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Recent College Grads Launch A Real Estate Agency For An Untapped Market

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the next step realty, belton baker, blair brandt

Some 40,000 college graduates descend on New York City every year, and most of them need a place to live.

The Next Step Realty plans to dominate that untapped market of renters by focusing on them exclusively. The company, which soft-launched in May 2010, works with agents in 30 cities in the U.S. and Europe, with a focus on New York City.

Founders Blair Brandt, 24, and Belton Baker, 23, started the agency after hearing complaints from their friends and classmates who had already secured good jobs in metropolitan cities but didn't know how to find the right apartment.

"College grads were unfamiliar with conditions of the market and needed to be pointed in right direction," Brandt said. "So this way they don't make mistakes wasting time, money, and energy."

Before launching the company, Brandt worked at Christian Angle Real Estate in Palm Beach, Fla. and struggled to find clients. He found that most potential sellers and buyers already had established relationships with brokers and didn't want to betray them, he said.

But that wasn't a problem with recent college graduates, most of whom had never dealt with real estate before. They lived in dorms, sorority or fraternity houses, or off-campus housing that was well-known and passed down through groups of friends.

"We heard the complaints and we saw this as a mutually beneficial relationship for the broker and the graduate," Brandt said. "The brokers get in early and start making long-term relationships with clients, and the graduates get some guiding help."

Brandt and his partner were also in a good position to deal with the young demographic because they were both recent college graduates themselves, Brandt from the University of Richmond and Baker from UNC-Chapel Hill.

The Next Step Realty spread the word about their service by sending an email to 1,000 friends and acquaintances. They put a tracking link on their URL, and within a month 100,000 people had visited their website. The clients started coming to them.

Brandt said the first two years were about working out the kinks, and in 2013 he wants the agency to make a push toward quality and not necessarily quantity. The majority of the company's efforts will focus on New York, where it plans to use about 20 brokers to cover the market.

Brandt expects each broker to have three appointments a day during the busy season (May through November), and to close on two of those three appointments. He's tough on his agents, generally starting with 50 at the beginning of the busy season and cutting the group to 25 or even 10 if they aren't up to par.

In addition to building a client base in New York City, The Next Step Realty just acquired former competitor Post Graduate Apartments, which focused on housing for the post-business and law school set. The agency is also going through a round of fundraising with angels, private equity investors, and some friends and family. And its new website launches at the end of this week.

"We're still building our clientele and trying to grab a larger portion of the graduating class each year," Brandt said. "But we've already had some graduates from 2010 come back to us when looking for their second apartment because they were satisfied with our product the first time around."

SEE ALSO:  Some Real Estate Agents Will Go To Crazy Extremes To Sell A House

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HOUSE OF THE DAY: Buy A Funky Santa Monica Pad For Under $4 Million

Hong Kong Parking Space Sells For An Insane $387,000

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parking space, hong kong

Hong Kong's housing bubble has now boiled over into parking spots.

As the city's government has started to set regulations to slow down the housing market, people are making a different type of investment: in parking spaces, according to Kelvin Wong and Stephanie Tong of Bloomberg.

Real estate agents have even gone so far as to list and sell parking spots independently of apartments.

The average price of a parking spot in Hong Kong rose $82,600 in the past three months, according to Centaline Property Agency Ltd., Bloomberg reported.

In May, a parking space in the Repulse Bay neighborhood sold for $387,000 — a figure that is more than double the average price of a home in the United States, Bloomberg points out.

Simon Lo, Hong Kong-based executive director of research and advisory at property broker Colliers International, told Bloomberg, "There’s just too much liquidity in the market. The government has set up a firewall for residential properties, but all this money still needs to find a place.”

And that place seems to be parking spots.

SEE ALSO: Audi's $110,000 S8 Is An Amazing Living Room On Wheels

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Larry Ellison Just Bought His TENTH Home On Malibu's 'Billionaire's Beach'

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larry ellison

Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison has bought yet another home in Malibu, making it his 10th purchase on Carbon Beach, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Ellison bought the house from TV producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The house was not on the market, and no real estate agents were involved in the deal.

The price of Ellison paid hasn't been revealed yet.

Ellison most likely wanted to snatch up the property because he already owns the houses on either side of Bruckheimer's former residence. It's no secret Ellison loves buying real estate. He made a $500 million deal earlier this year to buy an entire island.

His new pad has 70 feet of ocean frontage, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and spans 2,239 square feet.

The stretch of beach is known as "Billionaire's Beach" for the wealthy people who live there, including entertainment mogul David Geffen, former Dodgers Chief Executive Jamie McCourt, and businessman Michael Milken.

SEE ALSO: Biig, Beautiful Photos Of Larry Ellison's $600 Million Hawaiian Island

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Zaha Hadid Reveals Her Zany Plans For A Defunct Factory In Downtown Belgrade

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Architect Zaha Hadid has revealed her latest design, for the former Beko factory in downtown Belgrade, Serbia. The curvy new Beko Building sort of looks like a wild slide.

The Beko Building is set to be a city center with residential, retail, and commercial space. It will also have a convention center and five-star boutique hotel.

The complex will be within walking distance of the historic Kalemegdan Castle wall.

The bendy parts of the design help create "one continuous unit," according to Architizer.

zaha hadid beko building belgrade

 

zaha hadid beko building belgrade

 

zaha hadid beko building belgrade

 

zaha hadid beko building belgrade

 

zaha hadid beko building belgrade

 

zaha hadid beko building belgrade

SEE ALSO: The Otherworldly Architecture Of Zaha Hadid

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The New Nursing Home Alternative Is A 'Granny Pod' In The Backyard

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granny pod, medcottage

There's a new alternative to elder care in the U.S., and it's in the backyard.

A company called MedCottage is now selling high-tech cottages, nicknamed "granny pods," to families looking for affordable ways to care for aging family members, according to Fredrick Kunkle of The Washington Post

The pods, which cost $85,000 but run closer to $125,000 after installation, are 12x24 feet and come equipped with a security system, small kitchen area, and medication dispenser.

Technology in the pods, which connect to the main home for water and electricity, can monitor vital signs and filter air.

The MedCottage is "essentially a portable hospital room," Kunkle wrote.

And while they aren't cheap investments, they can prove to be money savers over a couple of years, given that assisted living can run $40,000 annually. 

So how is it going for the first MedCottage resident, an 88-year old named Viola who lives with her family in Fairfax County?

Convincing her to move into the backyard pod was difficult, but once she got there, she seemed to like it. Wrote Kunkle:

Relatives brought photographs of Viola’s grandchildren and knickknacks, including a colorful row of miniature houses...

But Viola wanted nothing to do with the place. As the standoff dragged on, [her daughter] Soc worried that their money had been wasted, that their MedCottage would end up being the biggest, most expensive storage shed on the planet. Then the air conditioner in the house went kaput, and Viola retreated to the MedCottage for relief.

Viola now seems used to her new home. On a cabinet in the kitchenette sits a row of faded black-and-white photographs of Viola, wearing a pretty dress and an alluring smile, that she sent to her new husband when he was away on duty.

SEE ALSO: The Incredible Transforming Apartment In London

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Take A Walk Through Larry Ellison's Incredible Real Estate Portfolio

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larry ellison malibu beach

Larry Ellison has been called " the nation's most avid trophy-home buyer."

Now the Oracle CEO has snatched up another home on Carbon Beach in Malibu, making it the 10th property he owns in the area, nicknamed "Billionaire's Beach," according to The Los Angeles Times.

He purchased the home from TV producer Jerry Bruckheimer for a yet-to-be-revealed price. He already owned the homes on either side of Bruckheimer.

Ellison, 68, has quite an impressive real estate portfolio. This year alone he's purchased two Malibu homes and an island in Hawaii for a rumored $600 million.  He also owns homes in Woodside, Calif. Newport, RI, and Kyoto, Japan.

Ellison is third on Forbes' 400 List, with a net worth of $41 billion

Ellison bought this property in Woodside, Calif. for $12 million in 1995. The home is modeled after a 16th century Japanese emperor's residence. It sits on 23 acres of land and is now worth an estimated $70 million.

Source: The WSJ and The San Francisco Chronicle

 



Larry Ellison bought 2850 Broadway in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998 for $3.9 million. In 2011, Ellison sued his neighbors, claiming their redwoods were blocking his bay views.

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle



It was rumored that Ellison planned to spend $40 million on the house next door for a better view, but the sale never happened.

Click here to see more photos of the house >

Click here to read more about the controversy >



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HOUSE OF THE DAY: Buy A Manor In Southwest France For Under $1 Million


A 'Real Housewife Of Miami' Is Selling Her Gaudy Mansion For $10.75 Million

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real housewives of miami house

"Real Housewives of Miami" star Lisa Hochstein and her husband Lenny have listed their Miami Beach house for $10.75 million, according to celebrity real estate blogger The Real Estalker.

The home has five bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, and spans 10,000 square feet.

The house has gorgeous bay views, a four car garage, a theater, and a gym.

Welcome to North View Drive.



The entry way has a huge glass dome ceiling.



The home was built in 2007.



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The Mangled Jersey Shore Roller Coaster Will Not Become A Tourist Attraction

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The Seaside Heights roller coaster, which is still in the water near the Jersey Shore after Hurricane Sandy destroyed it, will officially be removed, according to The Asbury Park Press.

Last week, Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers told CBS News he hoped the roller coaster would stay standing as a tourist attraction.

A firestorm erupted in the aftermath of Aker's comments. The mangled Jet Storm roller coaster has become an iconic image of the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Sandy on the Jersey Shore, and the idea of it becoming a monument hit a sore spot with many.

Akers told the APP: "I told them (television), that I did not have an issue with it (staying), it’s not my decision since it's private property. That was the extent of my comment, and then all of this firestorm. It was not the brightest comment."

Casino Pier owns the roller coaster and boardwalk, which was also destroyed by the hurricane. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the boardwalk will be open by summer, but that the shore may never truly be the same again.

seaside heights roller coaster, nj roller coaster sandy

 

roller coaster, new jersey toppled roller coaster, seaside hights

 

New Jersey Roller Coaster

 

SEE ALSO: The Creepy Six Flags That Was Abandoned After Hurricane Katrina

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Meet The Rich And Famous Residents Of Malibu's Exclusive 'Billionaire's Beach'

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billionaire's beach, carbon beach, malibu

Nicknamed "Billionaire's Beach," the Carbon Beach section of Malibu is home to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, entertainment mogul David Geffen, former Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt, and other business tycoons.

Ellison loves Carbon Beach so much that he owns 10 properties there, including one he bought just this week.

What makes Carbon Beach so great and expensive?

The AP's Jeanne Cooper answered the question in 2006, shortly after Geffen lost a court battle against the construction of a public-access walkway near his home. She wrote:

Locals talk about the breadth and dryness of the sand driving up prices to a minimum of $15 million for a small beachfront lot.

And unlike Malibu Colony homes, the houses tend to be built right on the sand, with no seawall blocking the view of the beach from the patio. For visitors (or paparazzi), that means being able to see the lifestyles of the rich and famous without a telescope while strolling the sand. But really, Carbon Beach's relative exclusivity - in terms of price and public access - is its main selling point.

We decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Welcome to Billionaire's Beach. Malibu has 21 miles of shoreline, but Carbon Beach extends for just one mile along the coast.



"Billionaire's Beach" has its own boutique hotel, called the Malibu Beach Inn. The hotel has 47 rooms.

Source: Malibu Beach Inn



The inn, which was renovated in 2007, is right on the water. So even if you can't afford a multimillion-dollar home there, you can spend a night living like a Billionaire's Beach resident.

Source: Malibu Beach Inn



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The Most Expensive Real Estate Markets In America

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most expensive real estate markets

The areas around San Francisco and Silicon Alley is by far the most expensive place in the country to buy a home, according to Coldwell Banker's new report on home listing prices around the country.

Of the 19 most expensive markets in the U.S., 11 were in California, and four of the top five were in the San Francisco Bay Area. Los Altos took the top spot with an average listing price of $1.706 million.

For context, the average 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom home in the United States is listed at $292,152.

To come up with the list, Coldwell Banker looked at 72,000 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom properties for sale in 2,500 U.S. markets.

#20 DARIEN, CONN: The average listing price of a home is $1.056 million.

This home is on sale for $1.49 million in Darien, Conn.

Note: To compile its list of the most expensive real estate markets, Coldwell Banker looked at 72,000 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom properties for sale in 2,500 U.S. markets.



#18 MERCER ISLAND, WASH: The average listing price of a home is $1.059 million.

This home is on sale for $998,000 in Mercer Island, Wash.

Note: To compile its list of the most expensive real estate markets, Coldwell Banker looked at 72,000 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom properties for sale in 2,500 U.S. markets.



#17 ORONO, MINN: The average listing price of a home is $1.07 million.

This home is on sale for $1.07 million in Orono, Minn.

Note: To compile its list of the most expensive real estate markets, Coldwell Banker looked at 72,000 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom properties for sale in 2,500 U.S. markets.



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HOUSE OF THE DAY: A Stunning Malibu Beach House Can Be Yours For $11.75 Million

Katherine Heigl Is Selling Her Picturesque Los Feliz Home For $2.65 Million

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Katherine Heigl and her husband Josh Kelley are selling their home in Los Feliz, Calif.,  for $2.659 million, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Heigl, who has starred in TV's Grey's Anatomy and films such as 27 Dresses and Life As We Know It, bought the house in 2007 for $2.55 million. 

The 3,700-square-foot Southern Colonial-style home has four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.

katherine heigl selling in los feliz

 

katherine heigl selling in los feliz

 

katherine heigl selling in los feliz

 

katherine heigl selling in los feliz

 

katherine heigl selling in los feliz

SEE ALSO: A 'Real Housewives Of Miami' Star Is Selling Her Guady Miami Beach Mansion

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HOUSE OF THE DAY: The President Of PromGirl.com Bought a TriBeCa Penthouse With Striking Views For $16.5 Million

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tribeca chambers street property $16.5 millionDavid Wilkenfeld, the president of online retail company PromGirl.com, purchased a beautiful penthouse in Manhattan's TriBeCa for $16.5 million, according to the New York Post.

This penthouse is in the prestigious PH200 building on Chambers Street.

The 4,700-square-foot apartment has four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.

The condo has three exposures: to the west there are views of the Hudson River, to the east there are views of lower Manhattan, and to the north there are views of midtown.

Welcome to the penthouse on Chambers Street.



The living room is huge.



The living room has custom dark oak flooring.



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An Interior Designer Takes Us Inside The Gorgeous Brooklyn Carriage House She Lovingly Overhauled

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kathleen perkins brooklyn carriage house tour that kevin spacey rented

When you first enter Kathleen Perkins' Brooklyn home, it's hard not to feel like you've stepped into an Anthropologie catalog.

But the pieces inside Perkins' home actually come from foreign countries such as India, the Philippines and Turkey. The lights above the kitchen island are from a boat, and retail at nearly $15,000 from Urban Archeology. And the scarf hanging above her bed is from India. 

Click here to jump right to the photos >>

The home, in Fort Greene, is a converted carriage house with so much character that it's easy to see why a celebrity like Kevin Spacey wanted to rent the space last winter.

The actor rented the upstairs for about four months when he was in New York working with the Brooklyn Academy of Music. His assistant lived in the bottom portion of the house.

"The house just really flowed," Perkins said. "It turned out better than I thought."

But when Perkins moved in eight years ago, the home needed a complete renovation. It took her six months and $250,000 to fix structural issues and redo the interior.

Perkins is now a self-employed interior decorator and project manager. She's flipped six homes at this point, mostly in the Brooklyn area.

Perkins often renovates multiple homes at once, so when Spacey moved in last winter, she stayed in one of her other properties. She describes herself as a gypsy of sorts, moving into a home, designing it, selling it, and moving on.

She got her start at Waterworks, a New York-based design company, where she specialized in kitchens and baths. For her very first job, she was commissioned to design the tiles for the kitchen and bathroom of Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley's Mendocino home. The duo split before the tiles were ever installed.

Perkins has also done design work for Harrison Ford and Whoopi Goldberg.

Perkins' own home is filled with items from friends or her travels. Old tattered books, Buddha statues, and ceramic bowls can be found throughout.

She rents out the first level, and lives on the second and third floors. The house has two patios, one for grilling and another that she uses for outdoor summer parties.

Welcome to Ft. Greene, Brooklyn. Perkins' home was a carriage house that previously serviced the mansion behind it.



Perkins studied Feng Shui, and believes that since horses once lived in the carriage house, the home had great energy before she even moved in.



The appliances in the kitchen are all stainless steel, and there enough gadgets and trinkets around to make the room feel homey.



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The Cheapest Real Estate Markets In The United States

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most affordable real estate markets

The housing market in Michigan was slammed during the recession and while it's starting to make a comeback, the state is still home to some of the most affordable housing in the country.

Four of the 18 most affordable housing markets identified in Coldwell Banker's new home price listing report were located in the state. And Redford, near Detroit and Ann Arbor, was named the most affordable housing market, with an average listing price of $60,490.

For context, the average 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom home in the United States is listed at $292,152. The most expensive housing market is Los Altos, Calif., where the average home is listed for $1.706 million.

To come up with the list, Coldwell Banker looked at 72,000 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom properties for sale in 2,500 U.S. markets.

#18 WARREN, MICH: The average listing price of a home is $96,349.

This house is on sale for $98,000 in Warren, Mich.

Note: To compile its list of the most expensive real estate markets, Coldwell Banker looked at 72,000 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom properties for sale in 2,500 U.S. markets.



#17 TERRELL, TEXAS: The average listing price of a home is $96,329.

This house is on sale for $99,000 in Terrell, Texas.

Note: To compile its list of the most expensive real estate markets, Coldwell Banker looked at 72,000 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom properties for sale in 2,500 U.S. markets.



#16 LEHIGH ACRES, FLA: The average listing price of a home is $92,819.

This house is for sale for $90,000 in Lehigh Acres, Fla.

Note: To compile its list of the most expensive real estate markets, Coldwell Banker looked at 72,000 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom properties for sale in 2,500 U.S. markets.



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Billionaire Rams Owner Stan Kroenke Buys $132.5 Million Montana Ranch + 4,500 Cows

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Eleven months after it hit the market, Montana's Broken O Ranch has sold to billionaire St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, according to The Wall Street Journal.

At $132.5 million, the spread was one of the most expensive ranch properties ever to ever hit the market. The sale price has not been disclosed.

The ranch covers 123,000 acres of land touching three counties in Montana, and more than 20 miles of the Sun River flow through the property, according to Bates Land Co., which had the listing.

It had previously belonged to William and Desiree Moore, the late founders of the Kelley-Moore Paint Company.

Broken O comes with 4,500 cows, including heifers and range bulls, as well as Montana's largest block of irrigated land. It also comes with a house with river views and an indoor swimming pool.

Kroenke, whose Kroenke Sports Enterprises also includes the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche teams, is married to Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke.

broken o ranch

broken o ranch

broken o ranch

SEE ALSO: The 25 Biggest Landowners In America

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5 Simple Tips For Staging Your Home During An Open House

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Home For Sale

We just got our hands on the new book "Inside The Sell: Top Agents Reveal Unspoken Secrets and Dangers of Buying and Selling Your Home," by real estate agents Hans Wydler and Steve Wydler.

The duo have appeared on The Wall Street Journal's list of Top 100 Real Estate Agents.

The book is full of useful tips, including a bunch on how to stage your home so that it sells more quickly.

Here were five of our favorites:

  • Make sure your furniture matches the lifestyle you are trying to sell. Any couches from Grandma should be discarded or stored.

  • No closet should be more than 50 percent full. You want closets to look bigger. Wood hangers are also a good investment.

  • Don't leave any room empty. At the very least, put in lamps and art work.

  • Find another place for your pet during the open house. And after you do, erase all evidence he ever lived there. Clear out toys, bowls, and especially pet hair. 

  • Make sure all the doors can swing fully open with out hitting any furniture.

SEE ALSO: 10 Of The Tackiest Homes For Sale Right Now

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10 Glass Houses You Can Buy Right Now

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glass housesGlass walls and floor-to-ceiling windows are a staple in many modern homes.

In rural settings, this hardly causes a privacy problem. But glass homes have become a growing trend among urban homeowners who are "starved for light" and often don't seem to mind the peeping Toms, according to The Wall Street Journal's Nancy Keates.

Some worry that with glass walls come a greater risk of danger, whether it be from natural disasters or vandalism. Regardless, you have to admit these homes are beautiful.

For $13.9 million, buy this Santa Barbara mansion known as "The Glass Pavilion."

Click here to see more photos of the house >



The house has five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms. It sits on 3.5 acres, so there's plenty of privacy.

Click here to see more photos of the house >



This $1.19 million home in Costa Rica is known as "The Glass House."

Click here to see more photos of the house >



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