The Chateau de Triomphe
It's practically difficult to comprehend the housing market. A similar house can cost ten times as much on one side of the country as on the other. Sometimes you may get a nice three-bedroom home for the same cost as a studio apartment. It's meaningless. But when it comes to estimating house values, there is one sure and fast rule you can rely on: if a house has a name, it is expensive. Take the Chateau de Triomphe in Dallas, Texas, as an example.
The mansion, which was constructed on 10 acres, belonged to a man who became wealthy through international mining. The owner purchased the 75,000 square foot property as an investment before it was even finished. He intended to finish the construction, pay for it, and then sell it. The price of the mansion's listing was $44.9 million.
In 2003, the entire house caught fire after an electrostatic air cleaner caught fire due to paint and solvent smells in the home. Because there was no firebreak in the attic and the sprinkler system was reportedly improperly engineered, this led to a lawsuit.
