Top 10 Most Expensive Homes in the World

If you want to live big, you have to pay big.  Some of the greatest, largest, most exquisite homes in the world are on the market, but before you write out that initial deposit, remember your place in the world.  If you go to the store and buy an extra can of Chef Boyardee because you got a bonus at work and feel like celebratin’, then you probably can’t afford any of the houses below.

10.  Rybolovlev Estate – $95 Million

This house is the most expensive single family home in the country and, since it was owned by Donald Trump, it’s obviously the most expensive home ever fought over in a divorce case.  The 33,000 square foot oceanfront mansion has become a key part of the proceedings since Trump’s ex-wife Elena Rybolovlev demanded jurisdiction due to infidelity.
This home has 18 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms, and retails for $95 million, making it the most expensive single-family house in the nation…weird, we’re pretty sure we found nine more for this list.  Unless we’re suddenly on TopOnez.Net
Originally on sale for $125 million, it ended up being haggled down to a mere 95.  We guess the economy is hurting everyone these days.

9.Silicon Valley Mansion — $100 Million

As the most expensive single-family home in the US, this house… wait, didn’t we just say that the Rybolovlev Estate was the most expensive single-family home ever?  Well, okay, this one went for 100 million so I guess it wins.
With 5 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, and an indoor and outdoor pool (in case it rains, we guess), it’s all-in-all a pretty fancy house.

8.  Fleur De Lys — 125 Million

Despite being marketed as the world’s most expensive house, the Fleur De Lys somehow only falls on number 8 on our list.  Wow, that’s weird, huh?  It’s almost like people on the Internet are wrong.

Fleur De Lys has 41,000 square feet and 15 bedrooms, but apparently no bathrooms, which we think is a huge oversight either by the architect or the person writing the articles we’re using as sources.

7.  The Manor — $150 Million

Here we are, finally, the most expensive residential real estate listing in the US, according to Wiki-freakin’-pedia.  $150 million.  Feels pretty good to put that part to rest, doesn’t it?  Thanks, Aaron Spelling, for having the (7th) most expensive house in the world.

This house features 56,000 square feet, 123 rooms, a bowling alley, an ice rink and allegedly an entire wing devoted to Spelling’s wife’s wardrobe.

6.  The Pinnacle — $155 Million

Owned by Tim Blixseth, in Montana, this house is unique for two reasons: it has a private chair lift directly from the house to a nearby ski-resort (which Blixseth owns), and is the only house on this list so far named that doesn’t claim to be the most expensive in the world.

Also, we’re gonna call it right now: best back yard.  Because it’s a ski resort.

5.  Franchuk Villa — $161 Million

This five-story, freestanding 10-bedroom Victorian Villa also features an underground indoor swimming pool, panic room, and private movie theatre.  It’s also the world’s most expensive home (yeah, sure it is), at $161 million.

How fancy is this place?  Allegedly, during some remodeling, the noise made the Mayor of Moscow angry.  The house is located in London.  That’s right: the house is so fancy it doesn’t make sense.

4.  The Hearst Mansion — $165 Million

Top Three Facts about the Fourth Most Expensive House in the World: it was used in The Godfather, JFK spent his honeymoon there, and (holy crap, get this): it’s the most expensive home in the US!

It features three swimming pools, 29 bedrooms (you have to supply your own horse heads har har har), movie theatre and, for some reason, a disco.

3.  Fairfield Pond — $198 Million

Currently valued that way due to its property taxes, this 66,000 square-foot main house has a basketball court, bowling alley, and a $150,000 hot tub. The most valuable home in the US (again, according to Wikipedia).

2.  Villa Leopolda — $736 Million

Wow, that’s a big jump in price.  Built by King Leopold II of Belgium in 1902 and located on the French Riviera, this home was purchased by Russian billionaire Prokhorov, who is so rich he lost billions to the latest economic collapse and still had enough fun money to buy himself a three-quarter-billion-dollar summer home.  It has 27 stories, 19 bedrooms, and a rumored 50 full-time gardeners.

1.  Antilla – $1,000,000,000

This is it. The one you’ve been waiting for. The grand finale. The one billion dollar home. We give you…Antilla.

Located in Mumbai, Antilla challenges pretty much everything you’d expect about “what is possible in a home” and “what is possible for architecture.”  The 27-story house features six floors of parking, a health level with a jacuzzi, gym, and “ice room,” a ballroom level (for dancing?) several floors of bedrooms and bathrooms and even a four-story garden — because, yeah, we guess that’s possible.

The architecture is based on an Indian tradition called Vastu Shastra, which is supposed to be conducive to the movement of positive energy.  In keeping with this, each floor has not only a unique design, but an entirely unique set of materials and aesthetic design — meaning each room is meant to look like it’s from a different house.

Basically, this house has everything — things you can imagine, things you can’t imagine, and things you never thought to imagine but are now imagining because they sound like the greatest thing you’ve ever heard of.

Source: http://www.toptenz.net

Most Expensive 9 American Cities

What drives costs in the most expensive cities in the U.S.? The answer is housing. But the nationwide trend of falling home prices won't knock the city with the highest cost of living, New York, out of the top spot anytime soon.

According to an index of 306 cities published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) released last week, the cost of living in the borough of Manhattan in New York City is 128 percent higher than the national average, with an index score of 228.

The council has published the quarterly data since 1968, after it was originally published by the government, and uses the prices of 60 consumer goods and services in six categories: grocery items, housing, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous items.

Housing, which is weighted the heaviest in the analysis, created challenges for the data collection with its plummeting prices across the country.

"This is the worst economy the project has seen since 1968," said Dean Frutiger, project manager of the Cost of Living Index project at C2ER. 

Frutiger said the project usually does not use new home prices below $165,000 for its data collection, but he has been seeing "prices that are far below that."
"The economy forces us to be pretty flexible," he said.

Here's a list of the nine cities with the highest cost of living out of the 306 regions analyzed by C2ER.

1. Manhattan (New York), New York - Index Score: 228.3

While C2ER aims to collect uniform data about mortgage rates, housing prices and rental costs across the country, the densely populated area of Manhattan requires certain attention with its 1.6 million residents, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

Getty Images/Vetta

C2ER works with local organizations to collect data on designated days so the information is as consistent as it can be across the country.
Frutiger said C2ER usually looks at homes with four or more bedrooms at about 2,400 square feet.
"In Texas, that's a closet, but that's going to be huge in Manhattan," he said.
For that reason, C2ER will have to pro-rate housing data from New York to compare to the other cities in the index.

Getty Images/AWL Images RM

2. Brooklyn (New York), New York - Index Score: 181.3

Getty Images/AWL Images RM

The borough of Brooklyn creates similar challenges to that of Manhattan. With a population of 2,504,700, according to the U.S. Census, Brooklyn is the most populous of the New York's five boroughs. It is however, the second largest, which arguably may make housing more affordable than in Manhattan.
New York boroughs make it to the top of the list frequently, Frutiger said.
"I don't think anyone would be surprised looking at that," he said.

3. San Francisco, California - Index Score: 166.5

The cost of living is 66.5 percent higher in San Francisco than the national average. While housing is more affordable in San Francisco than in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Golden Gate region's transportation costs and health care were slightly more expensive Brooklyn's, according to the data submitted to C2ER.

Getty Images

4. Honolulu, Hawaii - Index Score: 165.8

Getty Images/Flickr RF

The cost of living in Honolulu is 65.8 percent higher than the national average, closely following San Francisco. While its housing costs are below that of San Francisco, Honolulu's five other categories -- its grocery items, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services -- were higher than in San Francisco.

5. San Jose, California - Index Score: 154.3

Getty Images/Flickr RF

San Jose may be a world away from San Francisco in terms of urban and suburban aesthetics, but it is just a one-hour drive to the south in good traffic. The heart of Silicon Valley had higher costs than San Francisco, according to the index, in the categories of utilities, transportation and healthcare.

6. Stamford, Connecticut - Index Score: 147.4
A suburb of New York, Stamford has a cost of living 47.4 percent higher than the national average. Though finance professionals have been known to escape to Stamford for lower costs and more real estate space, the index indicates utilities costs are higher in Stamford than in Manhattan or Brooklyn.

Getty Images/Flickr RM

7. Queens (New York), New York - Index Score: 145.9

Getty Images/Flickr RF

The largest New York City borough by area, Queens is an expensive real estate market. Though housing prices are lower than in Brooklyn, Queens had higher costs than Brooklyn for grocery items, utilities, transportation and health care.

 8. Orange County, California - Index Score: 144.7
Encompassing the metropolitan area of Santa Ana, Anaheim and Irvine, Orange County's housing costs were higher than in Queens, New York. However, its utilities and healthcare costs were lower than those of Queens. Lacking an efficient public transit system, Orange County had transportation costs higher than those of Queens, San Francisco and San Jose.

Getty Images

9. Washington, D.C./Arlington/Alexandria, Virginia - Index Score 144.6
In previous years, Washington D.C. was not on the top ten list, but has become one of the most expensive cities in recent years, Frutiger said.

Getty Images/Vetta

"The housing market in D.C. has remained very strong, unlike the rest of country," Frutiger said. "Housing can drive the index very easily."
Housing costs in Washington, D.C. were higher than in Orange County, but were lower than in the other cities of the top nine.





Source:  http://abcnews.go.com

WebsiteHowToMake.com Offers New Video Tutorials and Tips for Website Maintenance

A good webmaster's responsibility continues even after a website has been designed and launched. WebsiteHowToMake.com suggests the inclusion of regular maintenance and updates to keep the site's performance consistent. With its latest tips and video tutorials on website maintenance, WebsiteHowToMake.com covers all the essentials of caching, backups and database repairs.

A website needs regular care and maintenance even after it has been launched. Webmasters are responsible not just for the creation and design of the website, but also for maintenance and performance after launch. WebsiteHowToMake.com advises that regular care of a website after its completion helps it grow in terms of popularity and functionality.
To make the concept of website maintenance a little clearer for new webmasters, WebsiteHowToMake.com offers its latest video tutorials. Covering major topics from caching to small procedures like checking and repairing databases, this website offers seven detailed videos on the maintenance of websites. The first lesson covers the basics of caching and cleaning out caches and temporary files. Webmasters will also learn the benefits of caching and how it attracts more traffic.

Video tutorials on WebsiteHowToMake.com also cover the importance of backup and anticipating website failures. Apart from handling technical failures, webmasters are also taught to keep calm and stay prepared for any kind of emergency. Backups are essential to any website as it helps webmasters restore the site immediately. Creating a copy of the database and website is handy during the rare occasions that websites suddenly stop working. This event is possible if certain web extensions cease the functioning of a website. Restoring websites from backup archives is an important function webmasters serve if they have been corrupted.
Emptying the trash, a small step in website maintenance is also essential. WebsiteHowToMake.com teaches webmasters simple tricks on clearing out unnecessary files and deleting trashed ones from the database. Other essential functions of website maintenance include database repair and regular checks. Checking databases for errors and repairing inconsistencies is essential for any website, especially commercial websites. WebsiteHowToMake.com features a special video tutorial on database checks and easy solutions for common errors. Also covering database compression after emptying the trash, webmasters will pick up concepts quickly thanks to the simple language and comprehensible illustrations.
Updating the website and keeping it fresh is an equally important aspect of maintaining websites. With Google's search ranking conditions becoming more specific, websites should make use of Joomla extensions and other regular updates. They are necessary as they repair Joomla errors and also add new features to the website. Explaining how to update websites from Joomla 1.6 to latest versions in just four clicks, WebsiteHowToMake.com suggests that webmasters store a backup of the website before adding updates. The site also recommends a thorough testing of the update before it is live.
Covering the A to Z of maintaining websites, WebsiteHowToMake.com also teaches webmasters to effortlessly manage redirects. Offering simple and effective tips for managing non-existent web pages or mistyped URLs, a webmaster should lead users to the right web page.
WebsiteHowToMake.com offers useful tutorials for new webmasters seeking simple and direct solutions as well as experienced webmasters looking for a short refresher course. Covering the smallest topics like creating an e-mail account to managing content, design and other details of the website, WebsiteHowToMake.com offers the complete package with the latest website trends.
About WebsiteHowToMake.com
Targeted at anyone with a liking for computers, WebsiteHowToMake.com offers easy to understand video tutorials for the A to Z of website building. Learn essential web creation concepts through simplified explanations and engaging illustrations. From getting the right domain to maintaining websites for top performance, WebsiteHowToMake.com is a useful online learning resource for budding webmasters.
Source:  http://www.prweb.com
Get a comprehensive list of website extensions that help you create your own website at http://to.ly/dGJj now!