The Taylor Swift $17.75 million cash purchase of a Rhode Island mansion was a lousy deal.
So says real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, one of the stars the hit ABC reality show Shark Tank .
The pop singer reportedly wired the money to purchase the Westerly, Rhode Island, crib immediately once the papers were signed. Taylor Swift apparently looked at the waterfront mansion for a few weeks, but appears to have spent some time haggling on the price. The 11,000-square-foot estate was originally listed for $20 million, so she did knock the price down somewhat.
When asked if Swift made a good deal on the house in the Westerly’s obviously upscale Watch Hill neighborhood, Corcoran — the founder of The Corcoran Group — decisively went Shank Tank on the recent real estate transaction (see embed below): “Of course it’s a bad decision; she overpaid.”
Ever notice how celebrity handlers for some reason take it upon themselves try to block questioners in public settings, even if the queries are harmless or good-natured? Is there some sort of handler’s code in play?
TMZ colorfully refers to Barbara Corcoran as “a stone cold PIMP in the New York real estate scene.”
Taylor Swift recently flipped a Cape Cod property in a deal that Corcoran would likely have approved of, pocketing a $1 million profit on a home in Hyannis Port, Massachusets near the Kennedy compound.
If you haven’t the seen Shark Tank , what happens on the show is that entrepreneurs or would-be entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to five often obnoxious but oddly engaging deep-pocketed “sharks” (one whom is either Corcoran or Lori Grenier of QVC who alternate their appearances) and try to convince at least one of the panelists to invest. The show does suggest that entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America despite the efforts of Washington bureaucrats.
The sharks are sometimes overly stingy with their money (or overreaching with their demands for equity in a company), and on one notable episode all five refused to invest in a going concern because the patriotic owner declined to move production jobs offshore.
Win or lose, contestants obtain massive exposure for their product or service. Those who do make deals with one or more of the sharks (subject to further off-screen vetting) appear to be thrilled.
Watch Barbara Corcoran diss Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island real estate deal: