If It Were For Sale . . .

Today is all about the White House and its incoming new president. Now if it were really for sale, we might write an ad like this:

Reflect Your Success

Don't you deserve a home that mirrors your achievements? This late Georgian style mansion on an estate settling in President's Park combines architecture and craftsmanship in a home that whispers "success". With its many state rooms, this spacious 132 room, 35 bathroom home provides over 55,000 square feet for gracious living. You'll love the tennis court, single lane bowling alley, movie theater, jogging track, swimming pool, and putting green as well as the 18 acre impeccably maintained and highly secured grounds that provide an ambiance of quality living. For a very special few [if it were actually for sale] at $308,058,000*.

Now let's see in order to be able to qualify for the home if it really was for sale, assuming we took out a 30 year mortgage at 6% with a 20% down payment [which would only be a mere $62 million], you would need to:

1. Be elected as the president, of course!
2. Be able to pay $1.48 million a month for the mortgage
3. Be making $53.3 million a year in order to afford the $ 1.48 million a month for the mortgage

Fortunately, it's not really for sale so no one needs to worry about how to pay for it. Now it has always been a rather expensive building, the initial construction cost $232,371.83 [$2.4 million in 2005 dollars] and that was for a much smaller White House than we have today with its added wings and bunkers.

Andrew Jacksons Inauguration via Library of Congress

It is a gorgeous house with a long and interesting history. And just like many old buildings, it is said to have ghosts wandering the halls, the most frequent being Lincoln. Other ghosts who have been seen at the White House include an angry Dolley Madison when First Lady Ellen Louise Wilson wanted to remove the Rose Garden, a boisterous Andrew Jackson laughing loudly in his former bed chambers in the Red Room, a busy Abigail Adams going through the motions of doing laundry and finally, a menacing British soldier trying to set a fire with a blazing torch.

We would love to someday take a tour of White House, but until then, if you need a decorating fix, like Becca, you can view pictures and video tours of different rooms in the White House here, here and here.

*White House estimate courtesy of Zillow.