It’s sold, and hopefully this time for good. Our man Shaquille O’Neal has sold his super-upscale lakefront property in Windermere, Florida (near Orlando) for a cool $11 million. It’s been quite a trip for Shaq and this property…listed for sale several times, with a couple of different potential buyers stepping up, but never quite making it happen. Now it appears the deal is really done.
We’ve reported on the property in previous posts here on the ShaqFu Radio blog. The estate is in the gated and very secure Isleworth community, on three full acres of property, with water at both the front and back of the home.
The home is over 31,000 square feet (definitely Shaq-sized), and also includes a giant-sized backyard swimming pool, boat dock and (of course) 6.000 square foot indoor basketball court. There are 12 bedrooms, 11 full bathrooms and four half bathrooms.
To add to the sales-appeal, the home was recently re-staged, as they say in the real estate world. In the case of this home, that means some of Shaq’s personal touches – including the Superman bedspread – had been removed. The idea was to make the home more appealing to a broader audience of buyers, rather than other sports superstars.
The man to sell it was Benjamin Hillman of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s office in Southwest Orlando. He told Forbes magazine that this particular deal has been in the works for several months, and he told Forbes about his getting the deal from O’Neal.
“I was on floor duty when the call came in from an unrecognizable number,” said Hillman. “ ‘This is Shaq, and I’m calling you to sell my home.’ I responded, ‘It’s about time you called me.’ ” Shaq laughed and continued, “ ‘I’ve heard about you; they call you the closer, and that’s why I’m calling you.’ ”
In the case of Shaq’s home, Hillman is the fifth agent to list it and try to sell it. “I was lucky No. 5,” he said. “Shaq trusted me to find him a buyer, and I assured him I was the agent to do it.”
The outdoor oasis fosters an inviting atmosphere with a 95-foot-long, 15-foot-deep pool with a custom rock waterfall, a large sunken hot tub, summer kitchen, Tiki-style open cabana overlooking the sandy beach side of the lake, covered boat dock with sitting area and electric boat lift and 700 feet of white-sand bottom lakefront.
The home also includes a full resort-style guest wing with five en-suite bedrooms and a great room and bar; a 17-car showroom-like garage and fitness room; 6,000-square-foot indoor basketball gym with full audio and individually controlled lighting; and a 2,100-square-foot secondary garage with dance studio and enclosed recording studio.
Congrats to Shaq for getting the deal done!