When we covered the news that Tiger Woods’ ex had torn down a 1932 waterfront home that she had purchased for $12 million, your responses were mixed. Some of you thought that it was incredibly wasteful to demolish an historical home that surely included irreplaceable features, especially to build what is likely to be a mcmansion. Others of you noted that she attempted to renovate at first before deciding to wreck the place and start over. It’s possible that some damage was discovered that couldn’t be worked around. Plus she’s stimulating the local economy by hiring so many people. However you feel about it, it’s very common for the obscenely rich to demolish perfectly good homes and rebuild to their exact specifications.

Well TMZ has the news from Elin’s builder that the old home had termites and wasn’t built to withstand hurricanes, which are a definite concern in South Florida. That makes her decision a little more understandable to me, but I’m still leaning in the “wasteful” direction. It’s easy enough to say it wasn’t up to code or that it had termites. Plus the home she’s building in its place looks a lot like the original if you just go by the blueprints that were submitted. Here’s more:

Elin Nordegren is SO rich — she’s basically building a replica of the multimillion dollar estate she knocked down.

TMZ has obtained renderings Elin submitted to the Palm Beach County Dept. of Planning, Zoning & Building. Compare the exterior elevation drawing with the pic of the house that was on the $12 million property before Elin razed it. Both are traditional/colonial homes with a very similar shape. The drawing looks similar to the 9,000 square foot house that was demolished.

Elin’s builder told PEOPLE the house Elin 86′d was 90 years old, didn’t meet code provisions to withstand hurricanes, and was infested with termites.

Of course, the house Elin builds will be a brand spanking new. The supporting documents describe the house in detail.

– 9 bedrooms
– 2 large living rooms
– huge formal dining room
– 2 kitchens
– large pool
– GROTTO!!!
– pool cabana with HUGE living room
– 2 jacuzzis
– detached guest house with 3 bedrooms
– 3 guest bungalows
– wine cellar
– ginormous master wing with crazy big walk in closet
– basement that runs the entire length of the house

There’s 120 feet of retaining walls, and they are bringing in 4100 cubic yards of soil — which is an enormous amount.

County officials have sent the architect back to the drawing board for some changes before the plans will be approved.

[From TMZ]

This news didn’t change my opinion of her, which is basically that she’s got a ton of money now so she’s spending it like a Kardashian. It’s one thing to be well off and to comfortably enjoy it. It’s quite another to spend millions on a huge home like that, just because you can. How much do you really need? I know that’s a slippery slope argument, like “why have anything nice when we can get by with the basics?” but when we’re talking about this level of consumption it just seems so ridiculous to me.

Update: Thanks to those of you that pointed out that Elin donated materials from the demolished house, about $300,000 worth, to Habitat for Humanity. The Orlando Sun Sentinel reports that “Nordegren gave the deconstruction crew plenty of time, about six weeks, to remove items from the house. That allowed the crew to work at a pace that maximized the value — he estimated it at more than $300,000 — of what was removed.” Good for her, I’m definitely changing my opinion with that news.

The house before it was torn down:

After it was torn down:

These photos of Elin are from 2010. Credit: Fame. Other photos credit: Pacific Coast News

I took one of those riverboat cruises in Palm Beach a few years ago to see how the super rich live. The tour guide explained to us that it was very common for for the uber rich to buy perfectly good waterfront mansions, tear them down and build their own. When you’re that rich you want things “just so” and I guess and you have time and the resources to make it happen. So when I heard that Elin Woods had purchased a 12 million mansion in north Palm Beach and demolished it, I wasn’t surprised. It sounds super wasteful to tear down a home that most of us would consider beyond our wildest dreams, but those people don’t live like most of us by any stretch. Still, it’s disappointing to hear the Elin Woods is one of them. We don’t know much about her, but we heard that she’s going to be responsible with her massive divorce settlement and not waste it. I guess that’s relative when you’re talking about powerball level money. Here’s more:

Bought a year ago for $12.3 million, the oceanfront mansion owned by the former wife of Tiger Woods has been demolished and she is building a new house on the lot in the exclusive Seminole Landing development near North Palm Beach.

“It was a beautiful place, incredible landscaping, fantastic ocean frontage,” said Realtor John True, who was at the house on Halloween for a charity event after work had begun.

“I heard that the original plan was to renovate. But once they started, I heard they decided to tear it down.”

Elin Nordegren is living in the San Remo condominiums, an oceanfront development in Juno Beach, while her new home is being built, according to local officials who asked not to be named.

Palm Beach County issued the demolition permit on Dec. 16 and it is active until June 17, records show.

The 17,000-square-foot house, built in 1932, was two stories, with eight bathrooms, an in-ground pool and an elevator.

Seminole Landing is on the east side of U.S. 1 just north of PGA Boulevard in unincorporated Palm Beach County, according to county records.

The 77-acre development is among the top five most exclusive communities in Palm Beach County, said True, owner of Oceanfront Realty in Juno Beach.

The gated development is the home of the private Seminole Golf Course.

[From The Palm Beach Post]

Well Tiger is still building an insane compound on Jupiter Island worth nearly $50 million, according to that article in the Palm Beach Post. We heard last year that construction was finished, but he’s still working on it. Compared to him Elin is playing it pretty safe. So if you had, let’s see, $110 million dollars by some estimates, would you spend over 10 percent of it on a house and then tear it down and spend a couple million more building another house, just because you could? Maybe, since a lot of people spend 30 percent and more of their income buying a home. Still, it’s hard to fathom buying something worth that and destroying it, even if you had the money.

Elin’s house before:

Elin’s house before:

Elin’s house after:

Elin is shown in Miami on 12-2-11, credit: Fame. Home photos credit: CelebrityHomePhotos.com

What would it be like to be incredibly wealthy and have the time, energy and inclination to spend money on incredible gifts for your loved ones? For Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, the gifts don’t seem to include Elizabeth Taylor-level jewelry, which is disappointing. I would love it if Brad was always buying Angelina jewelry. Alas, I don’t think Brad’s big on that. But Angelina still gives Brad the perfect presents, the gifts that keep on giving, at least according to The Mail. Their sources claim that for Brad’s 48th birthday a few weeks ago, Angelina gave Brad a waterfall. Like, she bought a swath of property that included a waterfall, and now Brad wants to design a house for their family ON the waterfall.

Brad Pitt has completely fallen for his Christmas present from Angelina Jolie – a waterfall in California. The star now plans to take time out from his movie career to build an ambitious house over the falls near LA in the style of his favourite American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.

The actor celebrated his 48th birthday on December 18 with Angelina, 36, and their six children and Angie told him that the falls and surrounding land were his birthday and Christmas presents.

A thrilled Pitt is now planning to embark on an ambitious and exotic building project emulating the design of Lloyd Wright’s 1939 masterpiece Fallingwater, which was built in Pennsylvania on a similar piece of land. The pair visited the house in 2006.

‘Brad has always loved Fallingwater and his first trip there was unforgettable,’ says a friend. ‘Angelina wanted to get him something incredibly special and, because she knows how much he loves architecture, she thought this would be perfect. She hopes this will be a hideaway for the family. Brad has dreamed of a home with the sound of a waterfall cascading under the house.’

The couple recently sold their Malibu home to star Ellen DeGeneres.

‘Brad has always wanted to design his own house. He wants to pull all aspects of nature, light, glass and varying levels into the concept,’ says the friend. ‘This is the present to top all presents.’ Brad has said he’d like to give up his Hollywood life, declaring: ‘While acting is my career, architecture is my passion.’

[From The Mail]

A waterfall house would be amazing… although probably not the best idea with six young children, you know? “Where’s Knox? OMG HE’S IN THE WATERFALL.” Angelina did “gift” Brad with a trip to Fallingwater in 2006 – there was even a lovely photo of the couple at the site. Anyway, even though I find Brad’s obsession with real estate, remodeling and architecture rather annoying, it seems like Angelina thinks it’s a nice occupation for Brad to have, and she encourages it. I guess Brad is almost done with the remodel to French chateau, so he’s probably looking for a new project.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Earlier this year, Jennifer Aniston bought two condos in NYC, I think. I think it’s two, I mean. I remember reading something about how she going to turn two luxury condos into one big shag-pad. The point is that she finally bought some New York real estate, and this was explained retroactively by her relationship with New York hipster Justin Theroux. Jennifer is currently “on hiatus” and so she’s spent the past few months with Justin in NYC and in their new rental in Beverly Hills, and it seems like Justin is very happy to move into Jennifer’s homes and have her pay the bills.

Several weeks ago, when Aniston and Theroux seemed to be getting pap’d on a daily basis in Manhattan, the tabloids had an interesting story about Heidi Bivens being “sick” of seeing her ex-boyfriend and the woman who had home wrecked her 14-year relationship all over New York, which is Heidi’s home city too. Shortly after that, Aniston and Theroux moved on to LA and the daily pap sessions have ended for now. But! SHE SHALL RETURN. The Hollywood Reporter says that Aniston is all about New York real estate now.

Actress Jennifer Aniston has been especially busy on the real estate front this year, with two previous NYC apartment purchases, the sale of a Beverly Hills house and a $17,000-a-month rental in L.A.

Now, she has reportedly just spent almost $9 million on a three-bedroom, 2,873-square-foot unit in Manhattan at the posh 50 Gramercy Park North, “the only apartment in the building with spectacular views of Gramercy Park from the master suite.”

Amenities include housekeeping, valet, room service, butler service and membership to the David Barton Gym and spa at the neighboring Gramercy Hotel.

Maintenance fees run $11,258 a month. The listing is with Lisa Simonsen and Laura Mondrick of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

I guess this apartment will be “theirs”. The other two New York condos were just “hers” and she and Justin want their own place? Or maybe she just knows it’s a buyer’s market and she’s spending all of her wealth on real estate, which isn’t the worst idea. Maybe she’s just bored and she likes to decorate – not the worst reason, honestly.

By the way, I don’t really get the whole “I’m living in an apartment with a full hotel-like staff” thing. Either live in an apartment, or live in a hotel. CHOOSE. CB says it’s really common up north, though. Maybe my confusion over hotel-like apartment buildings is a Southern thing. In the South, you buy a condo, and you’re on your own.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

We’ve heard that Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux have moved in together, and this is the first time I’ve seen clear photos taken inside their new cozy digs in the Hollywood Hills. Kaiser tells me that these came out for the first time a while ago, and that they were in the Daily Mail last week. There are more pictures here I wanted to show, though.

This move to cohabitate with her lovah represents a significant downsizing for Aniston. She moved from a huge estate that she just sold for $38 million to this relatively small two bedroom 1,760-square-foot home that rents for $17,500 a month. Don’t feel sorry for Aniston for living like a super wealthy commoner, though. She’s just in this place temporarily while she’s looking for yet another lavish mansion to decorate like a 70s porn palace.

As temporary accommodation while house hunting goes, this is better than most.

It was reported recently that Jennifer Aniston and her boyfriend Justin Theroux have leased this cosy two-bedroom home while searching for a more luxurious house.

The 1,761 square foot bungalow is nestled high up in the Hollywood Hills with spectacular views over the city, providing a private little love nest for the couple…

The couple are shelling out $17,500 a month for the property, but that is small change compared to the $38million Aniston pocketed from the sale of her 10,000 square foot Beverly Hills mansion.

The couple rented the house on August 1, several months after Aniston decided that her Architectural Digest-featured was ‘too much’ for her and she wanted to simplify her life.

[From The Daily Mail]

The design of this place is not to my taste at all, but this is how it was staged to rent, and it’s not like Aniston is responsible for it. Plus it’s better than the heavy dark wood, shag carpeting and Ron Burgundy styles of her last place. If you’re going to chose a (relatively, given their wealth) small house to live in, it’s best to do so when the relationship is new. When the afterglow wears off and you’re stuck with dealing with someone’s messes and now annoying habits, that’s when the super wealthy can retreat to their own wing of the mansion and not have to deal with the other person’s sh*t at all. For us commoners, some of us would just be grateful to have our own bathrooms.

The kitchen is gorgeous. I love kitchens and bathrooms.

Photos from Curbed.com via ONTD. Other photos credit: PRPhotos

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can’t swing their dicks into a new city without the tabloids screaming that they are going to buy some palatial estate or kazillion-dollar condo. I’ve lost track of how many alleged properties they reportedly own – but I’ve also lost track of all of their actual properties too. They have the French chateau, the NOLA property, and lots of stuff in California, in LA and Santa Barbara. Is that all? Something in Berlin too, right? And I still don’t know if Angelina has kept her English farmhouse, the one that she purchased right after she and Billy Bob Thornton split. I liked the idea of her in a farmhouse, but I have no idea if she sold it at some point. Anyway, the British tabloids claim that Brangelina are once again in the market for some property, this time in Richmond, England, where Brad is filming World War Z:

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have their sights set on a mansion in the posh neighborhood of Richmond-On-Thames in London, RadarOnline.com has learned. Pitt has fallen in love with the scenic area while filming his new movie World War Z and is looking to buy the property where Angelina and their six kids have been staying.

Jolie is said to like Richmond, an area rich in history dating back to the 16th Century and known as one of the Britain’s most exclusive areas. The notoriously private Salt star has been spotted taking her kids to the local cinema in the plush area where the average price of a detached house is $2.2 million.

A source told the UK newspaper The Sun: “Brad is keen to shoot more movies in the UK with his company Plan B Productions and thinks that the mansion in Richmond is the perfect place to live.”

Richmond — which has a population of just 21,221 — is a town which is situated around 8 miles south-west of central London.

It is incorporated in the London Borough Of Richmond-On-Thames and received its name following the construction of Richmond Palace in the 16th century. The development of Richmond as a London suburb began with the opening of the railway station in 1846. Located on the River Thames, Richmond has an active commercial center with a number of parks and open spaces with several authentic pubs and restaurants.

And if they do decide to settle in the posh suburb they will be in fine company: Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger, Pete Townsend and Richard E Grant all have homes in the area.

Meanwhile, Brangelina and their brood are due to travel to Scotland this week as Pitt continues to shoot scenes for his new movie.

[From Radar]

Sounds nice. And then when they get to Scotland, suddenly Brad will fall in love with Balmoral Castle and he’ll try to get Queen Liz to sell. By the way, I want Angelina to go to Scotland and get wasted with lots of Scotsmen. I want to live vicariously through her for that, because I would imagine it would be lots of fun.

Archive photos of Brangelina in England over the years, courtesy of WENN.

Candy Spelling has sold the insanely large 73,500 square foot mansion left to her by her late husband, television producer Aaron Spelling. (He died in June, 2006 at the age of 83, leaving less than a million to his daughter Tori and forcing us to endure years of biographies, sponsored children’s birthday parties, home shopping jewelry lines and reality shows as Tori strives to maintain the lifestyle she’s accustomed to.) The Spelling home was built on the site of Bing Crosby’s former residence, which was demolished in the late 80s to make room for the monstrous 123-room dwelling they called “The Manor.” It’s the biggest home in LA county.

Candy has been trying to offload that house for years, and it includes a bowling alley, barber shop, “china room,” flower cutting room, three gift wrapping rooms and an entry inspired by the Tara mansion in Gone With the Wind. She was originally asking $150 million for it, but has reportedly sold it for a little over half the asking price, $85 million, to a 22 year-old British heiress named Petra Ecclestone. Petra is a “fashion designer” and her dad is Bernie Ecclestone, the CEO of Formula One Management. TMZ reports that he has a net worth of $4 billion. Candy will move to two units in a “condo complex” that cost $35 million and are currently undergoing renovation.

Candy Spelling’s massive 57,000 square-foot home has finally sold — for an undisclosed price — to Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone. The home had been shown since 2008 and officially on the market since 2009, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The home was first listed at $150 million, and while we’re not sure of the final sale price, Realtor.com points out that “listing agents Rick Hilton and Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland and Sally Forster Jones of Coldwell Banker stand to possibly make a combined $9 million in commissions” if it’s anywhere near the original asking price.

Candy’s mansion sits on five acres in the exclusive Holmby Hills neighborhood and contains fourteen bedrooms and twenty-seven bathrooms. It contains special rooms dedicated to activities like wrapping presents and storing silverware, in addition to the usual luxe amenities: wine cellar, bowling alley, screening room, library, and gym, according to the Associated Press.

Petra Ecclestone is a 22-year old fashion designer who has been described as “one of the most spoilt girls in Britain,” according to the Daily Mail. Earlier this year, Ecclestone’s father, Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone, bought a £56 million home for Petra in London, who claimed it was for her five dogs.

[From The Huffington Post]

Paris Hilton is seething with jealously right now. This Petra girl is engaged, it happened last month and her daddy flew in Rihanna to sing at her engagement party and gave her a custom Bugatti as an engagement present. Her would-be husband is 26 year-old “businessman” Jamie Stunt. I picture her as a blonde Veruca Salt, demanding “I want it now, daddy!” and getting whatever it is until she moves on to the next thing. She’s going to be stuck with this ginormous house for years, but of course she can always tear parts of it down and rebuild.

Here is a video from Candy’s house [via DListed]

Petra, her sister Tamara and their dad, Bernie Ecclestone:

Petra and her fiance:

Petra, her sister and her fiance:

Candy Spelling:

Photos credit: WENN. House photos credit: realtor.com

Last year around this time, Jennifer Aniston threw on a pair of yoga pants and did some stretchy poses for Architectural Digest as they tried to take photos of her remodeled Beverly Hills home. These are the photos from the shoot. She bought the home in 2006, and spent two years renovating it until it was a dark, womb-like space full of purples, rock walls, shag carpets and wood. While some people love that, I thought the place looked kind of dated, rather 1970s, Ron Burgundy-inspired. Anyway, People Magazine is announcing that Aniston is selling her dark little castle. Official reason: because she wants to “simplify”. Real reason: because the whole place reeks of booze, reefer, John Mayer spooge and eau d’Chelsea Handler vom. Oh, and she bought the place in 2006 for $13.5 million and now she’s selling it for $42 million! In this market?!?

Jennifer Aniston is ready to “simplify” her life – and is getting started by quietly putting her Beverly Hills home on sale to the tune of $42 million.

The actress, who just celebrated her 42nd birthday, told PEOPLE recently that despite dedicating more than two years of her life to renovating the Zen-influenced retreat, she feels the need to let go of it.

But window shoppers beware: The home will not be listed officially and only an elite group of realtors will have access to the property, real estate sources tell PEOPLE. The sources confirmed the selling price.

The Just Go with It star bought the home she calls “Ohana” – a reference to the Hawaiian idea of extended family – for $13.5 million in 2006. She and her team tore it apart and spent more than two years renovating it, and she moved in just before her 40th birthday in 2009.

Built on a hillside in 1970 with sweeping views of Los Angeles, Aniston told Architectural Digest the single-level home feels “like a hug” and “vibrates with the love that created it.”

So why does she want to move? Her epiphany came, she says, in a moment where she woke up in London and thought, “my life felt really cluttered.”

“I couldn’t sleep and I sort of had one of those moments where I went, I really need to simplify,” PEOPLE’s recent cover girl said. “My life needs to be simplified and clear out the clutter. And along with that thought came, ‘I should sell my house.’ … I had the realization that this is just too much for me. I’m not this person.”

Though Aniston has another smaller home in L.A., she may end up living far, far away from Beverly Hills. “I don’t know, I’m looking for little spots in New York City to go back home,” she said. “There are all sorts of things that are going to be happening in the near future so I’m excited. I don’t know what they are, but that’s the fun part.”

[From People]

Well, I guess we should give Aniston a slow clap. She never changes anything, so it’s good to see she’s going to give up her Den of Tequila (for a nearly $30 million mark-up). Do you think she’ll ever really move to New York? She has plenty of money, so I wouldn’t be shocked if she kept a place in LA, and one in NYC. Even though she’s giving up this Beverly Hills home, I think she still owns at least one other property in LA too.

For whatever reason, I don’t see her in NYC. I think she should buy a beach house. She belongs at the beach, right? She should invest in a Malibu property.

Photos courtesy of Architectural Digest, via Aniston’s fansite.

These are photos of Sarah Jessica Parker attending what I think is the opening of a play, Other Desert Cities. Forget for a second that SJP is wearing some kind of fur bathmat as a coat, and don’t look at her cheesy collar-bow dress. Just look at her face for a second – she’s put on a some much-needed weight, right? Hallelujah. She needed it, and for a moment I was just so happy to see her face looking slightly more “filled out”.

Now, back to the outfit. How hideous is it? Really? I mean, that looks like real fur – and it has to be one of the tackiest fur coats I’ve ever seen. If you’re going to spend all that money slaughtering furry animals, don’t you want the coat to LOOK good? And then the cardigan and the bow and the dress… eh.

In other SJP news, she was spotted touring the triplex penthouse apartment where Heath Ledger died. Like, she might move in. Is that weird? Or is it just New York real estate?

Sarah Jessica Parker is eyeing a move into the New York City apartment building where Heath Ledger died.

The Sex and the City star toured the $20 million triplex penthouse on Broome St. in SoHo. Inside the 19th century cast-iron building is 7,634 square feet with two bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, two kitchens and two home offices. The master-bedroom suite has two dressing areas and the large terrace space includes a hot tub, an outdoor shower and dining areas.

SJP is looking to move now that her family has expanded, reports The New York Post. She and her husband Matthew Broderick welcomed twins via surrogate in June 2009. They also have a son, James Wilke, 8. Heath had been living in a rented apartment in the building when he died of a drug overdose in January 2008.

[From Star Magazine]

What is the line about New York real estate? It’s from 30 Rock: “It’s like check-in at an Italian airport, there are no rules.” Should the $20 million apartment (!) where Heath died be forever some kind of memorial to him, or should life (and real estate) move on? Eh. I think it’s fine. Also, that apartment sounds awesome.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Below are photos of a lovely home in Greece that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie allegedly purchased. I have no idea if this actually happened, or if Brad and Angelina have ever visited Greece, ever. But according to this travel blog Round We Go, Brangelina got the place for a cool $6.5 million. Oh, and it’s a “compound” not a home, and it’s on the island of Santorini.

Brad and Angelina recently (last month) purchased a massive home here on the island for 6.5 million dollars. The home, or rather compound, was purchased in July, following their May visit to the island with their entourage of kids. It has two swimming pools and a heli-pad with spectacular views over the Aegean Sea.

News of the purchase just leaked out, but no photos to date…until now!

[From Round We Go]

So, I know everyone will be asking, if this thing is so sketchy, why report it? Because there’s some evidence to suggest that it might be true, as the tabloids were just reporting the alleged purchase just a few weeks ago. According to the print edition of the National Enquirer (dated June 7, 2010), Brad and Angelina were in Santorini in May (?), and they “were so taken with the beauty that they spoke to a real estate agent about purchasing a home there.”

But that’s not tabloid enough, right? Let’s add a dash of Bermuda Triangle to it. The Enquirer also claims that Jennifer Aniston is “devastated” because it was always her dream with Brad to buy a home in Greece. An insider tells the mag: “Jen views it as yet another affront by Angelina. One of her greatest dreams was taking extended vacations to the Greek islands with Brad during their marriage. And Jen is sure Angelina knows that… when Jen found out they were considering buying on Santorini, it really stung. You can‘t help but feel sorry for Jen… all she wanted was to be married to the man she loved, have his children at some point, and take romantic journeys – especially to the Greek islands. Sadly, Angelina is living Jen‘s dream, and that breaks her heart.” Whatever. Real estate porn.

Photos courtesy of Round We Go