Bel Air

Bel-Air Architectural Home with $17.5 million Price Tag, Estate of the Day

If Modern estates are your thing, get your drool-wiping cloths ready. Located in a Bel-Air guard-gated community of just 11 houses, this 12,000-square-foot totally remodeled home is listed at $17.5 million. What's nice about this modern manse is that it's actually got a warm feeling to it, yet you recognize it for what it is: a piece of art that you happen to live in.

There's tons of light, city lights view, a pool with two infinity edges and an impressive entry gallery with a bar. There's an open floor plan with a large kitchen with a 20-foot eat-in island, tons of skylights, and formal living and dining rooms with 13-foot ceilings. The home has a lounge; a gym with a marble-walled bathroom with a sink carved from a chunk of mesquite; a walk-in wine room and a home theater with three tiers of leather seats. In addition to the 2,100-square-foot master suite, which has a sitting room with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall, two bathrooms and two closets, there are five additional bedroom suites. Since we all know that first impressions count, the home is entered through a 9-foot-square pivoting oak door. The guest apartment has private entrance.

The remodeled home is the work of architect David Thompson of Assembledge+ in Los Angeles, with interior spaces designed by the listing agent, Billy Rose of Prudential California Realty.

The exterior of the two-story home is brick with steel gray stucco and lots of glass. It sits on a bluff top and has views of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Fernando Valley. We are especially pleased that the architect left the mature Chinese elm trees in place when creating the granite motor court.

There is a glass-tiled infinity pool and terraced orchards on the 1.5 acre property. Being a smart house, wall keypads control the home's climate and electronics.

Gallery: Stone Ridge Lane

Tags: Bel Air, bel air real estate, bel-air, california real estate, estate of the day

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Real Housewives Star Kyle Richards Lists In Los Angeles

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

The Real Estalker led us to some more "Real Housewives" real estate. The latest show from Bravo's successful series of programs on the lives of the wealthy and overly dramatic is "The Real Housewives of Beverly HIlls." One of the stars is Kyle Richards, a former child star, sister of Kim Richards (another child star who is also on the show) and wife to Mauricio Umansky, part of the blockbuster real estate firm of Hilton & Hyland. Richards is also Paris and Nicky Hilton's aunt.

Richards and her husband bought their four bedroom home in 2004 for $1.935 million and have had it on and off the market since May 2009 when it was first listed at $3.45 million. It now has an asking price of $2.45 million. The four-bedroom home is tucked up into the hills of the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles. It has a Asian contemporary style that the listing defines as Balinese. The home has a large master suite that overlooks the backyard and has a walk-in closet and office. The living room and family room also open to the back yard which has a large pool with fountains, and a barbecue area with fire pit. More pictures are available at the property website.

Gallery: Kyle Richards in Bel Air

Tags: bel air, bel air real estate, celebrity real estate, kyle richards, los angeles real estate, mauricio umansky, real housewives, real housewives of beverly hills

Nicolas Cage's Former Home Sells For $10.5 Million

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The LA Times reports on another twist in the saga of Nicolas Cage's former Bel-Air estate. Cage had bought the Tudor-style home in 1998 from Tom Jones for $6.469 million and it was also owned by Dean Martin. While it was once listed at high as $35 million several years ago, Cage was unable to sell at an acceptable price and ended up losing the property to foreclosure earlier this year. An auction at the county courthouse in Pomona, California back in April failed to bring out any bidders and went back on the market for $12.75 million.

Now a new owner picked up the mansion for $10.5 million. The buyer was identified as a limited liability company so there is always the possibility that the 1940 Tudor is once again in celebrity hands. The property entered escrow at the end of July but didn't close until this week because the IRS had 120 days to decide if they wanted to buy it. There's good news for fans of the house, the owner has hired a restoration architect to restore the home which was designed by architect Gerard R. Colcord. The home is on an acre of land and has six bedrooms, a lavish movie theater, stained glass, carved woodwork and other classic details.

Tags: bel air, bel-air, dean martin, los angeles real estate, nicolas cage, tom jones

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli in Bel Air, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Last time we looked at a home owned by actress Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli (he of the Mossimo brand ubiquitous at Target), they were asking a lot for a little in Laguna Beach. Now the Real Estalker reports that the pair are back at it with another renovated home. Today's estate is a five-bedroom home in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles that the pair bought in 2002 for $8,010,580 according to property records. The 1.43 acre estate once includes a smaller nearly 5,000 square foot mansion built in 1942. According to the Real Estalker, the couple hired Ferguson & Shamamian Architects to add on and renovate and then Obama-approved designer Michael Smith to create the decor.

The resulting home is restrained, a mix between California casual and East Coast country house. It reminds me a bit of the home of Loughlin's 90210 castmate Jennie Garth's home only with a little less of a sense of humor. The grounds include a pool, tennis court, a pool pavilion with a fireplace, wet bar and pool table and a separate tent structure that serves as a fitness studio. The home is listed at $19.5 million.

Gallery: Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli in Bel Air

Tags: Bel Air, california real estate, celebrity real estate, Lori Laughlin, los angeles real estate, michael smith

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Nick Lachey Lists Bel-Air Home

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

When Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson broke up he moved from the Mediterranean McMansion he shared with his wife to an ultra-contemporary Bel Air home that he bought from Seal and Heidi Klum. He bought the house in 2006 for $5 million (Seal and Heidi Klum had paid around $4.3 million in 2005). Now the property is back on the market.

The Real Estalker reports that the ridge-top mansion has four bedrooms. The interior is bright and modern with high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. I seem to recall that the listing pictures from the previous time it was on the market featured white walls and contemporary art. This time we get dark stained hardwood floors, brown walls and sports memorabilia hanging on the walls. The bachelor pad has a pool table, large media room, family room with wet bar and a gourmet kitchen. The large outdoor entertainment area includes a pool with a spa, chaise lounges and a sunken bar that allows swimmers to get a cocktail without leaving the pool. This time the house is listed at $6.8 million.

Gallery: Nick Lachey in Bel Air

Tags: bel air, california real estate, celebrity real estate, nick lachey

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Bel-Air Mansion Will Be Most Expensive U.S. Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The record set by Colorado's Bootjack Ranch for the most expensive property sold in the United States this year sure didn't last long. The Wall Street Journal reports that an Indonesian buyer is in contract to buy a ten-bedroom mansion in Bel Air, California for around $50 million. If the deal goes through it would set a record for the top sale in the U.S. besting the $46.5 million sale to of Bootjack Ranch to Texas energy executive Kelcy Warren.

We first checked out the property in 2009 when it was listed for a whopping $85 million. The home was built by Mohamed Hadid, a real estate developer who built Ritz-Carlton hotels in the 1980s but now creates lavish billionaire-ready estates like this one. The home known as Le Belvedere sits on 2.2 acres of prime land that includes staff quarters over the garage, a garage big enough for two limos, a swan pond, rose gardens, an infinity pool, large spa, outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven, fireplaces and courtyard dining for 100 guests. The home itself has 48,000 square feet of space and public rooms include a reception hall, formal living and dining rooms, an informal dining room, a family room with a bar lounge, a music room, a library, 5,000 bottle wine cellar and tasting room, a ballroom, commercial kitchen, screening room, game room and a Moroccan room. The main master bedroom suite including a sitting room, powder room, his and hers bathrooms and dressing rooms.

Last summer Hadid dropped the price to $72 million, a development that prompted Coldwell Banker listing agent Joyce Rey to remark at the time that at the price the home offered "a remarkable lifestyle and a great value." The $50 million sale price could be considered a deal considering that Hadid has said he spent $59 million to build the massive mansion.

Gallery: $85 Million in Bel Air

Tags: Bel Air, california real estate, mohamed hadid, most expensive

Nic Cage's Bel-Air Home Back On The Market

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

The vintage Tudor-style home in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles formerly owned by Nicolas Cage is back on the market. Earlier this month the home went up for auction and, with no bidders, went back to the bank. Cage had bought the home in 1998 from Tom Jones for $6.469 million and it was also owned by Dean Martin. At the time of the auction total debt owed on the house was said to be $18 million and in the past Cage had tried to sell it for as much as $35 million. Now the home is listed with Westside Estate Agency for just $12.75 million. Fresh listing pictures reveal that the home has had a crazyectomy. All of Cage's inveterate wackiness has been stripped from the home. Walls and floors are bare and even some of the light fixtures appear to be missing. Wihout Cage's belongings inside the home may finally find its buyer.
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[via LA Times]

Tags: bel air, celebrity real estate, celebrity real estate losers, nicolas cage

Nobody Wants Nic Cage's Bel Air Home

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

We've know for years that Nicolas Cage's house in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles was a hard sell. After all we've seen the home linger on the market since 2007 going from a high of $35 million to $17.5 million in 2009. Cage, whose money troubles have already cost him most of his other real estate, was set to lose his Tudor-style home at an auction on April 7. It was up for auction with several other foreclosed properties at the county courthouse in Pomona. The LA Times reports that the bidding opened at $10.4 million. There were no takers and it was all over in a flash with ownership going back to the foreclosing lender, one of six that have queued up to get their share of the $18 million owed on the house.

Why can't Cage unload this one? He bought the home in 1998 from Tom Jones for $6.469 million and it was also owned by Dean Martin. The vintage Tudor is classic old Hollywood but Cage's tastes which run toward the baroque and bizarre may have thrown off some buyers. A tour shot by Everett Fenton Gidley reveals comic books framed on the wall in the dining room and a massive amethyst geode dominating another room. The core bones of the seven-bedroom home are great and it is on over an acre of land with a pool but the pervasive air of wackiness may have worked against it.

TMZ reports that Cage lost more than just the Bel Air house on Wednesday. He also owned two adjacent properties in the hills of Malibu which represented hundreds of acres total. Both of those properties were being auctioned for a minimum of $10 million but with no takers they were also surrendered to the lenders.

Cage, who also saw both his New Orleans homes go back to the bank, has sued his former business manager, Samuel J. Levin, claiming that Levin mismanaged Cage's funds and left him destitute. In return Levin has countersued saying that Cage was a binge spender.

Tags: bel air, estate, nicolas cage, real estate

Nicolas Cage's Bel-Air Mansion Confirmed Sold

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

We've been hearing rumors of it for a while but Stephen Shapiro, the real estate agent for Nicolas Cage's Bel Air mansion, confirmed to Curbed LA that an offer for the house has been accepted. The home was first on the market at $35 million and after time on and off the MLS plummeted to $17.5 million. In early September a sealed bid action was set with a minimum bid of $9.95 million. Shapiro didn't reveal who has purchased the home or for how much although one of Curbed's commenters suggests $15 million which seems to be a fairly decent guess and would still allow Cage a nice profit above the $6.469 million he paid in 1998.

Last week Cage sued his former business manager for at least $20 million claiming that the manager, Stephen Levin, mismanaged his funds so badly that he has been forced to liquidate his real estate holdings. Cage also still has an over $6 million IRS bill to satisfy.

Gallery: Nicolas Cage In Bel Air, Part 2

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Tags: bel air, BelAir, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, nicolas cage, NicolasCage

Nic Cage Faces Huge Tax Bill, Sells In Bel Air

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping, Wealth

For Nicolas Cage the internet seems to full of some good news and some bad news today. First the bad, TMZ has documents that show that Nicolas Cage's current total owed to the IRS is now a steep $6,257,005. But here's the good, he may have finally unloaded his Bel-Air Tudor home. The home which once belonged to singer Tom Jones and to Dean Martin was for sale for as high as $35 million back in 2006. A sealed bid auction was scheduled for September 24 with the minimum opening offer set at $9.95 million. The MLS now has the home as "looking for backup" which means an offer has been made, and hopefully will stick. Cage paid around $6.5 million for the home in 1998. Cage also recently sold his New York City apartment which had been listed at $9.75 million.

Gallery: Nicolas Cage In Bel Air, Part 2

He still has four homes on the market in the U.S.:
His Las Vegas home is listed at $9.49 million.

Gallery: Nicolas Cage in Las Vegas

His Rhode Island home sits at $12 million.

Gallery: Nicolas Cage at Gray Craig

One of his New Orleans homes is listed for $3.45 million.

Gallery: Nicolas Cage in New Orleans

The other, the haunted LaLaurie mansion is still listed for $3.55 million.

Gallery: Another Nicolas Cage Home In New Orleans

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Tags: bel air, bel-air, BelAir, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, irs, los angeles, LosAngeles, nicolas cage, NicolasCage, taxes

Meg Ryan Re-Lists Her Bel-Air Home

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Actress Meg Ryan is testing the real estate waters once again, putting her Bel-Air home back on the market. Ryan had first put her Spanish-style home on the market a year ago for $19.5 million. Finding no takers she withdrew it from the market in February. But as the LA Times Hot Property column reports it's back again and with a lower price. The six-bedroom home was purchased for $8.995 million in 2000 and is now listed at $14.2 million.

Listing information says that the home, which was built in 1931 has had a "museum-quality" restoration that includes wood floors and ceilings, elegant tilework and graceful curved arches. Covered outdoor seating offers views of Los Angeles in the distance. It's been moderately well-staged but there are a few off notes including the placement of large photos on the kitchen counter. The property includes a pool and guest house.

Gallery: Meg Ryan in Bel Air

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Tags: bel air, bel-air, BelAir, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, los angeles, LosAngeles, meg ryan, MegRyan

Sandy Gallin In Bridgehampton, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

You have to admire a man who has the real estate cojones to put two $32 million homes up for sale in this crazy market. Talent manager Sandy Gallin, who has represented Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand, is also a real estate madman. Earlier this year he put a flawless home in Bel Air, California on the market for $32 million. He must like that number, that's how much he has listed his 14-acre estate in Bridgehampton for as the Wall Street Journal's Private Proeprties reveals.

If the California home is a mogul-ready manor then the Bridgehampton home is for the New York City financial tycoon looking for a bit of peace of mind on the weekends. The quiet and tasteful shingled home has seven bedrooms and a calm interior design that shows off modern country taste taken to its apotheosis. The property includes a 1.5 acre pond and a pool.

Gallery: Sandy Gallin In Bridgehampton

Tags: bel air, BelAir, bridgehampton, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, sandy gallin, SandyGallin

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And the View from The Top .... is Falling

by Ann Brenoff (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Update: Mohamed Hadid, he of Ritz Carlton fame, just slashed the price on his Bel-Air home from $85 million to $72 million. Will it make a difference and generate a few more land barons coming to take a look-see? Coldwell Banker listing agent Joyce Rey, the diva of Beverly Hills high-end real estate, believes so. "At the new price, this home offers a remarkable lifestyle and a great value," she says. The property, with a 48,000-square-foot main house, was featured as a Luxist Estate of the Day on Feb. 23. The home has a 5,000-bottle wine cellar and a ballroom that seats 200-250.

Gallery: $85 Million in Bel Air

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Tags: bel air, BelAir, california real estate, CaliforniaRealEstate, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, mohamed hadid, MohamedHadid, price cut, price drop, PriceCut, PriceDrop

Nicolas Cage's Bel Air Mansion Back On The Market

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Settle in with a cup of coffee on your Saturday morning, we've got a picture-ific update to the endless saga that is Nicolas Cage's real estate listings. His home on Copa de Oro Road in Bel Air, California has been on and off and back on the market several times. But as the Real Estalker says, he looks serious this time, cutting his price down to $17.5 million, neatly half of what he was asking back in September 2007 but still healthily above the $6.469 million he paid in 1998. The new listing has a gorgeous tour from Westside Estate Agency.

The pics reveal a lot more than we have seen of the house before. I've always known that Nicolas Cage is a bit of a collector but this house showcases the many things that he has amassed over the years. The framed comic books and even the giant Mickey Mouse in the casual dining room were no surprise but the huge amethyst geode was a bit of a shocker. Over at the Real Estalker Mama's place there's been quite a discussion over the decor. It's a crazy pastiche of objects, Cage is a collector who has never had to restrain himself with thoughts of budget. Rather than restricting himself to theme rooms, he has combined different styles and time periods in a way that seems more Charles Foster Kane than middle-aged movie star. The resulting spectacle is far from being a cozy domicile but it is definitely worth a look.

Gallery: Nicolas Cage In Bel Air, Part 2

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Tags: bel air, BelAir, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, estate, nicolas cage, NicolasCage

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Robert Loggia In Bel Air, Estate Of The Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Back in March we heard that veteran actor Robert Loggia had put his Bel Air, California home on the market. But now with a new price cut and fresh pictures it's time to take a closer look. I'll admit, at first glance this house didn't seem that appealing. It was built in 1968 and the exterior is a bit dated. It's actually rather light and bright on the interior. The five-bedroom home has a nice open floor plan with a double-height living room. The recently redone kitchen features floors that include both wood and granite that mimics the granite countertops.The pot racks with baskets hanging off it placed over the stove top is both a fire hazard and a decorating move that would give the Real Estalker Mama a nervous breakdown. The kitchen is next to a family dining area but there is also a separate dining room.

The home has nice views of the city in the distance and the two large upstairs bedrooms feature glass doors leading directly to a terrace outside. The master bedroom has been done in a heavy wood-paneled style that doesn't seem to suit the rest of the house but works well with the green marble master bath as an older gentleman's private lair. The two downstairs suites can be used for offices or guests. The home is on a half-acre lot and the backyard includes a pool and spa area. Berg Properties Celebrity Big Time Listings reports that Loggia purchased the house in 1996 for $1.45 million and renovated it. It was listed at $3.65 million but has now been reduced to $3.295 million.

Gallery: Robert Loggia In Bel Air