Imelda's old estate for sale in Moriches

MANSE A STYLE SHOE-IN

The Center Moriches waterfront estate that once belonged to the late deposed Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, is on the market for $4.95 million.

Imelda Marcos, well known for her mammoth collection of shoes, is said to have stayed overnight only once at Lindenmere, preferring to entertain at the 38-room estate by day before returning to the condo she and her husband owned in Manhattan. Reports say that Ferdinand Marcos never visited the estate, which is on Moriches Bay and has views of Fire Island. They bought the property in 1981 and owned it until 1987, when the Philippine government took it over. The 8.2-acre spread has changed hands at least twice since then, according to public records.

The main house features 14 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms, four of which still contain the 24-karat gold faucets in the sinks and sunken tubs the Marcoses added as part of a renovation. The master bathroom contains two sinks -- one a salon-style hair-washing sink with a dent for the neck. The chair that paired with the sink is stored in the basement.

"Of course, I checked out every single closet, looking for shoes," jokes Aimee Fitzpatrick Martin of the Enzo Morabito Team at Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, which is marketing the property.

For a broker open house this week, Martin and her colleagues at the real estate firm were to raffle off a $100 gift certificate from the Shoe Inn in Westhampton Beach in a nod to the former first lady's penchant for footwear.

The Marcoses built the 1,200-square-foot pool house, which is made of marble and glass and contains a ceiling of wood imported from the Philippines and two large chandeliers of capiz shells. The space contains a kitchen, gas barbecue and a half-bath.

There is a tennis court, heated pool, about 425 feet of bulkheaded property on the water and a carriage house. The shingled Hamptons-style house was built in the 1900s as a wedding gift for the daughter of a wealthy family. It later became the Lindenmere Hotel, so named for its century-old linden trees.

Over the years, the property has functioned as a bed-and-breakfast, photo shoot backdrop and site for weddings and other special events.

THE HORRORS OF REAL ESTATE

Looking for a beach read full of rude, quirky, eccentric and over-the-top behavior? Pick up, or download, a copy of "The Hamptons Real Estate Horror Show" by Anonymous Times Two.

The nom de plume is for two unidentified real estate agents, still in the business, who say they've compiled true stories of the characters they've encountered during many years of working the East End's real estate scene.

The antics and outrageous demands of tenants, landlords, home buyers and sellers alike are sometimes funny. But sometimes they are downright unbelievable, such as the tale of a tenant telling the real estate agent to "eliminate" the birds around the property because their chirping woke his wife at 5:30 in the morning. There's also the story about attorneys for a seller and buyer getting into a fistfight and drawing blood at a closing. The issue was whether a chandelier would stay with the house.

Sounds like the makings of a TV reality show. SOUNDPROOF IN E. NORTHPORT

Band practice is no longer limited to the garage at this 1959 ranch-style home in East Northport listed for $369,000. It comes with its own sound studio.

The seller is a semiprofessional bass guitarist who performs with several local bands. He took about six years to complete the space, building two isolation booths complete with glass windows, and installing floor-to-ceiling carpet as well as Sheetrock sound board on the walls and soundproof ceiling tiles.

The studio, used for rehearsals as well as recording sessions, is in the rear portion of the full finished basement.

The house has three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and dining room open layout, living room, recreation room, front and back decks and an attached one-car garage. The listing agent is Katy Anastasio of Anastasio Associates.