Looking for somewhere not more than 30 Mins from Boston, very high budget (Brookline: real estate)

[2KidsforMe]

Thank you for clearing that up Providential Man. That makes sense. Hopefully you can take away some good advice from this forum, and welcome to Massachusetts!

[RichCapeCod]

Providential Man:

May I suggest you get hold of the NY Times Sunday paper magazine section. In the back are some very exclusive properties of the type you are interested in. At any rate you'll see who the appropriate brookers are for the property you are interested in.

Rich

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Providential Man

I do realise that this post must appear somewhat strange, however, I do not currently live in the US, I live in London. My experience of "exclusive agents" so far is that they simply rip you off.

When I mentioned Vermont, I didn't realise how far it was from Boston, till I looked at an atlas!

I work in the medical field and am establishing an office in Boston. Whilst I have been to boston many times, I don't get the oppertunity to venture out to scout for areas. As a result, I need to identify an area before I would consider instructing an agent who would most likely find a property that would cost me as much as possible, without necessarily presenting me with all the options. I have been burned before, and have thus decided to do some digging myself.

I do appreciate all of the advice given so far from everyone, and I assure you, of my genuine intentions.

Okay, another resource I can suggest is the following website: luxuryrealestate.com. They don't have lots and lots of properties listed, but I saw a few there that looked interesting. There was even one in Brookline that had several acres of land, which surprised me, since Brookline is right next to Boston, and fairly densely populated overall. The ad didn't list the square footage of the house, but it looked pretty big in the picture.

Maybe it is a good idea to hold off on dealing with a realtor until you can be here to be directly involved in the search. Still, a realtor who specializes in this kind of property could be very helpful at some point.

Maybe the nearby state you had in mind was New Hampshire, not Vermont. Even southern NH is well beyond the half-an-hour or so commute you say you'd prefer. Also, a lot of towns in southern NH are growing suburbs with a lot of newer houses. You'd be more likely to find a really large old house in the lake and mountain vacation areas farther north, well outside even a long commuting range. I guess it's possible you could find a large old rambling farmhouse in southern NH, dating back to the days before this area became largely suburban, but there are most likely few properties like this, and again, it's a long commute from even southern NH.

Someone mentioned in an earlier post that it sounded as if you were looking for a manor house. Now that we learn that you're from "across the pond," I'm thinking this might be exactly the sort of thing you have in mind. There are some large estates around this area, but not many. There are especially few with main houses that are older, with some history, that are as large as you're looking for. There is a social conservatism in this area which means that many wealthy people have traditionally not lived in huge houses, but have sought elegance in more subtle ways, such as the quality of a house's construction and details. Again, this is not to say that the kind of property you seek does not exist, just that you may really have to do some serious digging to have a chance of finding this near Boston. Some compromise on the size of the house would help. You'll find many more properties with the acreage you want than with well-preserved older houses of 15k sq. ft. or more.

Depending on the details you're looking for, you might or might not have to compromise on the length of the commute you'd prefer. Manchester (by the Sea) has some properties similar to what you're looking for, but is significantly beyond your preferred 35-minute commute. Generally, areas near the coast, north or south of Boston, are more densely populated than the western suburbs, so, if you want a place close to the water, you'll most likely need to plan on a longer commute. Some areas west of the city will put you within your desired commuting time, or at least fairly close, but are nowhere near the coast. Out to the west, besides some towns already listed on this thread (Weston, Wayland, Wellesley, Dover, Sherborn), you might also look at Lincoln, Sudbury, and Concord. These are farther from Boston, with a longer commute than the towns just mentioned, but are still closer than most places north or south of Boston with properties of several acres.

Thanks for the additional information. You may have cleared up some misgivings people were having. Best of luck with your search.

[MovingForward]

I still don't believe it. How can somebody not know how far Vermont is from Boston? Or not know, at least, that it is further than 35 minutes? Plus, the phony syntax and various ludicrous repetitions about how rich he is--none of it adds up. I don't believe this nonsense for a second.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by MovingForward

I still don't believe it. How can somebody not know how far Vermont is from Boston? Or not know, at least, that it is further than 35 minutes? Plus, the phony syntax and various ludicrous repetitions about how rich he is--none of it adds up. I don't believe this nonsense for a second.

Time will tell.

[Valerie C]

*shrug*

Well, let's say that this person is indeed in the U.K. If someone asked me right now how far it was from London, to let's say... Bristol. Never having lived (or unfortunately, even visited) England yet, I simply wouldn't have a clue, and would need to consult a map/atlas. Not everyone is as familiar with our main streets and back roads as we are Heck, I have a hard time keeping distances straight when I venture to our fair neighbors to the North (how far is it from Victoriaville to Nova Scotia again?? 30 miles? 300 miles?) Where's my GPS???

And besides, it's not often I get the opportunity to scout properties of *quite* this caliber.

Originally Posted by MovingForward

I still don't believe it. How can somebody not know how far Vermont is from Boston? Or not know, at least, that it is further than 35 minutes?

[MovingForward]

Boston and Vermont are not "main streets and back roads." After 9/11, everybody knows where Boston is. No, I think he messed up and tried to cover his tracks. And, again, the language: weird, inflated syntax and quite a few misspellings. Nobody looking for a 15,000 square foot home--or larger--on several acres, for many millions of dollars (which he repeats ad nauseum) goes on a public board and asks people--the vast majority of whom would not have the slightest idea where to find such bloated properties--where to find one. Also, he said he doesn't want to go through a realtor because he has "been burned before." Nonsense, in my opinion.

[pondhopper]

Realtor systems in the UK work completely different to the US and getting burned by Realtors in the UK is the NORM not the exception. Not knowing distances is pretty easy too and time is a preferred measure as 60 miles in the UK can take 3 hours to drive (trust me I live 60 miles from London and it can take ages). The rest you have to take on faith or just not respond if you feel its not legit.

To the OP, any realtor can find and show any property in the US unlike here in the UK (as long as you meet the conditions - which as some have posted includes a financial qualification generally for the type of properties you state you are looking for). A poster was correct about "historical" and 15,000 sq feet not going together in the USA unless you go to Newport RI. (Several of the Newport mansiions just came up for sale). If the rest of your conditions - size, acreage and proximity to Boston are pretty much spot on then it's DOVER with possibly Sherborn but now you are moving further away. If historical and large are your criteria then its Newport RI but now you are several hours away rush hour and 1.5 hours away non-rush hour. I would look into the US Wall Street Journal which has highend property listings on weekends; also try Sotheby's and Christie's; Also if you are legit I can put you in touch with a realtor who is a highend specialist who can help (she deals with sport stars, television personalities etc in the Boston area - but you will be required to pass a financial test between you and her so as not to waste your, her, or her client's time). Good luck!

[Providential Man]

Many thanks pondhopper. Just to clarify, does that mean that I can approach any estate agent, and this estate agent can sell me any property ?

I appreciate that many people have issues with this post, however, I think they should take a look at how much it costs to buy a two bedroom flat in central london. (Many flats are for sale in excess of $10M.)

I was fortunate enough that my father bought a very large townhouse in Knightsbridge many years ago, when property prices were in the dumps.

The dollar is also at an all time low. over 2$:1£.

[scarletfire]

I agree with Valerie. Just because someone has money doesn't mean they don't seek advice, particularly when moving from so far away. And just looking on a map to figure out commute time is difficult. On this list I suppose we're more used to people coming here with sticker shock: "Where can I find a new 2,000 sq ft home for $200K near Boston?" and the like.

P'Man: You might want to consider touring some of the historic homes in Concord, Lexington, Sherborn, and Dover. They may not be quite so huge, but many have so much history, character, and warmth. (and don't cost $20M!) You can certainly find the acreage + the historic home around here, just not many with 15K sq ft.

I guess it's odd for folks here to envision buying a home so huge that's historic because most aren't that large here. It's nice to see someone who wants historic vs the horrendous McMansions that are popping up all over the place. Our old neighbors just put up some new monstrosity they think is Italianate style but it looks more like a bank, oh dear!

BTW, Did anyone on the list visit the mansion at Elm Bank in Wellesley when it was open 2 weeks ago? It's so amazing. I hope that someone comes in to renovate it and bring it back to its former glory. It's in pretty rough shape now but you can see what a special place it is still.