On Friday it was revealed that Alec Baldwin had listed his longtime Hamptons estate for a little under $30 million. The 10-acre property has a 10,000+ square foot farmhouse-style primary home that dates back to the 1700s. Endless lawns. A gorgeous pool. Enormous privacy hedges. It's an incredible property.
Here are some highlights from the listing:
Overlooking acres of bucolic preserve…this stunning home is a marriage of nature and luxury… Every detail of this impeccable two-story cedar shingle retreat has been curated to maximize indoor/outdoor space and utilize natural light throughout the year. Outdoor living and entertaining are emphasized by a luxurious custom 625 +/- sq. ft. pavilion with a magnificent fieldstone fireplace and western-facing 20'x50′ gunite pool and spa, as well as a fenced vegetable garden.
And here's a video tour:
If you owned this amazing private paradise…
Why on earth would you ever sell it???
Especially considering that the seller in this case happens to be an extremely rich celebrity with all the means in the world to easily afford the home's ongoing maintenance, mortgage payments and property taxes.
Speaking of mortgages, considering that he bought the home in 1996 for $1.75 million, one can assume Alec does not even have a mortgage at this point. And by my estimation, his property tax bill is around $30,000 per year. In summer months, the house could easily rent for $30,000 PER MONTH.
As it turns out there might be an unexpected theoretical reason Alec is selling this property.
It's recently been theorized that Alec Baldwin may be shedding assets in lawsuit-unfriendly New York state to protect his wealth from looming and potentially very costly lawsuits related to the "Rust" shooting incident.
(Photo by Jim Spellman/Getty Images)
Protecting His Ass…ets
On Monday it was revealed that prosecutors in New Mexico are reportedly considering filing criminal charges against Baldwin over the fatal shooting that occurred at his hand on the set of the movie "Rust" one year ago.
The revelation came in the form a funding request made by the Santa Fe District Attorney. The funding request would cover additional costs if charges are brought in what would be an extremely high profile case in which, "one of the possible defendants is well known movie actor Alec Baldwin."
And then there's the civil charges which are reportedly being prepared by the family of the cinematographer who was killed when the guy Alec was holding went off accidentally.
Considering the looming legal cases and potentially very expensive damages that he could be ordered to pay if he were convicted or found liabile, it would be very wise for Alec to take actions now that would protect his wealth.
One option, according to a legal expert who spoke with the Daily Mail would be to place his assets in irrevocable trusts for his eight children. Although, a separate legal expert who spoke with the Daily Mail said transferring money into trusts may not work in a case when a lawsuit is already pending. This could be considered a "fraudulent conveyance," and therefore would not protect anything.
Another very common maneuver for people facing potentially very expensive legal damages is to move to Florida, or another state that has a special statue called homestead protection. In a homestead state, your primary residence is shielded from financial liabilities that are the result of lawsuit judgements or bankruptcy. In New York or California, if you're ordered to pay someone $30 million and you own a $30 million Hamptons house, you could be forced to sell that home to satisfy the judgement. Not in 16 US states including New York, Idaho, Oregon and ironically, New Mexico (where the Rust shooting occurred).
As a prime example, before O.J. Simpson faced off against the Goldman family in civil court, he bought a house in Florida. Therefore when he lost a $30+ million judgement to the family, his primary house was untouchable.
On the other hand, another potential explanation for Baldwin selling his Hamptons house is…
Maybe he just wants to sell it.
Maybe he wants to get $30 million for something that cost him $1.75 million. Maybe he's sick of the Hamptons after 25 years. FYI, Alec still owns a 6-unit penthouse in New York City, so as of this writing he is not fully abandoning New York.
But it would be interesting if in the next few weeks we hear that Alec has bought a house in Florida and has also listed his Manhattan apartment…
