I remember in the mid-90s, my friend Cary was a private chef for a couple who had a house on Sag Pond in Bridgehampton. The house next door, at the time, was renting that summer for $75,000 which we all thought was INSANE. I’m sure it wasn’t the highest price at the time, but pretty close. Less that a decade later, in 2005, the most expensive rental in the Hamptons was 10 times that – an oceanfront on Further Lane with a beach chalet and a six-bedroom main house that fetched $750,000 — but that was for the WHOLE YEAR. This summer, a handful or two of East End landlords are near or at the seven-figure mark for the season, offering ESTATES — for anyone with enough dough. As dumb as it may seem, it actually makes more financial sense for them to rent than purchase. “If one wants to keep the cash flow and enjoy the house for the summer, you can rent and it’s still a lot less than paying $45 million to buy. Once you close the door and leave, you have no obligation to maintain it,” explains Sotheby’s Harald Grant, who’s repping a ten-bedroom, eight-bath shingled mansion in Southampton for $900,000 from Memorial Day to Labor Day. “They’re the same people that own 150-foot yachts and own islands,” says the Corcoran Group’s Gary DePersia, who has a million-dollar, 27,000-square-foot-house available for either July or August. At this level, you can expect the properties to come with grounds and their own staff (and staff quarters), plus LOTS of perks; screening room; tennis court; and a pool. Duh. A few houses have TWO pools — one indoors. A listing, dubbed the Sandcastle (shown here) includes a basketball court, a bowling alley, an indoor half-pipe, and a racquetball court that converts to a squash court. Plus bragging rights that Beyoncé and Jay Z, supposedly rented it last year for two weeks. For $400,000. Hey, this summer – that might look like a deal.(via Daily Intelligencer)
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