Everything they own in a box to the left? Not quite, but just in time for spooky season, Beyoncé and Jay-Z are listing their gothic 13,300 square-foot, 95-year-old New Orleans mansion, the church-turned-ballet school-turned-celebrity residence also known as La Casa de Castille.
Fun fact about La Casa de Castille, which the Carters reportedly purchased in 2015 and has “has seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, high ceilings, a main residence with three 1,000 square-foot apartments, ‘all kinds of nooks and crannies to hide with a book’ and a rooftop garden,” according to online outlet Chron.com: A fire that broke out in the mansion in July of this year was classified as...an arson attempt?
“The blaze in the 1500 block of Harmony Street appeared to have started in the kitchen, where firefighters found books inside of an oven, according to a source who was briefed on the investigation,” reported NOLA.com., adding: “A gas can was also found in the house.”
Ummm...yikes.
“Neighbors who asked not to be identified said authorities seemed to suspect that someone broke into the home shortly before the fire,” NOLA added. “One neighbor said people are known to use an unlocked gate to come onto and leave the property.”
A potential culprit has seemingly never been identified in the months since the fire, but apparently the Carters have decided to move on, listing La Casa de Castille for $4.45 million, up from an initial listing of $3.5 million the week before—though according to Chron, it’s even more complicated.
The home’s Zillow listing directs viewers to a broken or nonexistent website. Images of La Casa de Castille are completely blurred out on Google Maps. The phone number of the supposed owner is actually registered to a Mississippi-based immigration attorney. And the photos included in the home’s Zillow listing are apparently from 2015 when the house was last sold, according to real estate site Dirt.
Should you actually be in possession of $4.5 million and be able to locate the listing online, “the sellers have also offered to paint the house to any color the buyer chooses before the deal closes,” reports Chron, so there’s that. Plus, according to Zillow: “As one Grammy winner said, ‘The acoustics and vibes are great. I did my best writing ever, while watching the sunset from the rooftop garden!’”
No telling who that Grammy winner was, but if that’s not making Lemonade from a lemon at 4:44 in the morning (or afternoon), I don’t know what is.