You could not even give me this house. Horrid all the way around.

The houses in my local raffles are ones that have been on the market FOREVER. I think the house is for marketing the raffle.

I'd take the $4M. I can just see kids running down those stairs and grabbing a hold of mom as she stands at the range with a full pot of pasta water. The design of this kitchen for function is atrocious.

The design and layout of the house seems to point to it being built in the 80's. Is it really a new house or a barely remodelled old house?

What a shame

The outside grounds and outdoor kitchen are lovely. The kitchen is just puzzling -- like this is not a new home and every rule of kitchen design was violated on purpose. The finishes don't look like they are recent, I agree.

The whole thing is just so over-wrought. I agree the kitchen window view is great, but the rest of it is something I wouldn't take as a gift.

You can give me the house, but no I wouldnt buy it.

Did they move those same orange pillows from room to room?

The outside is fantastic. The inside looks really cluttered and small for a house that size.

I was certain you were all being too harsh. Then I looked at the pics...nope.

The only thing I like about it is the view.

I get it now, this is a house in Silicon Valley! There is an unwritten rule that every house up there has to be done twice… Contractors got to get the money from the nouveau riche.... All of the obvious errors can be corrected on the second go round.

So odd. There is no design connection between the interior and exterior or even between rooms in the house. The views are beautiful and I would love attend a party in the outdoor spaces. And I like, not love, some of the interior. But, If I had that kind of $ I would never spend it on that house.

The island sink is just...stupid. I suppose if a pot catches on fire, you can douse it right away.

You should be able to prep near a prep sink!

The view is lovely, but the house? Meh.

And ... is this floor tile on the bathroom counter? Good grief.

Maybe it is the camera angle, but those LR steps look no where near code....

The kitchen made me tired, just looking at it!!

From the outside, the house looks enormous, but inside, the rooms are so small! The outdoor kitchen looks nice. The indoor kitchen looks like it was designed by someone who had never been in a kitchen before.

Is that a grill on the peninsula counter? Without real ventilation? That is really strange. An induction hob would be useful for keeping food warm but not that? It is a really strange kitchen-I can't imagine who would design such a strange space.

I like the outside though. I may enter the darn raffle as I'm becoming bicoastal in the fall and can't seem to afford anything I like out there. It's ironic that I'm moving from the third most expensive state (NJ) to the second most expensive.

I like the pool and outdoor kitchen. Floor tile on the bathroom sink, just no.

Here's a description of the house (emphasis added):

Key features:

• 5 bedrooms
• 4 full and 2 half baths
• Over 4,750 square feet
• 1 acre lot
• Library
• Media/Bonus Room
• Acacia wood floors with walnut finish
• Gourmet chef's kitchen
• Spacious Family Room with Fireplace
• Temperature controlled 150 + bottle wine storage.
• Opulent Master suite with fireplace/sitting area and spacious walk in closet.
• Grand marble dressing area and bath with tub and shower for 2.
• Convenient In-law/au pair quarters.
• Lap pool w motorized cover
• Custom outdoor kitchen/barbeque area with dishwasher and refrigerator.
• One Sprawling acre with fenced orchard and Tree house.
• 3 car garage w hobby loft and ample parking.

Aside from the fact that that's not a "Gourmet chef's kitchen", "Opulent" and "Grand" are not words I would even begin to associate with the interior. I guess I'm fixated on the bathrooms, because they are decidedly uninspired. I presume this is the master, and maybe it looks better in person, but in this pic it looks (IMO) like something from the 80s and not in a good way.

And this just screams "CHEAP."

I wonder if this is a case of someone who couldn't sell their house the traditional way making a deal to "auction" it. I suspect the organization pays the homeowner since 65000 $150 tickets have to be sold before the house is awarded.

Yeah, this house is not selling.

The columns on the outdoor kitchen are comically large.

The whole things read waayyyy to Tuscan for current tastes. Not that some of that look is not indigenous/appropriate, but it needs to be toned down.

deeinohio, yes, I'm sure that's the case. In these types of auctions, it is very unusual for someone to take the house rather than the cash, because it's a rare person who has on hand the $800,000 the IRA would demand if you claimed your prize.

And I agree with IdaClaire--"uninspired" pretty much sums up the interior.

OTOH, I'd take that Tesla S in a heartbeat. My dream car!

Someone had a serious and unfortunate love of the color orange. One of the most lackluster decorating jobs I've seen in a long time. The kitchen cannot be explained.

I managed to track down the house address and then found it on Zillow. It was apparently built in 1990.

It was listed for sale in March of 2015. They dropped the price twice, then took it off the market. It went back on the market this last March at a yet lower price, then was taken off the market again in June (probably when it was tapped for the raffle).

Isn't the internet amazing?

http://www.zillow.com/homes/13917-Albar-Crt-Saratoga-CA-95070_rb/?fromHomePage=true&shouldFireSellPageImplicitClaimGA=false

That explains why the 2nd bathroom that IdaClaire posted looks like the one I did in the early 90's. I've updated mine since then

I'll take the 4mil, not the house. It's in the middle of a hill. Either all the mud slides into the house, or out from under it.

Call me old-fashioned, but when I hear the word "library", I expect to see books. A lone desk and a couple of shelves with tchotchkes is not a "library". There doesn't even seem to be room for more than a modest number of books.