It took investing legend Barbara Corcoran 23 years to buy her dream home. She's not making much money selling it.
Barbara Corcoran waited over 20 years to buy her dream penthouse in New York City.
She found a buyer for the penthouse in one day — but she's not making a giant profit.
On May 8, the real estate mogul and "Shark Tank" investor listed her 4,600-square-foot penthouse in Manhattan for $12 million. It went into contract on May 9.
Corcoran and her husband, Bill Higgins, bought the unit in 2015 for $9.95 million and spent about $2 million on renovations.
The final sale price won't be known until the deal closes, but the New York Post reported that a bidding war broke out over the home and that it is selling for above the asking price.
It's unlikely Corcoran will make a sizable return on her investment, but she said she's at peace with that.
"I never thought I would ever leave," Corcoran told The New York Times. "It's easy to spend money when you're building a lifelong dream. For me, real estate is emotional."
In 1992, when she was working as a messenger delivering letters, Corcoran's route took her to 1158 Fifth Avenue, a co-op building overlooking Central Park on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Corcoran told the penthouse owners to give her a call if they ever decided to sell. Twenty-three years later, they did.
Corcoran, now 76, and Higgins found a duplex home challenging as they aged and are moving to a single-story apartment in the same neighborhood.
Take a look inside the five-bedroom duplex that Corcoran feels was a worthwhile investment, even if it doesn't end up earning her a huge profit.
Barbara Corcoran purchased the Upper East Side duplex for $9.95 million in 2015.
More than 20 years after she first saw it, she was financially in a position to buy it.
In 2001, Corcoran sold the real estate brokerage she founded — The Corcoran Group — for $66 million.
She became one of the founding hosts and investors on "Shark Tank" in 2008, and the first episode aired in 2009. She bought the penthouse in 2015.
She spent about $2 million renovating the apartment.
The 18-month renovation flipped the floor plan: She put the kitchen upstairs, while the bedrooms were downstairs.
The penthouse has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and two half-bathrooms.
The kitchen, which is now on the top floor, gets great sunlight.
"Who wouldn't love this kitchen, right?" Corcoran said in an Instagram video. "I love it. I sit here every day and think to myself, 'How lucky am I?' Never ever did I think I would have such a pretty kitchen."
The home's main attraction is just off the kitchen: the solarium turned dining room.
Many rooms, including the solarium, have views of Central Park.
Corcoran — who, obviously, knows a thing or two about real estate — said location is always one of the biggest factors for her when purchasing a property.
"Any house I ever bought, I bought the spot, not the space," she told The New York Times. "You can control the space, but you can't control the spot."
The L-shaped terrace is more than 800 square feet and overlooks Central Park's iconic reservoir.
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