Latest news with #vacationhome
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi Are Selling Their U.K. Home for $30 Million, Less Than A Year After Leaving The U.S.
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. In 2024, former talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi purchased what was supposed to be a vacation home in England. However, plans quickly changed. "We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis,'" DeGeneres told The Wall Street Journal, referring to the re-election of President Donald Trump. "And we're like, 'We're staying here'." That led the couple to sell their final property in the United States and take their house-flipping hobby across the pond. Don't Miss: 7,000+ investors have joined Timeplast's mission to eliminate microplastics— $100k+ in investable assets? – no cost, no obligation. Known as Kitesbridge Farm, the property is located in The Cotswolds, a picturesque region with rolling hills and charming villages. The couple bought it for nearly $20 million and has now put it on the market for nearly $30 million. According to the Sotheby's International Realty listing held by Andrew Barnes and Marcus O'Brien, the home has been "reimagined over the past year," indicating that DeGeneres and de Rossi have continued their house-flipping fun. "The estate blends period character with sleek, modern design across 43 acres of rolling Cotswold countryside," it says. The main residence wraps around a courtyard and has various spaces for entertaining aside from the typical living room and kitchen. There's a total of six bedrooms, including a principal suite on the first floor that features two dressing rooms, a marble-clad ensuite bathroom and French doors that lead to a private garden. Upstairs, there are the other five bedrooms and a large sitting room. Trending: This AI-Powered Trading Platform Has 5,000+ Users, 27 Pending Patents, and a $43.97M Valuation — In addition to the main house, there's a guest cottage with two bedrooms, a converted granary building with a kitchenette, a party barn with a pub and a heated five-car garage, a suite with a heated indoor swimming pool with rustic beams overhead, a gym, showers and a changing room and a helicopter shed. But it's the outdoors that really won over DeGeneres and de Rossi. "When we decided to live here full time, we knew that Portia couldn't live without her horses," DeGeneres told the Journal. "We needed a home that had a horse facility and pastures for them." Kitesbridge Farm has formal lawns, a kitchen garden, sculpted paddocks and various living areas, making this home one for people who love being outside as much as they do inside. Read Next: , which provides access to a pool of short-term loans backed by residential real estate with just a $100 minimum. With Point, you can Image: Shutterstock This article Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi Are Selling Their U.K. Home for $30 Million, Less Than A Year After Leaving The U.S. originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
He's 66, Retired, And Has $1.9M In An IRA — Should He Pay Cash or Finance a Vacation Home?
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. A 66-year-old retiree is facing a dilemma that might sound familiar to anyone considering adding a little adventure to their retirement years: should he tap into his IRA to pay cash for a vacation home or take out a mortgage and let his nest egg keep growing? He shared his situation in a recent Reddit post in the r/retirement forum. He's single, recently retired, and living comfortably thanks to Social Security and a pension. He has no mortgage and about $1.9 million in a traditional IRA. Now, he's thinking about withdrawing around $400,000 to buy a second home outright, but he's not sure if that's the smartest move. Don't Miss: Accredited investors can —with up to 120% bonus shares—before this Uber-style disruption hits the public markets This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to . Taking the Cash Route "Can I afford to hit my 'nest egg IRA' for about $400k?" the retiree wrote. On the surface, paying cash might seem like the simplest option. No mortgage, no interest payments, and no monthly debt hanging over his head. And since he's not relying on his IRA for everyday expenses, he could technically afford the hit. But here's where it gets tricky: withdrawing that much from a traditional IRA in one or two years could lead to a hefty tax bill. Because it's all taxable income, pulling out $400,000 could push him into a much higher tax bracket — and increase his Medicare premiums due to income-related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA, rules. Still, some people in the Reddit thread pointed out a potential upside: by drawing down his IRA early, he could reduce the size of his required minimum distributions later. That could mean lower taxes in his 70s. For someone who doesn't plan to leave a large inheritance, that's something to consider. Trending: With Point, you can Financing Instead: Spread Out the Cost, But Pay Interest The other option? Finance the home and just withdraw enough each year to cover the payments. That way, his IRA stays mostly intact and continues to grow for several more years. He wouldn't get slammed with a giant tax bill all at once. But that plan comes with its own trade-offs. With mortgage rates around 6-7%, there's no guarantee that his investments will outperform that in the short term. Plus, there are still higher tax brackets and Medicare premiums to consider. "I believe even just a $25k/yr withdraw would bump me up into the next income tax bracket (and IRMAA premium bracket)," the retiree explained. Some Reddit commenters said they wouldn't take on debt in retirement at all. "If you can pay cash, why bother with a mortgage?" one person Buy, or Something Else? Of course, another option is to skip buying entirely and just rent. A lot of retirees in the thread shared that they prefer using vacation rentals — Airbnb, VRBO, even seasonal leases — so they can travel more freely without the responsibilities that come with owning a second home. No maintenance headaches, no property taxes, no long-term commitment. But this retiree isn't interested in that approach. He wants a place of his own — somewhere to settle into for half the year, not just pass through. He's not looking to rent it out for extra income, and he isn't concerned about resale value or return on investment. "I can't take the money with me when I die," he wrote. So, What's the Right Move? There's no clear-cut answer — it really depends on his goals, tax situation, and how he wants to live in retirement. Paying cash means a bigger tax hit now, but fewer bills later. Financing spreads out the cost but adds debt and interest. Renting? Not even on his radar. Many people in the thread suggested talking with a financial advisor to run the numbers and weigh the long-term tax impact. In the end, it comes down to what kind of lifestyle — and peace of mind — he's looking for. If it were you, what would you do? Read Next: Warren Buffett once said, "If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die." Here's , starting today. Image: Shutterstock This article He's 66, Retired, And Has $1.9M In An IRA — Should He Pay Cash or Finance a Vacation Home? originally appeared on Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
CNET
09-07-2025
- CNET
iGarden's Pool Cleaner K Pro 150 Combines Suction With Endurance
Owning a pool should feel like a vacation in your own yard, yet many people spend more time chasing dust and sunken leaves than floating in the sun. iGarden traced the failure point of most pool robots and discovered a simple formula: Strong suction plus a long runtime equals pool cleanliness. Lose either half and the crystal-clear water is all too temporary. The new iGarden Pool Cleaner K Pro 150 brings both sides of the equation into perfect balance, then hides the math so you can forget the chore even exists. IGarden Why suction alone is not enough Fine dust, clingy algae and water-logged leaves need serious negative pressure to dislodge. But pools are restless. Return jets circulate, kids cannon-ball and a breeze turns the surface into a moving conveyor. Debris you just vacuumed can drift and resettle minutes later. For a truly spotless basin, repeated overlapping passes make all the difference, so the battery needs to last hours, not minutes. Engineered for endurance: 15 hours per charge, 21 days carefree A high-density lithium pack delivers K Pro 150 up to 15 continuous hours of runtime, then rests for roughly 21 days between charges when you schedule two or three one-hour maintenance cycles each week. This is thanks to two features: iGarden AI-Inverter. Samples the robot's operating state in real time and fine-tunes motion control—wheel torque, pump speed, climb power—so energy is never wasted on low-load moments yet rises instantly for walls, slopes or steps. Optimized flow channel + turbine impeller. A widened intake and aero-profiled impeller keep negative pressure high without raising wattage, boosting suction while the battery sip-feeds power. iGarden Hydrodynamic shell: less drag, less re-pollution Moving bodies create pressure fronts—high at the nose, low behind. If the tail vacuum grows too large, it drags loose dirt back into water you just cleaned. K Pro 150's racecar-style tapered silhouette keeps that low-pressure zone short. Water hugs the chassis longer, eddies shrink and debris funnels into the intake instead of swirling in the wake. A widened throat and turbine-style impeller hold a strong negative-pressure differential across a broad aperture, delivering vigorous suction without turbulent waste. Turbo 200% mode: emergency sparkle Need a rapid clean-up? Tap Turbo 200% mode and the robot shifts to peak suction, blasting away stubborn debris and leaving the pool sparkling in no time. When the sprint finishes, the unit idles and waits for your next command—so for everyday maintenance you simply choose the mode again, keeping power exactly where you want it. iGarden Intelligent navigation and obstacle escape Guided by an inertial measurement unit and multiple infrared sensors, the robot charts a continuous S-curve that cleans the pool floor and walls in one seamless pass. When its tracks sense resistance—steps, drain covers or light niches—iGarden AI-Inverter instantly ramps up power output to muscle over obstacles. The result is uninterrupted, edge-to-edge coverage while you stay dry on the deck.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Mother-in-Law Convinces Family to Go in on Lake House. Now She Uses It as Her Own Hoarding 'Kingdom'
A woman whose husband was roped into investing in a vacation home with his parents says the parents are now using it as their full-time property In a post on Reddit, she says her husband was convinced to invest under the pretense that the home would be used by the entire family But midway through construction, his parents sold their home to move to the vacation house full-timeA woman whose husband invested into a family home says the home is now being taken over by his mother — who is using it largely as a place to store all the items she "hoards." In a post shared to Reddit, the woman writes that her mother- and father-in-law bought a lakeside property a few years ago, under the pretense that it would be a summer house for the entire family to enjoy. "Under that sales pitch," she writes. her husband and his brother "each invested 50% of the cost to build a guest house next to the main property so 'everyone could enjoy the space together and autonomously.' " But while construction was nearing its end, her in-laws opted to sell their primary residence and move into the lakeside home full-time. "So now, what we actually have is a guest house next to my mother-in-law's full-time residence, meaning we can never truly enjoy the place without having to see them," she writes. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. What's more is that her husband is still expected to chip in for many costs — including a boat that remains on the property, and which he opted out of investing in (a decision met with "disapproval," she writes). Now, the mother-in-law has begun treating the guest house as a storage space for her "hoarding overflow." "The freezer is stuffed to the brim with her random food, the closets are overflowing with their stuff, and last time we stayed over, we got scolded for leaving half a banana in the fridge and a couple of mugs in the sink," she writes. "But sure, let's pretend it's 'ours to enjoy.' " What's more, she writes, is that when her husband casually mentioned that he would like to buy his own summer place someday, his mom "freaked out and demanded, 'Why would you do that when you already have a summer place with us.' " "But MIL sold the 'family cabin dream,' took the money, moved in full-time, stuffed it with her junk, and now expects us to keep funding their lifestyle while we tiptoe around her rules and drama. And the total amount of time they will go away this summer: 2 nights," she writes. Commenters are telling them to run. "Oof take whatever money they are willing to give back and get out," writes one. "Honestly some money back is better than no money back! Ignore the increase in property values and just focus on not taking too much of a hit and being clear of them!" "Can't believe they're also using the guest house for their storage too," says another. "Completely insufferable. Get out as quick as you can and buy a place far from them." Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
CNN staffers livid after star of embattled network buys vacation home on luxurious island getaway
CNN staffers are furiously whispering about a 'way overpaid' star buying a luxurious vacation home amid network turmoil, an insider has claimed. Kaitlan Collins, 33, has allegedly purchased a 'very expensive' house in Nantucket - a beloved getaway spot among the wealthy. While the chief White House correspondent is likely over the moon about her new asset, her co-workers at the struggling news network are less than thrilled. 'She just bought some bougie place and CNN people are grossed out that she paid so much,' an anonymous source told Page Six. They also described The Source with Kaitlan Collins host as 'way overpaid' and said the property was 'very expensive,' although they did not specify the price or how they know. The average home price on the ritzy Massachusetts island was roughly $4.5 million as of May 2025, according to Collins' new purchase means she could be enjoying her summer surrounded by the likes of Tommy Hilfiger and Dave Portnoy, who both own multimillion-dollar Nantucket homes. The turmoil over Collins' lavish new island getaway came as an anonymous source told Fox News there are 'tears on the horizon' for the left-leaning news network. Warner Bros. Discovery's shock split into two distinctive companies is a sign the jobs and hefty salaries of CNN 's top talent are on the line, media insiders have warned. The media giant announced last month it will halve into two publicly traded entities — Streaming & Studios and Global Networks — by mid-2026. Streaming & Studios' domain will be Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max. Global Networks, on the other hand, will be news focused, assuming CNN, TNT Sports and Discovery, among other programming. CEO David Zaslav will take on the leading role of the Streaming & Studios company, while CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will become the President of Global Networks. This dramatic move could be detrimental to CNN, which is already grappling with plummeting ratings. 'Inevitably, Gunnar will look at CNN and decide he can maintain relatively similar profits at a mere fraction of the cost,' Dylan Byers, a former CNN reporter who now works for Puck, wrote in an opinion piece. 'This will have perceptible ramifications on the talent side. Why, for instance, would Gunnar pay Anderson Cooper $18 million a year when Kaitlan Collins draws the same ratings at roughly a fifth of the salary?' The source familiar with the state of CNN shared their take on the matter with Fox News. They believe 'bean counter' Wiedenfels will go after high-salaried stars, going against the precedent set by former CNN boss Jeff Zucker, who was forced out before the 2022 merger. 'It's not just the overpriced talent. It's the overpriced producers. The overpriced executives. The superfluous reporters who barely are on the air,' the source said. 'All will either be exited or forced to take massive pay cuts.' Zucker was allegedly known for overpaying talent to keep them loyal to him, Fox reported. The result - CNN's first and second-tier talent now earn roughly five times what they are worth, the insider alleged. While Cooper earns an estimated $18 million every year, Jake Tapper, who hosts The Lead with Jake Tapper, brings in roughly $7 million a year. CNN veteran Wolf Blitzer's salary is about $15 million. Collins earns about $3 million as a primetime anchor. In May, CNN had its second-worst month in its history in the essential 25 to 54-year-old age group in both daytime and primetime viewership, Fox reported. Since last year, the network ratings declined in all categories - and the matter may only get worse, experts believe. Over the upcoming year, Kagan, a research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence, estimated CNN will lose subscribers and revenue despite the strategic split. Revenue is expected to plummet by $499.2 million, Variety reported. The insider source said the soon-to-be Global Networks CEO could slash CNN's costs by 50 to 60 percent with no impact on revenue or ratings. They believe Wiedenfels could 'start by making 70 percent cuts to all show teams for CNN US, bringing their staffing in line with that of their competition,' before slashing talent salaries. 'But it will be most devastating for the rank and file. With no union protections, there will be massive layoffs and those remaining will be asked to do the work of their departed colleagues,' they explained. Although no layoffs or budget cuts have been set in stone, uncertainty looms among CNN staffers.
