Tasteful Friends - Be Whoopi Goldberg's NJ Neighbor for $1.6 M

Overdone, out of scale, tasteless, gauche, bathroom tile on the living room floor. Hate it. No charm, no warmth, no flair - it just screams Look how much money I can spend on all the crap.

118k in taxes a year? Oh New Jersey, you slay me.

Damn, that's a lot of property for $1.6 million.

Why are the floors so shiny?

Because they're polished stone R4. That's what polished stone looks like.

Does she take a 30 min. limo ride to The View every day?

The price is low because the property taxes are $118,000 annually. Taxes affect the value of the property. My aunt lived in Llewellyn Park and she moved out more than 20 years ago when her taxes hit $30k a year. It is a very magical private community. Once you get outside the gates, you are in a very low income neighborhood, it is really quite a difference. A few miles away is Newark and the crime rate is just abysmal.

100 room mansion and they stick a home gym in the attic?

I thought Whoopie lived in Tuxedo Park. I hate the house and sorry, that's a crummy area in general. Plus commuting into the city from New Jersey is a pain.

Gorgeous house but the taxes are insane. The cielings in some rooms are awesome - not everything is great. Kitchen looks cheap for a house like that.

Why are the taxes so high? What is the property tax rate in NJ. In CA I think it is just one percent.

It's cheap because the buyer will have to be neighbors with the obnoxious Whoopi Goldberg.

That area is within spitting distance of the ghetto. No thanks.

"Once you get outside the gates, you are in a very low income neighborhood, it is really quite a difference."

Well there's your problem!

I hate the place. Even if someone mercifully redecorated, I'd still hate the floor plan.

The high property taxes are ubiquitous to Essex County NJ because you are paying to support the do nothings in Newark, East Orange, and Irvington. Many hard working people are leaving Essex County and never looking back.

r15 we know what you're REALLY saying.

Yes, we’ve heard you bang that drum several times here R15. Shut the fuck up, you tired ass Refucklican. Blocked.

R17. You ignoramus. I am 100% not Republican. Essex County has very high taxes and it is ALL because it supports the dregs in Newark and E. Orange.

It's just awful. The grounds are amazing. You Americans have the worst taste in the world.

If you're British r19 there are plenty of hideous houses in the UK.

A lot of these McMansions are done up to the nines. This is refreshing because it's clearly not had a professional decorator through the front doors.

"You Americans have the worst taste in the world. "

Just the straights, dear.

[quote] A lot of these McMansions

You clearly have no idea what a "McMansion" is. That home is certainly no McMansion. The architectural firm that designed that house (Delano & Aldrich) were one of the top American architectural firms in the early 1900's.

The house is superb early 20th century architecture. The decor is rather tacky in most rooms, but the buyers is buying the house, not the couches.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

I agree that the pool is nice and some of the ceilings are interesting. I don't know why they insist on taking those weird angled photos even when the rooms aren't small. It just throws off the scale and makes the place seem disjointed.

Llywellyn Park was also Thomas Edison's home. As an above poster said, it's a magical place.

I don't think I'd need 10 bedrooms, but I like it.

An oasis of a neighborhood in the crappiness of North Jersey. Have always loved Llewelyn Park. But erveryone I know who moved there moved out eventually. Those taxes are just too deadly - and not even a great school district. A shame as it’s got some beautiful older houses. But just not a practical investment.

You just know Whoopi wanders around her backyard nude.

I thought Whoopi said shr lives in the middle of no where, West Orange is in the middle of everything. She made it sound like she lived in upper Bergen, Sussex or Rockland county.

I live in West Orange (in the middle class section) and have seen Whoopi several times at Whole Foods. She is usually driven there in a black Mercedes, one of the more expensive models. It is actually quite an amazing car, but more amazing is the HUNK of a man who is always in the driver seat. It seems Whoopi likes to go into Whole Foods and do her own shopping while this gorgeous man waits in the car for her and then moves the car right to the exit curb and jumps out and helps put the bags in the trunk and off they go. When I tell you this man is totally amazing looking, I wonder if Whoopi is paying extra for some of that hot man to provide carnal services. He is black, mid 30s, over 6 feet tall, and a body of complete muscle. Maybe he is a bodyguard/chauffeur. If I had Whoopi's money, I would be giving him bonus money for his time in bed. Truly an amazing looking dude.

Anyone else ever see them together?

Friends of mine live in Montclair and they like it but yes the taxes are nuts. They're acquaintances with Patrick Wilson and they say he's a very nice, normal guy. His wife is kind of ratchet and bitchy, though.

Those ceilings are atrocious. I dont care if they are original,theyd be gone ! Along with that hideous tile. Looks to me like a 90s remodel as well. That being said,the windows are fabulous,the house itself is gorgeous and with very little tweaking could be a showplace. Nobody wants to live in New Jersey.

West Orange is shit. Tacky houses and trashy Jews. And you're 10 minutes away from abject poverty.

The taxes in NJ in general are high because of top down corruption and the fact that there are like 3623634734 individual municipalities. Every stupid town needs to be its own township or boro and have their own services. It's a waste.

R15, Morris County taxes are high, not as high as Essex, and the have a ton of pharmaceutical companies and rich executives living there which should offset the tax burden but it hardly does. So who are the hard working residents of Morris County supporting? The do-nothings in Morris Plains? Boonton? Mount Olive? Hardly.

West Orange has a religious Jewish community (Orthodox) R34, but it's far from predominantly Jewish.

Class insecurity reigns supreme of DL though along with its counterpart antisemitism. Chances are high R34 is a clerk in a store at the Livingston Mall.

West Orange is very mixed, is starting to get overflow of Brooklyn types from South Orange and Maplewood (the gay towns) but also has large immigrant Latinx and Italian areas.

Context: Tony and Carmela Soprano grew up in West Orange and that's a believable plot line.

As others have mentioned, Llewellyn Park has crazy taxes, is near the not-nice part of West Orange and thus the houses are much cheaper than you'd think. Most people buying large houses in suburban New Jersey have kids and jobs in Manhattan, and WO is also not on a train line and the schools suck.

[quote]Context: Tony and Carmela Soprano grew up in West Orange and that's a believable plot line.

Carmela grew up in Elizabeth, didn't she? And Tony in Newark?

It's not in Somerset County. Next.

Please stay away from Connecticut, bitches. Unless you have something to bring. Whoopi lived here long ago. I wonder if she wants her old house back. It's not commutable, but it was tasteful. Nothing is tastefull in that house, even though Delano and Aldrich designed it.

If I had Whoopi's $$$, I wouldn't even think of living in NJ.

I wonder if Whoopi has a pied-à-terre in the city. I can't imagine her commuting back and forth out there every day. Hell, with her money she could have a grand apartment on 5th Ave.

R39 that's what I was thinking. I thought she lived farther in western NJ or PA

I don't understand why people who have millions and millions of $$ live in fucking Jersey. If I didn't want to live in Manhattan, I'd be in CT or Westchester.

I never understood either R41

You're still in fucking Jersey though, r43.

So the fuck what, r44? I'd rather be there than Long Island.

Good for you r45. For some people, it's either CT or Westchester.

I have never had any interest in CT. I have cousins who decamped from Upper Montclair to live in Darien, and oh, what a mistake that was. Simply grueling.

Westchester is one of those places like Chicago or Texas. I know they exist, but they have absolutely nothing to do with my life.

It's not for everyone, R47. And thank God for that.

[quote] Morris County supporting? The do-nothings in Morris Plains? Boonton? Mount Olive? Hardly.

Town of Morristown, Dover, Victory Gardens.

Good r47. Stay in NJ lol.

Is Dover good or bad? I knew someone from there. He was bad.

r50, I haven't lived in NJ in decades.

Dover, NJ is the Newark of Morris County

Dover has large Puerto Rican community. It's unfair to stigmatize them, but the whole Dover area can be lower class, all races.

Thank you, r53 and r54. I had thought he was pretty trashy.

I dont know NJ real estate............... but in Greenwich Conn large estates built in the early 20th century in prime areas sit on the market a lot longer than mcMansions that are slapped up and look the same everywhere. This is what today s buyers want. Family rooms hooked up to the kitchen etc etc. For the most part new money has no taste and I think there is a lot of new money in that area of NJ.

I actually love that house and probably property taxes factor in too.

R43, that was Jackie's weekend house with a horse farm

Bringing you up to speed on Bedford, NJ, it's gone to complete and utter trash. trumpy has a golf club up there

R49 but you can't compare Dover and Morristown to Newark, Irvington and Orange. Morris County has a huge hospital, pharmaceutical companies and universities that should offset the tax burden but they don't. Taxes are high because of corruption. The hispanics in Dover shouldn't be that much of a drain on resources to offset what Novartis should be paying, for example.

R57, Jackie's house was in Peapack-Gladstone, NJ. I don't think there is a Bedford, NJ.

r56 people today want houses that have a bathroom in every bedroom and all the modern conveniences. Like you said, giant family rooms and also a big rec room in the basement, a home theater and all the other shit. They don't want the older houses anymore, too much work to renovate and not big enough.

Oh the tragedy of living in the richest state in the country. NJ jokes don’t bother people who live in NJ because we know better.

As for the comment that impoverished areas are nearby, that’s true of most of the NYC metro area.

I can't believe a lot of you like those ceilings...they look like they are made of faux plaster and bought by the sheet at Home Depot. Extremely tacky, and the house is extremely tacky. Like another poster mentioned, the grounds are beautiful.

[quote]As for the comment that impoverished areas are nearby, that’s true of most of the NYC metro area.

In CT we keep them penned up in New Haven and Bridgeport. So they're not two feet away from us like they are in Jersey.

The house needs, new paint inside, new fireplace surrounds, new matching hardwood floors throughout and a small addition to maximize kitchen potential. Someone's probably gonna rid themselves of at least one spare bedroom and really expand the master suite to today's standards.

Yeah, modern master bedrooms have to be like 5000 sq. ft. and the master bath has to basically be a spa.

Though NJ has nice areas, it seems you are never far from ugly postwar architecture and strip malls. In CT and parts of Westchester, the whole area seems prettier, better planned and better architecture overall. Long Island is similar - nice areas but surrounded by postwar suburban architecture.

I’m befuddled by the whole preference for new cookie cutter McMansions as well. In my area, there are beautiful older homes in nice neighborhoods that don’t sell - while a new development of 5,000 square foot stucco boxes with “open plan” living spaces on no land are selling for millions. But maybe it’s just because I’m gay.

The taxes in Llewellyn Park are more than twice the rate in other areas in Essex County because of the upkeep. It's a gated community (first in the US). I live nearby and sometimes see Whoopi and her daughter shopping in Shoprite of all places.

I look at Llewelyn Park purchase prices as the right to rent - given your monthly tax bill (aka, rent) is likely higher than your mortgage. Beautiful but a bad investment,

If the taxes were more in line with other states, say $40k per year, the asking price would be $7 or $8 million. You get more house for the dollar but you pay with your property taxes.