Mansionmania Tournament: Round 1, Heat 20
 

Mansionmania continues. I'm going to show you the most expensive homes in every state and a few territories, with a few extras thrown in from the largest states to get the tourney up to 64. It'll be a single-elimination tournament.

You will choose among each pair of houses with the following assumptions:

• The purchase price for you is $0.
• All maintenance, utilities, property taxes, HOA fees, and cleaning is included.
• You must live in the home for the rest of your life.
• You can't travel more than 100 miles from home (via google maps drive time) other than 1 two-week vacation each year.
• You get $250,000 per year as a living allowance
• You get an additional living allowance at the cheaper home, which will be valued at 1% of any cost difference annually. I will note this amount in the poll.
• You get the furnishings. If unfurnished, you get an allowance that will give you mid-grade furniture in every room.
• You get any vehicles in the garage. But only the garage - nothing parked outside.

I encourage you to click on the maps in the listings to see the general location and neighborhood.

Also, I will only enter contestants if they have a sufficient number of photos to judge, as determined by me.

Your entries in this heat are:

Maryland:

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...9_M54526-03101

Nebraska:

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...2_M70939-50075

This is an easy one for me.

Maryland - The house is a bit traditional, so I'd likely be spending a fair bit of my stipend each year to jazz up some of the rooms. But man, this mansion is the real deal. Indoor and outdoor pools, 35,000 square feet to relax in, enough acreage for picnics and backyard football, and it legitimately looks like a mansion. I could live here. I think another big advantage is that it's in a sneaky good location. You can go east and get to the Delaware beach towns, and you can go west and get to the Washington DC museums and restaurants. The kitchen is oddly spartan, but other than that this place could be a candidate to take the whole tournament.

Nebraska - It's a nice place, no doubt about it. It's got the basic features of a mansion and looks attractive, albeit a bit dated with all of the wood and 1980s decorating choices. It's in Omaha, so you've got some stuff that's convenient in terms of restaurants and things. But other than that, it doesn't wow me.

Maryland all the way for me in this heat.

This is a surprisingly strong entry from Nebraska. But I’m going with Maryland on the one. Can’t pass up that much space on an ocean front property. I’m not a huge fan of the style of house but it’ll work. It’s very English to me.

I guess Maryland. Pretty disappointing to live on the water though and not have even one good view of it. Would probably hire a logging operation to clear out those trees assuming it's land I own. (Actually probably do it even if I don't own.)

Getting into the weeds, that covered porch in Maryland is really cool, but on the other hand the Nebraska house has a cooler with glass doors that makes you feel like you're getting free stuff at a 7-11. I award points for both things.

The second to last picture shows a view you get so it’s something.

I just noticed that indoor pool with the water coming out of the walls. That’s really nice.

Did the listing agent really think we needed 9 pictures of a covered pool?

I think the first thing I'd change in Maryland is the furniture in that enormous dining room. That is meant to be a Viking-themed Great Dining Hall.

I hate the Nebraska house, and would not want to be stuck in Nebraska for any length of time, let alone for life. I do really like the grounds on the Nebraska home, so it has that going for it.

Really like the house and grounds of the Maryland home, and on the water with a freaking boat. Easy choice for Maryland.

This. Maryland for me.

Maryland, easily.

The house itself is pretty elegant and I like the difference in motif from room to room. The location is prime, being near the ocean as well as two major metro cities in DC and Baltimore. 22 acres is also enough land to not have to worry about neighbors.

Just needed to compare the two first pics for this round.

It's Maryland, by a fair bit, but that Nebraska house isn't rubbish.

Indoor pool does it for Maryland, and generally every aspect of the house is better except maybe the garage. Nebraska house spent big money in weird ways.

Maryland is a strong entry EXCEPT, it looks like a ****ing asylum. Somehow (probably some chucklehead here) I got turned onto the Proper People YouTube channel where they (very illegally) explore abandoned places. Their production is shit but they go to neat places, and they've done several insane asylums, and they all look like that. ROFL

If you want Viking, just do the Nebraska house, that ceiling in the kitchen is very longboat-esque.

I'm going with Nebraska.

And if I'm ever in that house for some reason I'm going right for the leather recliner in all rooms to force the patriarch to sit on the couch with the other plebes.