Home sweet home. We do love our houses whether it is located in a quiet suburb, center of the city or on top of a hill. It is a comfort zone for most people, a place where you can hide from all the tussles of life. It is not just a mere piece of structure built to protect its owners from the natural elements of the planet. It’s a place where we feel loved, cared, respected and most importantly, one can be freely himself.  

Since most of us live in a regular type of abode, I cannot help fantasizing about living in a luxurious mansion, with 10 bedrooms to accommodate all the family members, an infinity pool, a modern home theater system and a gym, a huge one. Well, since I am still dreaming about it, let me share the following most expensive houses bought by those who can afford it.

Kensington Palace Gardens Mansion

Owned by industrialist Lakshmi Mittal, the richest Asian in London. It was purchased in 2008 for a total of £117 million. The four-storey house has at least five bedroom suites plus extensive servants’ quarters and is described as an institutional neo-Georgian building typical of a type built from the 1920s onwards. It is located next to the Israeli embassy, an extension of Kensington Palace Gardens one of the most prestigious addresses in London.

Villa La Leopolda

Owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. The villa is 10 acres wide, overlooking the French Riviera. Price of this vast villa? $500 million. Its former owners were Bill Gates, Edmund Safra and Gianna Agnelli. The property is located in the village of Villefranche, near Monte Carlo.

Updown Court

Living in this palatial ground makes you and Elton John as neighbors. It has over a hundred rooms, five swimming pools and 24-carat-gold leafing flooring. It is located just 25 miles outside London and this majestic abode sits in 58 acres of land. The Updown Court is said to be the most important private residence built in England since the 19th century. This property belongs to the crowned prince of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Victorian Villa

The five story villa was bought by philanthropist Elena Franchuk, wife of oligarch Viktor Pinchuk. Price tag of the property is £80 million. Located in Kensington, South-west London, the villa was a former prep school for girls. Its features include a secured panic room, 10 bedrooms, a sauna, gym, and an underground swimming pool.

Now that recession hit, I wonder if the prices of these homes decreased. Though most of us cannot afford gigantic villas and mansions for the mean time, real estate agents are actually urging people to get a new abode since prices of houses that is currently on sale has gone down dramatically. Try to contact a reputable licensed real estate broker and see what options do they have to offer.

There is nothing wrong about wanting to have a fantastic home with all the amenities life can offer. It would also be better if we take the necessary steps to make this dream come true. As to how can that be done, it’s up to the dreamer. Perhaps dabbing your luck in forex trading is a very good idea.

Are you a wealthy individual looking to make your budget for overseas property go further, or someone who thinks that owning a holiday property is an impossible dream? In either case, with the power of fractional ownership you can make it happen says Neil Robertson.

For example, luxury estate agent EUPP in London, are marketing a superb 11-bed villa on the French Riviera for £31,000,000! How many people are there in the world that could spend £31,000,000 on a holiday home? Probably more than one might imagine, but I’m certainly not amongst them! Properties of this type are the luxury privilege of pop stars and oil barons, or are they?

Just imagine if this property were to be bought jointly by a large number of people, who were interested in a taste of unique luxury once in a while. Buying a share that would entitle a joint-owner to 1 week every two years would cost £28,000, or £310,000 for sole use of all 11 bedrooms! Not cheap certainly, but within the reach of many more people.

But fractional ownership isn’t just about making the luxurious achievable, it can also bring the dream of owning a holiday home within the reach of people on modest incomes. Homes in Bulgaria are cheap (when compared to Western Europe/USA) but at a minimum of around £20,000 are still out of reach for many people. However if you were to buy with 10 other people then that would be only £2,000 per share! Each 10th share would entitle you to spend 5 weeks every year at the property.

Isn’t this just timeshare? Well no, in each case the joint owners would own their own fraction of the freehold. If the property were to be valued periodically and the joint-owners were offered the chance of exchanging their share for the full market value of it then they could benefit from any increase in value.

Why stop at property! Shared ownership can be applied to many other leisure assets, e.g. yachts, planes, prestige cars, motorhomes etc. etc. The possibilities are endless.