Harry Potter star owns some wicked real estate
Filed under: Real Estate, Celebs & Money
At an age when most people are trying to scrape together security deposits for their first off-campus apartments, Harry Potter star Rupert Grint has amassed quite a bit of real estate: £7million, according to estimates. He recently spent £5.4 million on a "18th-century Hertfordshire manor house in 22 acres," according to The Daily Mail.It's great that Mr. Grint is spending his money on assets that will help him hold on to his wealth. It certainly beats Maserati's and cocaine, but I have to object ever so slightly to the fawning nature of the press coverage of his real estate empire.
Buying palatial mansions can be a fun way for the glitterati to enjoy their fortunes but they are most certainly not an investment -- they're a massive expense. Sure: Land appreciates over the long-term, but the taxes and absolutely massive maintenance costs associated with owning properties like this makes them far inferior to mult-family units in low-income areas as investments. A home that you occupy as a residence isn't an investment -- and high-end properties generally don't work well as rental properties because the market for them is so small.
So: Major props to Mr. Grint for focusing his consumption on assets that are less ephemeral than yachts and vacations. But for long-term wealth-building, he will want to focus on other investments.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-26-2009 @ 11:59PM
Dan Zee said...
I agree totally. If he wanted to invest in property, he should have bought apartment houses and hired a management company to oversee them. He'd have a steady form of income for the rest of his life. I don't think he's going to continue to find film roles that will pay him millions per performance. I see Daniel and Emma having long acting careers, but Rupert - I'm afraid he's going to be on sitcoms as the nerdy neighbor before fading out. He'll be selling the manor house in a couple of years for a loss.
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10-08-2009 @ 8:47AM
Rhiannnonn said...
"to mult-family units in low-income areas as investments"
I really think that it's just wonderful that you're pointing him towards "low-income" housing where the poverty striken live. How do you make money on people you're constantly spending money on to evict? You want to make a slum-lord out of the kid!
And as for you Dan Zee, someone should super glue your fingers to your ankles and let you try typing that way! First you've bloody spent the money any apartment houses would make by paying a management company, then you sit there and say that the profession of choice is going to go nowhere. How freaking cruel can you be?? I hope that you're not only wrong, but that you have to eat your words with a chaser of sawdust! How dare you say such horrible things at the beginning of a young person's career!!!
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