That thump you heard? The sound of this 33rd-floor Huntingdon penthouse once owned by Ken and Linda Lay dropping another million dollars. Over the weekend the asking price for the 12,827-sq.-ft. castle in the air fell to $6.99 million. Enron founder Ken Lay died in 2006, shortly after being convicted of 10 counts of securities fraud and related charges. His widow first put this little pied-Ã -terre at 2121 Kirby Dr. on the market in the fall of 2009, for $12.8 million. By the beginning of this year, it had floated down to $8,875,000.
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The condo’s interior was designed by Houston architect L. Barry Davidson in 1999, though the Lays had bought their future sky palace 4 years earlier. Inside the 4-bedroom unit: a total of 9 bathrooms and 6 elevators. The unit also comes with 10 garage parking spaces — and a $10,182 monthly maintenance fee.
I have never known anyone who did not loose a truckload of cash on their condo – they’re just bad investments, period. I wouldn’t be shocked to see this one worth less that $3 million in a few years. BTW, the $10K a month mainteneance fee would also be the mortgage payment on a $2.1 mil house!
Did I read that monthly maintenance fee right? $10,182 each and every month? What the hell does that kind of money get you? And who has been paying it for the past 5 years? I thought that Linda Lay was broke and had to sell stuff at a garage sale.
I think for that money you can buy a much nicer house in River Oaks around the corner.
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Matt, if you include escrowed taxes, insurance, and all the other usual bells and whistles, the 10k a month will only get you a home a touch over 1 million. The online mortgage payment estimators are a joke.
Perhaps the ghastly decor (the offspring of faux-Tuscan, faux-Provincial, and aspirations to Louis XVI grandeur) has something to do with it.
ken lay is alive, he has faked his death kudos to dubya
I have a solution for helping Mrs. Linda Lay get rid of that wonderful place: donate it to the work we are doing and allow abused women and children, senior citizens, and disabled veterans to live there and get their lives together.
It would be quite a self-improvement program for these abused and hurting people to live in a mansion! Such living would inspire them, sharpen their vision, and woul leave a legacy on behalf of Ken and Linda Lay.
Mrs. Lay could also set up a trust fund for maintenance, “Ken and Linda Lay Caring Hands Trust Fund.” This could be part of their legacy.
The commission that the realtor would normally get for the sale would come from fundraisers from our organization and our friends. Thus, a win-win-win for all parties involved!
a $10,182 monthly maintenance fee… Jeez, WTF does that cover?!!!
It looks like Noel Furniture exploded in that place!
I would pay around $3.2 million for it.
I guess most of the paupers who comment on Swamplot don’t know what things actually cost. You guys show me any 13k square foot house in River Oaks and I’ll show you a monthly maintenance budget easily exceeding $10k/month. 24-hour security, , valet parking, electricity, insurance, water, landscaping and pool service don’t come for free you know.
The real issue we should be discussing is the affect Key Lay’s aura has on the value of the unit. I assure you, there’s a number, but for me the price would have to be an absolute STEAL to convince me to spend my days staring at such luxurious trappings knowing all the while the true source of the construction funds.
The suggestion of a half-way house is not a bad one. Maybe Linda should just hold on to it and offer it as a refuge for the real “innocent spouses” who really did “lose it all” after their spousese were convicted of fraud and the government “took it all.” Maybe call it the Ruth Madoff Home for Homeless Spouses of the Rich and Infamous.
Shame you can’t be charged with perjury for television interviews. Doesn’t look to me that Linda Lay lost much of anything. Even if she had, well, she and Kenny Boy did buy a nice annuity that gives her about a million a year to live on. And the government cannot touch those. Just ask the Fastows.
As for the worth of this whatever-the-style-is-supposed-to-be pied-a-terre I would imagine the worth is “land value” as in what the shell is worth less the cost of tearing it all out so you can start over.
Oh my you idle rich just don’t know what to spend your money on..10,000 plus a month is really a steal..and 7 million anywhere but Houston this would be 15 million..c’mon guys pony up the cash..after all it is real estate……
Regarding the maintenance cost. While $10k/month seems a lot (and it is), the maintenance cost of a high rise is typically split among the owners, based on the square footage of the unit you own.
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And this unit is MASSIVE.
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So this one is about $.80/SF. Doing a google search shows that other high-rises in Houston seem to charge about the same ($.70-$.80). Expensive for sure, but seems to be typical.
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(as my old boss used to say, ‘anything times a lot is a lot’)
Where does Linda live now.