After the Obamas left the White House in January, they have been renting a house in the Kalorama neighborhood in Washington, D.C. They still have their house in Chicago, but they decided to stay in Washington until Sasha finishes high school at Sidwell Friends in two and a half years from now. She is finishing up her sophomore year this month. After renting for five months, former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have decided to purchase the house for $8.1 million.
No one knows for sure how much rent they were paying, but it was estimated to be about $22,000 a month.
They recently decided that it is much better to purchase the mansion instead of continuing to rent it.
The house was owned by former Bill Clinton's press secretary Joe Lockhart. He was required to move his family to New York last year after he became executive vice president of communications for the NFL. Lockhart purchased the house in May 2014 for $5.295 million. According to real estate records, the Obamas paid $2 million more than the listed price for the 8,200-square-foot house. Zillow.com lists the stone mansion at $6.187 million. In addition to the $8.1 million house, the Obamas rent office space about a mile from their house.
Obamas' neighborhood
Kevin Lewis, a spokesman for the Obamas, said it makes sense for them to buy instead of continuing to rent the nine-bedroom, eight bathroom mansion in one of Washington's finest neighborhoods that was once home to five other presidents.
President Donald Trump's oldest daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have a house just a block away.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson lives in a $5.6 million mansion he purchased last February. The largest house in the neighborhood belongs to Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos. Last January, he paid $23 million for his mansion that used to be a museum.
Chicago house
The Obamas still own their Georgian-style house in Chicago. According to the Chicago Traveler, the house belonging to the 44th president has become a tourist attraction. Although visitors cannot go inside, they can see the house and grounds from the street in the Kenwood neighborhood.
The former president's house in Chicago is located in the Hyde Park section on the South Side of the city near where the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum will be built by the time the Obamas are ready to move back to Chicago in a couple of years.