Luxe Living

Scott Marlette, one of Facebook’s first employees, is investing his tech riches into an offline asset – a rare, brand new home in Pacific Palisades, CA. Marlette began his career at Facebook in the company’s early days, first as an engineer and later as a product manager. He developed Facebook Photos and oversaw development for other key site features like tagging, groups and more. Facebook just announced its billionth user worldwide, and that kind of online success translates into some major dollars for the company and for early employees who received a substantial piece of equity in the company in exchange for taking a chance and betting their careers on Mark Zuckerberg’s idea. Despite Facebook’s rocky IPO earlier this year, there is no doubt that the company has figured out how to make a pretty penny – and many of the early employees have also shared in that monetary success.

Scott Marlette’s new venture, GoodRx, is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, which explains why his pricey Pacific Palisades purchase is hundreds of miles from the tech epicenter of Silicon Valley.

So what does tech gold translate to when it comes to real estate? Marlette paid $5.4M for a home in highly-sought-after Rustic Canyon. The home was a complete remodel of an existing property that hadn’t been on the market in more than 50 years. The home was designed and built by Core Development Group. Marlette’s new home is a fresh and modern interpretation of a New England farmhouse, complete with sun-filled open spaces, wide plank oak floors, 11-foot-high ceilings and tree top views everywhere you look.

Sleek lines blend seamlessly with a perfect floor plan. A state-of-the-art kitchen features a wolf range and side-by-side Sub Zero fridges. The family room flows effortlessly into a private grassy backyard.The home’s master suite comes complete with a stunning bath and his & her closets. A separate 5th bedroom upstairs has its own entrance. The listing says it’s “perfect for a writer,” but it’s also a great space for a hacker or coder as well!

 

 

Earlier this week, Facebook filed paperwork for the most anticipated initial public offering since Google in 2004. Estimated to raise as much as $10 billion and value the company at up to $100 billion, about a 1,000 or so privileged Facebook employees are expected to hit the jackpot this summer.

With a few Facebook employees valued anywhere from $700 million to $17.5 billion, it’s safe to say that these soon-to-be newly minted millionaires and billionaires will probably have more money than they know what to do with. Well, here’s an idea – why not take your shares and get your own piece of Silicon Valley by buying a house (if they haven’t already).

So to help them out, we’ve searched through Silicon Valley real estate’s most finest for Facebook’s lucky bunch. Although Silicon Valley isn’t known for being fancy like the rich and famous in New York and Los Angeles, with these homes we think we’ll definitely get some “likes” from our “friends.”

1. King Mountain Rd; Woodside, CA 94062

Price: $47,500,000

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 5 full, 1 partial

Size: 14,000 sqft

Lot: 4.0 acres

Why we “like” it: Features a wine cellar with a 13,200 bottle capacity, fully equipped gym, 15-seat cinema, 7-car garages, computer controlled heating, lighting, security and elevator.

2. 835 Chiltern Road, Hillsborough CA 94010

Price: $43,888,000

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 12

Lot: 6.23 acres

Why we “like” it: Includes indoor pool & raquetball court, pool house, outdoor pool, tennis court, waterfalls, koi pond, English rose and zen gardens.

3. 5050 Alpine Road, Portola Valley CA 94028

Price: $15,950,000

Bedrooms: 7

Bathrooms: 8 full, 2 partial

Lot: 28.5 acres

Why we “like” it: It’s minutes from town, boasts 2 pools, tennis ct, vineyard, 8-car garage and guest cottage.

4. 12661 Robleda Road, Los Altos Hills CA 94022

Price: $10,888,000

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 6 full, 1 partial

Size: 8,610 sqft

Lot: 1.53 acres

Why we “like” it: Has 3 levels, vaulted/cathedral ceiling, inside BBQ, 2+ master suites, pool and cabana.

5. 72 Ralston Road, Atherton CA 94027

Price: $7,950,000

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 8 full, 1 partial

Size: 9,345 sqft

Why we “like” it: Boasts a wine cellar, sauna, fitness room, game room, pool, spa, fire pit and cabana.

 

Gotta love social media. It’s not just for people, pets or fake personalities anymore, it’s also now for houses. On the market in Tucson, Arizona, a brand new listing in the 85718 area code also has it’s own Twitter handle: @IAMAHouse1. Tipped off by the fine folks at Curbed, we had to check out this tech-savvy property ourselves. A new addition to the Twitter world, the home tweets about the goings-on around the property, the weather, and even T.S. Eliot quotes.

This Twittering house is described as “a subtly magnificent home. Charm and grace permeate this adobe abode with a myriad of french doors and a feeling of bringing the outdoors in.” The kitchen is beautiful and up-to-date, yet warm. The living rooms and bedrooms feature beamed ceilings, the bathrooms are sleek marble, and the floors are a traditional tile that seamlessly blend the home’s exterior and interior. The property also features unique fireplaces, sprawling outdoor patios around a pool and hot tub. While listed as a 3 bedroom, the listing suggests that the home could be converted to a 4 bedroom.

The current housing market is challenging, which means agents and owners have to get creative about marketing their properties. We’ll just have to wait and see if more homes jump on the Twitter bandwagon in order to find their next owners.

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