Chapter 1218: 1218

Standing in any corner from the first floor to the third floor of the villa, looking towards the west, you can see the endless blue sea and blue sky at a glance. The clear blue dyes everything with a clear and translucent layer. Malibu's bright and warm sunshine all year round fills the whole space with a dry taste, and the windows that can be seen everywhere allow the sunshine to spill into every corner of the villa without any obstruction, matched with the cleverly placed green in the house. Potted plants, everything is so beautiful.

"How big is the area here?" Joseph looked at Hugo's expression, and could feel that Hugo was still very satisfied with this place, and turned to look at Dan and asked.

Dan stood a little cautiously, and after hearing the question, he immediately explained, "This place covers an area of ​​just over 10,000 square feet (about 930 square meters), and the private beach below is not included, so you can't buy it there. , can only be processed through the government's application procedures, but our company will be responsible for all procedures."

The 10,000-square-foot villa is not the most top-notch in Malibu, but it has reached the level of first-class villas. Villas like this are generally in high demand, and the previous owner asked to let it go, and soon many people will come to see the house.

Joseph just nodded slightly, and then asked, "How much is the annual maintenance and cleaning cost?"

Ordinary people are often discouraged from looking at luxury goods because of the price. A villa costs tens of millions of dollars, which is not affordable for anyone. But real connoisseurs know that maintenance is the most expensive thing compared to purchase. This is true for luxury cars, yachts, private jets, etc., and villas are no exception.

"The specific cost is still to be judged according to the usage. As a reference, the maintenance and cleaning here cost $120,000 last year." Dan explained nervously, after all, he was not very skilled in the business and was asked such detailed questions. , the forehead began to sweat, "If you are staying now, because the swimming pool, lotus pond, etc. must be cleaned, and there are some simple maintenance, it is estimated that the initial expenditure will be higher."

Joseph couldn't help chuckling. Other brokers tried to avoid these things to persuade customers to buy, but Dan had no experience, so Da Lala told the villa's shortcomings.

Seeing Joseph's expression, Dan also seemed to realize his mistake and wanted to remedy it in annoyance, but before he had time to think about it, he heard Hugo directly say, "What's the current price?"

"Five million dollars," Dan explained eagerly when he finished. "That's all-inclusive, private beach, pre-cleaning, lawn maintenance, houseplants, and more."

Dan is actually worried that the price is too high. Now the price of villas in Malibu is generally around 2 million, similar to today's price of more than 10,000 square feet is around 4 million or 4.5 million. . The reason why this villa is slightly more expensive is that on the one hand it is a private beach, and on the other hand it is the design. All the decoration design was invited by the famous American interior designer Steve Lazar to be responsible, and the villa is also very beautiful. New, it has been less than two years since the construction was completed. So the price is slightly raised.

But in Hugo's ears, he was surprised by the cheap housing prices.

In Malibu in the 21st century, a villa with only 3,000 square feet cost 10 million. Now this villa is not only three times larger, but also half the price; if it is compared with the current Beverly In a horizontal comparison of the villas, a villa with an area of ​​3,000 square feet at the foot of the mountain has already sold for five million US dollars, not to mention the villas in the excellent location on the mountainside and the top of the mountain. If it is Beverly Hills in ten years, then this price will be At least another fifty percent increase.

Hugo originally thought that he would have to spend at least 10 million to buy the whole villa, but now it seems that the house prices in the 1990s are still far lower than expected.

But Hugo also knew that after buying the villa, the refurbishment in the early stage, plus the care and maintenance after moving in, all required a lot of money. If nothing else, the outside courtyard looks beautiful, but as long as it is windy and rainy, it must be a mess. It is absolutely worthwhile to have a professional come over to clean and take care of it. Not to mention the water, electricity, gas, property management and other costs that vary with the size of the area.

Even so, it's a pretty good deal.

Hugo is still very satisfied with this villa. The first floor can be the place where friends were usually received, and most of the fitness needs can be completed here; the second floor exists as housing, and there is enough space for friends even if they come; three The floor can be used as a work and entertainment space, and Hugo thought it would be a good idea to put the study and music studio on the third floor. Moreover, if the father comes to Los Angeles in the future, including the Taylor family, they don't need to go to the hotel, they can live directly at home.

However, the only trouble is that although it is only a thirty- to forty-five-minute drive from downtown Los Angeles, you can only drive by yourself. Hugo still rejects driving, which is bound to become very difficult. trouble.

However, after comprehensive consideration, Hugo decided to start and bought the entire villa directly and paid in one lump sum.

This was Hugo's biggest spend ever. He didn't feel anything the moment he swiped the card, but after swiping it, he suddenly realized that the five million dollars was gone in an instant, and he truly understood what it means to spend a fortune. But considering that "Life and Death" and "Pulp Fiction" each brought Hugo more than 30 million pre-tax income before, Hugo really understood what the upper class regards money as a series of numbers. mean.

After buying the villa in one go, Hugo's journey of spending money did not end.

First of all, the villa needs to carry out internal finishing and simple supplementary decoration. It needs to be decorated according to Hugo's wishes. Especially, Hugo wants to build the two large rooms on the third floor into a study and a recording studio. The study needs to be built on three walls. Bookshelves, to provide space for Hugo's vinyl records and collection of books; and the recording studio is even more troublesome, Hugo plans to build a band practice room and recording studio in his home, so that he can work from home, if there is Need, glory to death can also come to the villa to practice.

This would require an investment of more than three million dollars - the main cost was the high-end equipment of the recording studio, which was almost comparable to the price of Hugo's purchase of the entire villa.

During the renovation of the villa, Hugo, accompanied by Joseph and Samora, was looking for an apartment in downtown Los Angeles. Dan is still their real estate agent, and Hugo alone is enough for Dan to be in the top five on their company's year-end sales list.

Buying an apartment in the urban area is mainly just in case. Occasionally after the filming is over, or there is an event early in the day, or after the award ceremony is over, I am too lazy to drive back to Malibu late at night, then the destination in the urban area is Very necessary.

Hugo was originally interested in an apartment on the Avenue of Stars, but the supporting security conditions were not very satisfactory-for artists, a security system that can ensure that their private lives are not violated is very important, just like this time Like the paparazzi breaking directly into Hugo's door, such a thing must be avoided.

In the end, Hugo came to Beverly Hills. Although Hugo felt that this area was almost surrounded by paparazzi, it must be admitted that this area has become a high-end residential area, and in addition to the villas on the mountain, the mountains The high-end apartment complex at the foot is also popular, and its security facilities are perfect - obviously they have a lot of experience in dealing with the paparazzi.

Hugo spent $800,000 to buy a 1,300-square-foot (120-square-meter) high-end independent apartment with two bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and two bathrooms, which is sufficient.

After the house problem was solved, Hugo rented a practice room of about 2,110 square feet (200 square meters) near Burbank. The rental cost of this practice room was as high as 50,000 a year. Dollars, but not Hugo alone, but Glory to the Dead band together, this will become their band's regular practice place in the future.

Although the members of Glory To The Dead are not as rich as Hugo, the success of the albums "Almost Famous" and "Bathing in the Morning" still give them enough capital, not to mention the signing of a new contract and "Road to Glory" Great income from the tour. Therefore, several members also bought a lot of musical instruments and music production equipment to move to the practice room, looking like they were in full swing.

After all these things were done, Hugo bought a BMW four-door sedan. He originally wanted to buy a Ferrari or a Porsche, but after thinking about it, he didn't want to drive. The reason why he bought a sedan was because The previous mini van was mostly used during the promotion period. Usually, there were only Hugo and Samora, plus one Joseph at most. There was no need to drive the van out. After hesitating again and again, I bought a sapphire blue BMW 3 Series four-door sedan.

In the blink of an eye, 10 million dollars has disappeared, and it only took three days before and after. No wonder people say that making money is not easy and spending money is easy, and this is just the beginning. What's even more strange is that Hugo is still thinking about what to buy. He feels as if he has opened the floodgate. After spending money, he can't stop feeling, some pain, some tangled, but some bold and some pleasure. It feels really mixed.

But the fact is that Hugo still has a lot of things he wants to buy. Before, because he shared with Alex and Charlize, the space in the room was limited, and Hugo's vinyl records and collection of books could not be put down, so he could only stop temporarily. I bought it, but every time I saw it, it was inevitable to take it back. Now that Hugo has enough space, he spends almost all day and night on Sunset Boulevard, rejoicing.

Just when Hugo was immersed in the thrill of spending a lot of money, a strange old acquaintance came to the door.