylvester Stallone comes to the neighborhood, it's pretty cool. It was chaos."

The unassuming row house is still recognizable to hardcore "Rocky" fans today. Biancaniello said that neighbors told him people still stop by to peer in windows and take photos outside the house. The home is on the market now because the woman who has lived there since the filming of "Rocky II" recently died, according to the Associated Press. The house was chosen to be featured in the movie because the filmmakers "happened to like the front of the home and knocked on the door," Biancaniello told the AP.

The interior of the home wasn't filmed for "Rocky II" -- and that might be a good thing. Some of the listing's photos (seen below) show a typically quaint city home, while others show parts of the house that are pretty worn and torn. (What we're guessing is the basement/laundry room could use a lot of work.) The home offers three bedrooms and two bathrooms, an eat-in kitchen and a sizable backyard, all on a tree-lined street. So why not a higher price for a movie-famous home? Its history "might add to the allure of the house, but I don't know that it would make people put more money on the house," Biancaniello told the Philadelphia Enquirer. "It's just something cool." We might even call it a knockout.

See the listing for more details.

Find more homes for sale in Philadelphia, or search listings in your area.









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Got a tip for House of the Day? Know of an exceptional or unusual property currently listed for sale? Please email colin.croughan@teamaol.com with your suggestions and be sure to include links to listing details and photos. (Due to the volume of response, we unfortunately are unable to reply to each submission.)

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In the 10 Best Cities for Jobs, Hot Housing Markets, Too

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The cities that have the best outlook for job growth in America also have some pretty hot housing markets. Forbes recently unveiled the best cities for jobs this spring, but we wanted to see what was happening in their respective real estate markets (in case you're moving there for work). It's no surprise that if a local market has strong job numbers, housing is bound to be doing just as well. But you may be surprised at just how well these cities are doing. Click through the gallery below to see what happening in housing in the top 10 cities for jobs.

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Spring Home Makeover Don'ts: HGTV's Sabrina Soto On Big Mistakes

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Springtime is upon us, and you know what that means. Well, yeah, all that spring cleaning, but now's a great time to do something else with your home: give it a makeover. You may be considering repainting your home, buying new furniture or even going all the way with a remodel. You may also think you know what you're doing -- when you actually don't. In the video clip above, HGTV design expert Sabrina Soto dispels some common myths about home makeovers and explains what NOT to do when redesigning your home.

Here's what you definitely can do, though, that doesn't take a lot of time (or money): update your home accents by switching out your drawer and door hardware, spot-paint boo-boos and scratches on bed frames and walls, and use decorative paper to cover the switch plates on electrical outlets that complement your decor scheme. These are just a few quick and easy home makeovers you can do in a flash and on the cheap.

Soto has much more advice on home makeovers besides what not to do. Watch the full segment on Huffington Post Live, where we even asked her a question of our own: What room is the easiest and cheapest to makeover? We weren't expecting the answer she gave. And since we're on the topic of home makeovers, click through the gallery below to see some of the best and worst we've ever seen.

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See more:
Extreme Home Makeovers: From Sorry to Stunning
Quick and Easy Home Makeovers
Disabled Teen Gets Home Makeover That Will Change His Life

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Sabrina Soto: spring makeover tips on HuffPost Live.

 

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Ex-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's Bethesda Home for Sale (House of the Day)

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Timothy Geithner home, Bethesda, Md.

The real test that will tell whether former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made any lasting impact on U.S. housing policy? If he can sell his home in Bethesda, Md., for a decent price. After all, it just hit the market for nearly $1 million.

Timothy Geithner, former Treasury secretaryHe's not even trying for much of a profit. Geithner and his wife bought the home for $950,000 in 2009, according to Curbed. The 2,537-square-foot home has four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, and it has been renovated since being built in 1954. It's had a family-room addition, and the kitchen has been upgraded with stainless steel appliances.

The downstairs part of the house could be a living area all its own. It has two recreational areas and its own living room and office. Don't miss the sizable backyard with a "gorgeous deck." Geithner left the Obama administration in January, and he's penning a memoir about his experience helping to lead the country through the financial crisis. The book is expected to be published in 2014, according to The Wall Street Journal.

See the listing for more details.

Find more homes for sale in Bethesda, Md., or search listings in your area.

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Got a tip for House of the Day? Know of an exceptional or unusual property currently listed for sale? Please email colin.croughan@teamaol.com with your suggestions and be sure to include links to listing details and photos. (Due to the volume of response, we unfortunately are unable to reply to each submission.)

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Is This the World's Most Deceptive Listing?

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We know all about deceptive listings (we're kind of experts) but this listing that was found on a Korean website takes it to a whole other level. Described, according to Japanese news blog RocketNews24, as a "stately residence complete with outdoor pool," the listing comes with a stunning picture (above) of what looks like a very sizable infinity pool -- that looks enticingly appropriate for some long, lazy laps -- in the backyard of a beautifully traditional backyard.

Or so we think. Apparently, it's not just descriptions we have to worry about -- pictures lie, too! Because that very large-looking pool in reality looks like, well, this. (See below.)



Kudos to the listing's photographer, however! His deceptive wide-angled photography (more like trickery!) could even be enough to get us to visit the property. Even more kudos to the listing site for publishing pictures of the pool as is. Let it serve as a warning for homebuyers -- beware of listing photos!

See also: Deceptive Descriptions (Listing Fails)
Apartments That Are Stunningly Average
'Cavernous' Living Room in a Shoebox Apartment

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Gorgeous Stone Colonial in Rye, NY, Evokes Classic Elegance (House of the Day)

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Hear, hear! A toast to @HoulihanRE for snagging the title of our #housepornthurs winner two weeks in a row! Last week it was a grand manor; this week it's a jaw-dropping stone Colonial in Rye, N.Y., that won it for them. Voters sure do love that classic architecture! A second toast to the runner-up, @PlatProperties, for putting up a good fight with this five-floor townhouse in the heart of Manhattan.

Located in a "well-established estate neighborhood," the stone Colonial sits on the grounds of the Westchester Country Club in Westchester County, just north of New York City. The six-bedroom, six-bathroom home has a lovely entryway with winding staircase. Large, open rooms with high ceilings give the 7,000-square-foot house a feeling of expansiveness. The master suite has a powder room, and there's also a gym in the home -- all this for $3.65 million.

See the listing for more details.

Find more homes for sale in Rye, N.Y., or search listings in your area.

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Got a tip for House of the Day? Know of an exceptional or unusual property currently listed for sale? Please email colin.croughan@teamaol.com with your suggestions and be sure to include links to listing details and photos. (Due to the volume of response, we unfortunately are unable to reply to each submission.)

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Taylor Moore of Canada Would Sell Home for 6,750 Bitcoins

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Taylor Moore property, aerial view

Taylor Moore, of Alberta, Canada, is hoping to be the first person ever to sell his home in Bitcoins: 6,750 Bitcoins, to be exact, or 405,000 Canadian dollars (about $395,000).

Taylor Moore home, Alberta, Canada"My home is being traded for Bitcoins!" Moore's listing reads. (The home is pictured at left.) "If you had $405k I wouldn't turn you down -- but if a partial or whole transaction is done using Bitcoins, the price can be reduced depending on how many Bitcoins you have to trade."

For those not in the know, a Bitcoin is an experimental, decentralized digital currency that enables instant payments to anyone, anywhere in the world. (They can be purchased here.) In one of the first Bitcoin transactions ever, a man purportedly paid 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas in 2010. Depending on location, the exchange rate right now is about $50 to $70 per Bitcoin.

Moore says his "quaint, two bedroom bungalow" boasts beautiful mountain views and 110 feet of "breathtaking" Crowsnest River frontage. It also includes a 2,800-square-foot workshop that Moore says is perfect for the "handyman hobbyist." The properties sit on 2.9 acres of land and is "perfect" for anyone who loves the great outdoors, Moore says. We dig it. Anyone have 6,750 Bitcoins they want to lend us?

See the listing here.

See also:
Home Won't Sell? Offer a Pizza With the Purchase

What Can You Buy for $500,000?

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Will Virtual Currency Rule The Future?

 

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For Survivors: Cold War-Era Bomb Shelter in Florida for $499,500

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We've told you that the survival real estate market is still very much alive despite numerous failed predictions of apocalypse in the past few years. But if you need more proof, here you go. For just under half a million bucks, you can snap up a bomb shelter in St. Lucie County, Fla., that's designed to keep people alive for at least 30 days after a nuclear attack. You, however, can spend eternity there.

The bomb shelter was built by AT&T in 1967 during the Cold War. Prompted by the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Soviet Union and the U.S. neared a nuclear precipice, the telephone company planned to use the shelter in the case of attack to house those personnel who could keep electronic communications going, WPTV in West Palm Beach, Fla., reported. Hoyt Murphy, the Realtor representing the listing, says the 7,700-square-foot bomb shelter is made from 30-inch-thick, steel-reinforced concrete and outfitted with industrial springs to minimize the effect of a nuclear blast. It's also been rigged with 200-kilowatt generators, massive air-intake tunnels and even a custom ventilation system.

Although the property was abandoned in the 1980s and vandalized soon after, the bunker's shelves still hold emergency supplies.

"It's the most interesting and unique property we've had for sale," Murphy told AOL Real Estate. "It has so much potential. People have been looking to repurpose it as a home, which has its challenges. Some people see it as the ultimate man cave. It could also be a storage space." Murphy says that in the six months the bunker has been on the market, he has already been approached by some "seriously interested" parties. Murphy said that some potential buyers have already been in talks with architects about creative ways to transform the space. (Anyone have a spare $499,500 to help us buy it for AOL Real Estate's new headquarters?)

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See also:
Luxury 'Doomsday Bunkers' Promise Survival -- and Pampering
Man Makes 'Doomsday Bunker' Out of Stolen Trailers, Police Say
Need a Nuke-Proof Bunker? Shop eBay

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Aol Real Estate's Inside Look: Missile Silo

 

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Jon Bon Jovi Asking a Staggering $42 Million for NYC Penthouse

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Jon Bon Jovi penthouse home in New York

Jon Bon JoviJust six years ago, our favorite rockstar Jon Bon Jovi snapped up this stunning -- if not overly glassy -- penthouse in New York's stylish Soho neighborhood for $24 million. Now, he's thrown the same penthouse back on the market -- for a whopping $42 million. Whew!

So why the $18 million markup? Apparently, the 7,500-square-foot duplex comes fully furnished. (No promises that the rocker picked out all the furniture himself, though.) The home also boasts arched full-wall windows, 11-foot ceilings, an enormous mirrored fireplace, open-plan great room and a whopping 3,100 square feet of outdoor space. That must make any New Yorker contemplating a 325-square-foot 'microstudio' pretty darn jealous!

Thanks to our friends at Curbed for the tip! Deborah Grubman and David Dubin of Corcoran Group have the listing.

Find more homes for sale in New York, N.Y., or search listings in your area.

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See also:
R. Kelly Mansion Bought by Bank in Foreclosure Auction
Ryan Phillippe Takes a Bath On Sale of Hollywood Hills Home

Rent Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones' Bermuda Villa

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Jon Bon Jovi Is Trying To Find Uplifting Messages

 

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Multimillion-Dollar Short Sales

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Short sales are a popular option for homebuyers right now because they're cheap. Well, cheaper than regular non-distressed properties. We recently brought you the 10 best cities to buy short sales, where they sold at an average of 23 percent below market rate. There were three times as many short sales as sales of foreclosed homes in 2012, according to online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac. But there are some that the average homeowner might not consider a bargain.

The rich aren't immune from falling behind on their mortgages, and there are plenty of short sales out there that will still cost you a few million bucks. Just imagine how much they'd be if they weren't short sales! We've rounded up a few multimillion-dollar short sales currently on the market around the country. Click through the gallery below to see them.

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See more:
Multimillion-Dollar Foreclosures
Best Cities to Buy Foreclosures

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Has Larry David Curbed His Enthusiasm for Just-Listed Home?

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Larry David house, Pacific Palisades

We'll let Larry David be the one to curb his enthusiasm because we can't hide our excitement over his newly listed Pacific Palisades home. Though David plays a grouch on his sitcom, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," his 10,000-square-foot house in this ritzy Los Angeles neighborhood is a rather soft "fairytale home" exuding warmth. As Realtor.com puts it, this is the perfect opportunity for the buyer to become "master of their domain" -- for $15 million. (Good thing funnyman David can take a joke because you could riff on this place for days.)

Larry DavidAccording to The Real Estalker, David's seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom compound is the product of three purchases that he made in the 1990s. The main house has grand fireplaces in the living room, dining room and kitchen. The master suite has a large deck from which you can take in unparalleled ocean views, not to mention the property's large backyard with glimmering pool. There's a gym and playroom, too. A separate guesthouse has yet another fireplace in case there aren't too many for you in the main house.

Yep, that's what being the co-creator of one of the most famous sitcoms in TV history, "Seinfeld," gets you. Curbed also threw out a pretty fun fact about David's home: It's exactly one mile from Jeff and Susie's house on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," a home that happened to have been on the market in 2011.

See the listing for more details.

Find more homes for sale in Pacific Palisades, Calif., or search listings in your area.

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See also:
Floor Plans of TV Homes: Brandi Roberts Re-Creates the 'Friends' Apartment and More
R. Kelly's Estate Goes Back to Bank in Foreclosure Auction
NASCAR Driver Kurt Busch's $2.8 Million Condo Hits the Market

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Buy the Compound on Fiji's Wakaya Island, Get the Whole Island (House of the Day)

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Wakaya Island

Dreary Monday? Dreaming of a tropical getaway? Then feast your eyes on this beauty: It's not just an island home for sale -- but an entire tropical island! Every white-sand inch of the breathtakingly beautiful Fijian island of Wakaya can be yours (all yours!) with the purchase of Rai Ki Wai, the island's 47-acre compound currently on the market for $6.95 million.

The island boasts five square miles of "private tropical paradise" in the heart of the South Pacific, according to Realtor.com. It features 22 kilometers of roads, a freshwater reservoir, an airstrip, a marina, jetty, village, church, gym, school and a recently upgraded runway, Wikipedia will have us believe. The listing tells us that it's abundant with banyan trees, tropical flowers, rainforest canopies and native fauna.

The 23,000-square-foot Rai Ki Wai itself features 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a gym, a lighted tennis court, boule court, volleyball court and a helipad. Oh, and it comes with its own "permanent and first-class staff" waiting to take care of your every need. Trying to find an extra $6.95 million now, aren't you?

Real estate firm Hilton & Hyland has the listing.

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Got a tip for House of the Day? Know of an exceptional or unusual property currently listed for sale? Please email colin.croughan@teamaol.com with your suggestions and be sure to include links to listing details and photos. (Due to the volume of response, we unfortunately are unable to reply to each submission.)

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A Village-Size Estate in Fiji

 

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Listing Fail: Even 'Ugly' Homes Need Buyers

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Ugly house, Toledo, IL

We agree that honesty is the best policy in life, love and, yes, listings. But although mama might not have told you so, a little white lie never hurt anyone. Well, at least not being so bluntly honest.

You wouldn't tell your date that you'd prefer she wear more makeup next time, would you? (Even if she is ugly as sin.) Same goes for listings: You don't have to make it so blatantly obvious that the house you're selling is unattractive as hell. Quite frankly, if it's that ugly, then maybe you shouldn't be showing photos of it in the first place.

Here's a case in point: This listing (pictured above) in Toledo, Ill., minces no words about how devastatingly ugly it is. The listing reads: "Exterior my look like ugly duckling." (The only thing uglier? The spelling and grammar.) The owner does add as an afterthought: "Inside fixed up nice." Um, thanks. It's what's on the inside that matters, right?

Ugly house, Warren, IL

Similarly, this listing in Warren, Ill. (pictured above), cuts right to the chase. Its headline reads: "Ugly. Outdated." (Complete with check marks.) Even though the owner later concedes that the home has "tons of potential," we've already checked this one off our list.

Ugly house, Kansas City, MO

Over in Kansas City, Mo., this home is so ugly that the owner can't even show a picture of it! The owner explains, "The outside is very ugly until i get a chance to paint in spring." But the listing adds that it's been remodeled with new floors, and "you have to see it!!" Nah, we'll wait until spring -- if we haven't found another home by then.

Enjoy this post? Check out all our listing fail articles!

See also:
Spring Home Makeover Don'ts: HGTV's Sabrina Soto On Big Mistakes

Extreme Home Makeovers: From Sorry to Stunning
Quick and Easy Home Makeovers

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Complete Exterior Home Makeover

 

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