Celebrity Real Estate: While British actress Minnie Driver may...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, February 27, 2012, by Sarah Firshein

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Warning Signs: High-powered British developer Nick Candy—who, along...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, January 17, 2012, by Rob Bear

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? Previous: Zig-Zag House; Scientology's Super Power; Stinson; More!

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Globe Trotting: British Retiree Fined $32,500 For Installing the Wrong Kind of Door

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, March 4, 2011, by Sarah Firshein

Poor, poor Peter Broderick. The 72-year-old retiree decided to replace his old, wooden door with a newer one and found himself face to face with a $32,500 fine for the breaching conservation laws in his community in Stockport, England. Apparently the door—nearly identical to the old one, save for an "offending six inch long pane of glass" up top—had a "significant adverse effect" and "undermined" the historic personality of the house. One council member admitted that the new door was probably safer than the old one—seeing as it's not rotted and all—but "the same or greater level of security could have been provided by other means such as installing electric devices or by strengthening or repairing the original door even if it was damp or warped." Ultimately, Broderick opted to buy a $650 door that conforms to the council's building codes, on top of the illegal $1,000 door he was forced to toss. "I could not risk being fined £20,000 so I had to change the door back, but it is ridiculous," he said.

· Pensioner faces £20,000 fine after losing 18-month battle with council after installing 'wrong type' of white front door [Daily Mail]

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Globe Trotting: Kate Hudson Gets Down With Her British Self, Buys in London

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, March 1, 2011, by Sarah Firshein

Actress Kate Hudson has scooped up a North London property for $6.5M, where she will live with boyfriend Matt Bellamy six months of the year, reports the Daily Mail. Hudson, who is "ready to put down roots in the U.K.," believes "the UK as a great place to raise a family. She sees herself living and working from London for the long haul," according to a source. The home is located on a mews and has a nursery, game room, and guest quarters for mom Goldie Hawn and stepdad Kurt Russell. About those other six months? That Roman and Williams-designed house in the Pacific Palisades should keep Hudson's yet-unborn first kid reasonably content.

· Kate Hudson buys £4m home in London... but will it be a MEWS house she'll be sharing with rocker Matt Bellamy? [Daily Mail]
· New Celeb Parents Will Bring Progeny Home to These Palaces [Curbed National]

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