More "affordable" mansions on the market

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - It's beauty, and a beast of a beginning. “It very much made me nauseous. When I got the phone call, I said ‘Oh My God. Thats what I was afraid of,’” remembers homebuilder Frank Stape.

Stape custom designed an American dream with Tuscan flair at a cost of $4.7 million dollars. But in May of last year, the buyer backed off at the 11th hour.

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“At that time, it was at $4.7 million, and it didn’t get to close,” recalls high-end home realtor, Lorraine Barrett.

She says the light at the end of this tunnel is now a drastic discount for a new buyer of this 10,000 square foot estate in Windermere. Currently, the price has dropped 40 percent.

“It’s difficult to stomach. It’s really very difficult to stomach. A house like this… you put so much of your own life into it. Your own blood, sweat, and tears. And to see that it’s going to be dramatically reduced in price really hurts. It does,” says Stape.

Natural woodwork everywhere, yravertine flooring, gorgeous ceilings, a killer pool with a summer kitchen, three fireplaces, a knock-out game room and a spacious movie theater.

“It’s as nice you can get,” says Stape.

That's no lie. Just look at the infinity pool, masquerading as an extension of Lake Down on the Butler Chain of Lakes.

Current price tag for the 5-bedroom, 6-and-a-half bathroom mansion is $2.9 million.

“You could not build this home for what you can buy it for,” says Barrett. “I absolutely could not duplicate this house at the price its on the market for right now,” says Stape. “There have been a lot that have sold over the past couple of months, so you better hurry up and get to it!” warns Barrett.

The mansion is a 2009 Parade of Homes award winner. Since dropping the price 40 percent, Barrett has had 7 serious showings, but Stape says it wouldn't surprise him if he needed to get the price down to 50% off.