Billy Joel’s Long Island Mansion Is For Sale. Wait Until You See the Property Taxes

If you’re a Billy Joel fan with an extra $50 million to burn, now’s your chance to own a little bit of history. The legendary singer-songwriter is selling his dream home, called MiddleSea, on Long Island. Listed last year, realtors hosted an exclusive open house earlier this month, according to the New York Times, in the hope of luring prospective buyers interested in the 26-acre beachfront property. The price? A cool $49.9 million.

You get a lot of house, er, houses, for that.

Located on Centre Island, part of the town of Oyster Bay, Joel’s mansion features a main house, a guest house, a beach house, a gatehouse and a maintenance house, the smallest of the bunch checking in at just under 1,800 square feet. The main house is 20,000 square feet. Together, there are 18 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms nestled along 2,000 feet of shoreline. If the ocean’s too cold for you, the property also includes three swimming pools. There’s also a bowling alley if that’s more your speed. And while there’s plenty of room for a home gym too, you can also get your daily steps just by walking from one end of the property to the other, which the Times reporter notes takes about nine minutes.

It’s a 90-minute drive to New York City, but if you’re in a hurry, you can use the helipad to speed up your commute, assuming you have a helicopter (and, really, who doesn’t these days?)

He bought the house in 2002, and there’s a personal connection for him. Born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, Joel grew up just down the road. He first saw it from an oyster boat as a kid, was taken by the “Gatsby sense” of it, and dreamt of owning it from that point on. The name, MiddleSea, is a reference to the first note piano players learnmiddle C.

Joel owns another property on Long Island, and he now lists Florida as his primary residence.

So why’s he selling what sounds like his dream home? Besides spending much of his time in the Sunshine State these days, the property taxes are just a little pricey, even for the Piano Man: the annual taxes on MiddleSea are a hefty $567,686.

The full listing is here, if you’re undaunted by that property tax bill. And if you’re not able to schedule a showing, or just curious, you can take a virtual tour via videk.

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