George Clooney's house in England

oops


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Amal has a pretty definitive style of dressing. I think she will have a lot to say about how she wants to decorate their home. Of all the homes George owns this will be the one that will most likely reflect Amal's taste. Of course with some George thrown in . I don't think he would have strong views on decorating the home. I remember when George had Rande redecorate his LA home. He pretty much gave Rande's people the freedom to do what they wanted.

I think Amal will decorate George could probably care less. I actually like the decor not overly formal to me. There are leather sofas and a sofa with a cover that can be removed to be washed. With the dog and people I think that will be handy.

Here is another article on the house. It has a few pics we don't have already, the hallway and blueprints.

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Land could be flooded? Last year was pretty horrendous in the UK. Great pix


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George Clooney faced with £50,000 bill for flood defences due to "serious risk" at luxury British home

Oh dear, it looks like the actor and his new wife have come home from Italy to face a bit of a drama at their marital home in Berkshire

George Clooney and new wife Amal may have just had the wedding of their dreams - but they're now suffering a headache over their marital home.
The actor, who married the British lawyer in a lavish ceremony in Italy last month, bought Grade II-listed Aberlash Manor in Sonning, Berkshire, unaware he would have to spend about £50,000 on flood defences because it's so close to the Thames.
George, 53, gave the £5 million luxury pile to his bride, 36, as a wedding gift and in return she bought him two Cocker Spaniels. It's the effort that counts, obviously.
According to The Sun on Sunday newspaper, a source said, "George and Amal were caught seemingly unaware" of the danger and flood experts have had to be called in.


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George Clooney's new £5million mansion   
They planned a pumping system and put out emergency sandbags after it was deemed a "serious risk" with the water rising over a metre above sea level.
George and Amal, who looked stunning in their official wedding photos, will spend their time between the expensive home and the Oscar-winning star's property in Lake Como, Italy.
Talking about Amal's present to George, a source told Us Weekly magazine: "Amal bought George two three-month-old cocker spaniels for George as a wedding gift, and they were waiting for them at the house.

One of them is really frisky and has to be kept on a leash. George loves them both!"
Meanwhile, the actor also was spotted earlier this week leaving a New York hotel as he headed back to work shortly after his four-day wedding extravaganza.
No doubt he was rushing to get back to his perfect life with Amal and the pooches. Sigh.

I don't believe the people that sold them the house didn't tell them about flood danger.

I don't believe that they didn't know that the Thames was a danger.

How could you buy a house surrounded by water and not know there was a chance of flooding? They're smarter than that.

The last few years have seen a lot of waterfront homes in the US damaged or destroyed by flood waters. Many people are still struggling with rebuilding or relocation. It is an issue that is at the back of everyone's mind when purchasing property.

 I'm sure it's something George considered, but maybe he thought the threat wasn't too great. I believe it was the owner of The Mill who said somewhere that the property floods, but the water doesn't reach the house. Could be that's what George was told, so he thought it wasn't really a problem.

Ironic that he would have a home in England with potential flooding issues and a home in Cabo which may have been damaged by flooding. (Still not sure if he had damage there though - anybody heard anything about that?)

But if the issue is true, I doubt it came as a surprise and I'm sure if he did spend 5 million for a home that he's also prepared to spend the $50k he'll need to make it safe.

I wonder about the tax issue though. Seems to me George still wouldn't want to make England him full time home as it would kill him in taxes if what I've read is true about the tax structure there.

I'd imagine that the flooding issue would have been taken care of in the searches done on the property by the purchaser's Solicitor.
If flood defences are being installed, then that wouldn't come as a surprise to the new owners ! And £50,000
is a small amount to pay considering the value of the property.

Then again, it was the Mirror reporting the story !! LOL

Sonning Eye is an island, and without doubt they'll know loads about flooding from last year's flooding. It will all have been sorted I should think. What may be more important is that the narrow road leading to the Eye has yet to be fixed and the traffic on the (temporary) one way system is chronic and has been for about eighteen months.

However the house is extremely well hidden. You really wouldn't know it was there........very Clooney

I think the flooding issue is something George is very aware of - or should be - since all his properties are waterfront except the one in Studio City. I'm just surprised the previous owner didn't handle the flood protection issue, considering all the other up-grades he made to the property.

If some reports are to be believed, the property has been on the market for a while, and was owned by a city banker, but I can't believe it wouldn't have been sorted out last year, otherwise there would be untold damage to a listed building.....Interesting that there are two small properties nearby which are both under offer.

As for tax implications, we can only surmise about a man who now has three foreign properties (altho in Italy there are about four buildings involved). He's not going to regard it as a problem, and it's also possible that the UK house (and maybe all of them now) is owned jointly.                    .

And has there been past water damage to the home? Do they do inspections of homes in England prior to the house sale becoming final?

PAN - I can't believe he'd be stupid enough to put ALL his properties in both their names at this early point in their relationship - I don't care how much he thinks he loves her. It's too soon to give her that much leverage in case of a divorce. His accountants would have a heart attack.

I can see the new house being in both their names, but not the other properties. Besides, didn't someone here say that his homes are owned by a trust of some sort?

He did refer to the Como home as their home. He may have actually bought the London home for her. But I do wonder about Cabo and his LA home. And re his LA home do you think she has reservations about living there considering all the past relationships he's been through in that house? I think he really loves a his LA home. Lots of fond memories. I hope he doesn't sell it.

Why would he, Donnamarie? There's no need. I thought that he and Grant Heslov had bought another house in the same area to use as their new offices.....

He's always going to need a base in LA. It wouldn't make sense to sell his house. If she doesn't like it, she can redecorate. He probably wouldn't care if she did. After all, he let Rande decorate it for him, even though he told Charlie Rose that it wasn't really his taste.

I don't think she has any problems with his homes they got engaged in the house in Los Angeles. And it was said that she loved spending quiet time there with George. I think they wanted a place in England that is private. Amal works there  and her family is there.

Yea, you guys are probably right about George holding onto his LA home. PAN, I hadn't heard that George and Grant had bought a house in LA for their offices-you mean for Smokehouse Productions?

Reference to the former owner, and more pix


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Did Mr. and Mrs. George Clooney Buy This English Manor?

It looks like lawyer, activist, and author Amal Alamuddin and her actor husband George Clooney now own a 17th-century Georgian manor on a 5.5-acre private island in the English village of Sonning-on-Thames. Ever since the two were married at the end of September, rumors have been flying about a "luxurious, well decorated, and super-private" home they bought in Berkshire county over the summer. Now, the Real Estalker hears that they actually purchased their own hunk of rock in the river Thames, which was last listed at the equivalent of about $12M.
Take the tour. >>
"Island in the stream / That is where they are / No one in between / Clooney and his wife" is how a Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton duet modified to be about this piece of property gossip might go. The couple's rumored new home, the 8,948-square-foot, Grade II-listed Aberdash House, is no longer featured on UK property site Rightmove, but a cached listing shows a doric-columned 10-bedroom manor with a fully modernized interior.
According to an old Wall Street Journal piece about the property, it was purchased by a banker named Omar Bayoumi in the late '90s, who was drawn to it by "the romance and exclusivity of owning the largest residential island in the Thames," as well as "the beauty of the house and grounds." To augment that beauty, Bayoumi filled it with a bunch of high-tech rich person stuff, including a gym, a "spa complex," and an entertainment room outfitted with "invisible speakers and an iLight lighting system using John Cullen fittings." (Fun fact: There are also 14 CCTV cameras installed throughout the property.) In its previous state of decoration, a very large portrait of a cat was displayed in the living room.
Variety takes note of the sweet mahogany parquet floors on the inside and the stone terraces on the grounds. There's also a private boathouse and a "circular brick-built structure for yoga (or whatever)." Clooney's other homes include a gated compound in Los Angeles, another historic mansion on Italy's Lake Como, and a beachside villa in Los Cabos right next to Cindy Crawford's.

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Doesn't buying or selling property have to be announced publicly in the papers in the UK?

I wonder if they bought the house furnished.

They need a large property for security purposes. If they had neighbors that could see them they would be photographed every time they walk out back. I'm sure they are going to redecorate in a style they both like - that huge cat picture has to go!!!

drones?

Silje wrote:Doesn't buying or selling property have to be announced publicly in the papers in the UK?  

Not that Im aware of.  It is registered in a public registry so anyone could technically take a look at it and find out how much they paid etc, but no announcements.

Silje wrote:Doesn't buying or selling property have to be announced publicly in the papers in the UK?  

Not as far as I know. Sometimes there's a public record (land registry or similar) about who owns the title deeds to what, but not always.

So how will we know for sure if they own the house?

NY Daily News reported the other day that the title was registered to G&A at the Gloucester office. The house is theirs.

Okey Lizzy. Guess we have to thrust that info.

But earlier this year, I think it was, the papers said G bought a second house in Italy, in Toscany? But that wasn't true right?

I don't think that was true, as we haven't heard anything about it since then. I do think they bought the house in England. It's been covered in all the media as a done deal.

Any guesses where the couple is staying when they are in London together. Since they just bought a home there they wouldn't have been staying there after the honeymoon or now when Amal is back there working. Could they be staying with Baria temporarily? I know George is in Vancouver right now and has probably been in LA since NYCC.

Donnamarie wrote:Any guesses where the couple is staying when they are in London together.  Since they just bought a home there they wouldn't have been staying there after the honeymoon or now when Amal is back there working.  Could they be staying with Baria temporarily?  I know George is in Vancouver right now and has probably been in LA since NYCC.

Amal already has a place in London so they may have stayed there or a hotel or even a furnished rental.  When you have money theres no need to stay with the in-laws.

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"George Clooney's moved 10 mins away from my house. Think the dog walks are guna be in Sonning from now on..."

So from all the pictures of the property it doesn't look like there's a basketball court? George is going to need one. In fact I remember reading that Amal plays netball? Isn't that a Brit version of basketball? They definitely will need a court. I guess there's no pool either? Unless it's indoors.

They need a stable for their horses so they can go fox hunting and play horse polo and Amal need a horrible hat for the Ascots or whatever it is English aristocracy do. And if  Amal  want that OBE she better start doing some proper work. The marbles ain't gone do it.

They are not English aristocracy because they bought a big house...they just have money.

How very disappointing.

Silje wrote:They need a stable for their horses so they can go fox hunting and play horse polo and Amal need a horrible hat for the Ascots or whatever it is English aristocracy do. And if  Amal  want that OBE she better start doing some proper work. The marbles ain't gone do it.

Not everyone lives in the UK like they do in
Downton Abbey. LOL
Thank goodness.

Just wondering whose idea the house was in the first place. If she still has a place in London, wouldn't that be much more convenient for them? And if they're  going to continue to work how much time will they spend there anyway? Cabo for the holidays, Como for the summer, LA for his work (and everywhere else he goes to film and do ads) London and wherever for hers - seems to me that house is going to stand empty most of the time. What a waste.

Lizzy, I think not long after their engagement, there was news that Himself was going to buy a house for them in the UK and to spend more time here to be close to her 

And it's not unusual to have a crashpad in London too if you have the money. Apart from anything else it's a brilliant investment!

It's been quoted I think that His Nibs is not a big fan of share, and prefers to buy property as an investment too, or land as he put it.

Think he owns a place in NYC and I'm betting Augusta too

PAN - All your points are totally logical. And, yes, he has said he prefers to own rather than rent/lease/share, whatever.

 I don't think he owns here in NY. He seems to always stay at the Carlisle Hotel. It may be possible to buy an apartment there - I don't know. He might own something in Augusta - maybe even inherited - and he might inherit his parent's home someday - but he spends so little time there I would be surprised if he had actually bought a house there.

It just struck me that with their busy schedules they won't have much time to spend in Sonning. It's a shame that such a lovely home will probably stand empty  much of the time.

I have a feeling, Lizzy, that he might own a place at the Carlyle. I believe it's possible and it would certainly make sense.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there's work being done in Sonning to make it their own at the mo........Convinced that there must be wardrobes of clothes in every house, aren't you?!

They live in such a different world than I do...
Los Angeles - Cabo - (?) New York  -Italy - England   

Where do you call home?   I mean, yes, each property is a home/property for them.  But where is home ?   Probably projecting my values..sorry

And how do you keep track of your wardrobe.. "honey, where is my blue sports coat.. you know-the one I always wear when I drink tequila"

Well, for His Nibs this is like starting again isn't it? - and definitely something he wants. But I wouldn't mind betting they have massive affection for Como. Can't say I blame them!! Who wouldn't?

PigPen wrote:They live in such a different world than I do...
Los Angeles - Cabo - (?) New York  -Italy - England   

Where do you call home?   I mean, yes, each property is a home/property for them.  But where is home ?   Probably projecting my values..sorry

And how do you keep track of your wardrobe.. "honey, where is my blue sports coat.. you know-the one I always wear when I drink tequila"

That one is easy for George, he always wear the same baggy grandpa jeans and Casamigos t-shirt. Might be tricker for her.

But houses should be lived in. Not good for them to be empty too much and it must require a whole bunch of people to maintain them. No wonder G has to work hard.

HaHaHa!

"Honey, where's my drinking shirt? The blue one?"

"It's in the London flat, same as my fat jeans."

"Damn. Okay, I'm going to walk the dogs."

"We have dogs here?"

"Yep. The Sonning spaniels. I think. Wait. Where are we?"

"Como, I think. It's Thanksgiving, so..."

"Right. Maybe I meant Einstein."

Yes I imagine it must feel like that sometimes when you have so many homes. If it's Thanksgiving it must be Cabo right? Christmas, Cabo. Summer, Como. But I think all of George's shirts are considered drinking shirts.

PigPen I agree I can't imagine living my life that way with so many homes. I like the idea of having an anchor and maybe a summer home. All these homes would just confuse me.