Living Large: 'Oversized Mansion Syndrome'

July 30, 2008— -- There are pockets of America that have, until now, seemed untouched by the real estate bubble's burst. Places, for example, set on 30 acres of rolling hills in posh Greenwich, Conn.

The dream of owning such a property is a reality for Stanley and Dorothea Cheslock, whose home boasts 26,000 square feet of some of the finest materials money can buy.

"That's a hammerhead beam structure, which is the same beam structure that's in Westminster Abbey," Stanley said on a recent tour of his home.

The vertical posts came from a barn that was built in 1760. And in their wine room, which can hold 3,700 bottles, the base of one table weighs 2,000 pounds. "We had a crane to bring it in and set it down," Dorothea said.

Not to mention the little extras: a movie theater with a marquee and concession stand, an indoor lap pool, a bass pond and the piece de resistance: a view to die for, courtesy of a French bird cage elevator.

So who wouldn't want to bask in all this luxury? The same family who owns it: The Cheslocks.

"You know, we're not really going to be around enough to take advantage of this place, so we should probably just sell," Stanley said.

The Cheslocks painstakingly built the Hillcrest estate from the ground up. They devoted four years and $21 million to building their dream mansion. But just over a year after moving in, it was time to call the movers again -- their dream was just too big.

"It's like a Cinderella house. To me, it's a castle," Dorothea said. "I never really needed the castle, and I think somebody else could enjoy it now. It's been fun, but I'm going to keep my prince, and I'm just going to go I think to a smaller home. But I'll take my prince with me."

Robert Frank, a Wall Street Journal columnist who writes about the ultra rich, says he has a name for the Cheslocks' change of heart. He's seen it too many times in America.

"I call it 'Oversized Mansion Syndrome,'" or OMS, Frank said.

"I've heard that recurrent theme," Stanley said. "Houses are too big, people are going to go back to smaller houses and then the next cycle in the real estate boom the houses get bigger. I just think that's part of the cycle."