Luxurious Mansion

[clifp]

Google has street-view cars in Pakistan?!?

Of course. A handy rule of thumb is if God would know something so does Google.

 

[chinaco]

Looked a little more like a small fortress to me.

 

[FUEGO]

Looked a little more like a small fortress to me.

Exactly. I think that explains the million dollar price tag. Lots of land and concrete for walls.

 

[MichaelB]

The news media keep saying that Bin Laden was living in a luxurious mansion. Even for a third world country, this doesn't count as a luxurious mansion:

But I guess "luxurious mansion" is a better contrast to "cave" than is "large ugly house."

Totally agree. Not a mansion, not luxurious. In developing countries, luxury tends to be even more ostentatious, not less.

This is a compound with lots of land and security walls. Not unusual for someone with lots of money but wanting to keep a low profile, like a wealthy business executive.

 

[W2R]

Yes, here's an article including a local realtor's viewpoint on the description of this house:

After Sunday night's dramatic raid by US Navy Seals, a senior Obama administration official told reporters that the property, an "extraordinarily unique compound" in an "affluent suburb", was valued at around $1m.

But two property professionals in Abbottabad – a quiet, military-dominated town – said that much of that was incorrect. Based on the size of the plot and the house, which was built in 2005, and using recent property sales as a guide, they estimated that it would fetch no more than $250,000 on the current market.

"Twenty million rupees, maximum," said property dealer Muhammad Anwar, a 22-year veteran of the local market, at his Abbottabad office. "No swimming pool. This is not a posh area. We call it a middling area."

Looking at the compound on Google Maps, it doesn't look bigger than neighboring compounds (which also have walls around them) and it is on the outskirts of town where houses are not close together, with crops being grown in fields nearby.

I would suspect that the $250K estimate is generous. Nice mountain view, but I sure wouldn't pay that much for that place, especially out in the middle of nowhere like that.

 

[73ss454]

Yeah, but I'll bet the taxes are high. It also looks like you'll have to put in a new kitchen and a few baths.

 

[saluki9]

Yeah, but I'll bet the taxes are high. It also looks like you'll have to put in a new kitchen and a few baths.

and probably replace the rugs

 

[W2R]

For me, well, I may be picky but I would have to dispose of all furniture, rugs, and contents, completely gut the place and apply copious quantities of bleach before renovation.

 

[MichaelB]

For rent or sale

Luxury mansion. Remarkable location - close to shopping and major highways, near the Capitol but at the same time, like living all alone.

The latest in a green lifestyle - in home trash disposal, lots of open space for garden and pets, no unsightly telephone wires around this beauty.

Very private and secure. Lots of walls everywhere - no need to worry about those pesky tan lines when you live here.

Some minor storm damage - may need a few touch-ups and painting.

Don't wait, call now. This one's bound to go fast ...

 

[TromboneAl]

Bin Laden slept here.

 

[73ss454]

Bin Laden slept here.

I wonder if it will become a haunted tourist attraction.

 

[calmloki]

Google Maps has over a thousand reviews on the compound destination - many pretty funny: Osama Bin Laden's Hideout Compound

one of the pictures of the place has a strange resemblance to the Bluth house...

 

[freebird5825]

"My pancakes were soggy" was the funniest review.

 

[tryan]

My guess is the "million dollar mansion" was propaganda ... to get under the skin of all those tired, weary, cave ridden, hungry jihad warriors who thought Osama was toughing it out (like they are).

 

[Brat]

I heard that the Pak government has blown up the place to prevent it from becoming a shrine.

 

[FUEGO]

Maybe it was a million rupee mansion. Or about $273 US dollars.

 

[rescueme]

Bin Laden slept here.

Bin Laden slipped here?

 

[Brat]

When I compare what Pak says they found at the compound and US reports I am wondering about a female we say we killed (presumptively the wife of the courier). Pak reports they found three men killed, no woman. Both agree that a woman, a wife of Osama, was injured. Odd.

 

[cardude]

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dbEE0m_ArVo/TcHfqvoyT3I/AAAAAAAAVkM/c9fmJVbc6s4/compound.jpg

Check out the nice trailer houses and travel trailers overlooking Osama's compound.

 

[mickeyd]

Well, compared to his summer cave in Tora Bora, UBL was living in a mansion as I view it. All is relative.

 

[TromboneAl]

Seeing Bin Laden watching video on an ancient TV:

It just doesn't seem possible that he was the head of a worldwide organization and that he had millions of dollars. Was he part Amish?

Something is not right.

 

[BTravlin]

I think the marijuana crop must have boosted the value. I'm sure it was purely for medicinal purposes.

 

[GregLee]

Something is not right.

What's not right is disrespecting him because he was our enemy. He was a self-sacrificing person of principle. I find the clamor to display photos of his mutilated corpse rather disgusting.

 

[REWahoo]

He was a self-sacrificing person of principle.

I have to wonder if you'd be comfortable making that same 'principled' statement in person to the family members of the 3,000 who died on 9/11.

 

[BTravlin]

What's not right is disrespecting him because he was our enemy. He was a self-sacrificing person of principle. I find the clamor to display photos of his mutilated corpse rather disgusting.

Principled maybe but only in his delusion.