Hillary Hunts N.Y. Home

Hillary Rodham Clinton has settled on Westchester County as her future home, her spokeswoman says, and she has checked out a house near Scarsdale that carries a $1.7 million price tag and annual taxes of $25,000.

Clinton rolled up in a limousine Wednesday morning to see the house in Edgemont, a hamlet in the town of Greenburgh. Secret Service agents had other potential customers wait outside as the first lady took a tour.

Marsha Berry, Clinton's spokeswoman, would not say whether she made a bid on the house. But she said President Clinton and the first lady "have narrowed their search to Westchester. They're actively considering several options."

Clinton, who is considering a run for the U.S. Senate in New York, must move to the state by Election Day 2000 to be eligible. Some say she should move as soon as possible to deflate any "carpetbagging" charge.

A woman who answered the door at the Edgemont house Wednesday night and said she was a friend of the owners said in French that Clinton "doesn't like it."

If that's true, rather than just bargaining strategy, it may be a relief to other agents. One who was kept outside the house while Clinton inspected it said her own client had been ready to make an offer.

"We were negotiating and obviously we're dead in the water. Would you want to bid against the first lady?" she said.

The house is a turn-of-the-century colonial on three acres, a large spread for southern Westchester. It has 12 rooms, including seven bedrooms and two dining rooms, plus six-and-a-half bathrooms. It is white with black shutters and a pillared portico. There is an elevator inside and a barn outside.

Though it is on a busy road, the house cannot be seen from the street. Clinton has listed security as one of her priorities and the house is at the end of a stone driveway. It is 22 miles north of Times Square.

Though it isn't really in Scarsdale, a wealthy suburb with considerable cachet, it does have a Scarsdale address because it is served by the Scarsdale post office. Houses outside Scarsdale cost considerably less than those in the town, and taxes are lower, but there is a premium for the Scarsdale postal address.

Clinton has also visited houses in Waccabuc and North Salem.