As a full-time house voyeur, it is important to follow the LA market. This is where celebrity and single family combine in one multi-million dollar frenzy. Nor Cal may have expensive homes, but for the most part they are about as sexy as Mr. Roger’s sweater.
A few celebrities have a
reputation for real estate savvy, such as Ellen DeGeneres, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
and Jeremy Renner. However, most simply make the news when they buy or sell a
home. Recently, a few celebrity sorts had this distinction.
First, in the final blow
to the most contentious mega mansion ever conceived by a true Hollywood archvillain,
Mohamed Hadid sold his incomplete Bel Air project for 8.5 million. As part of
the deal, the structure must be removed, a demo job that won’t come cheap. On
the upside, it would be difficult to piss off the neighbors more than the last
developer, so you are riding in there as a bit of a white knight. This never hurts
when you are dealing with some well-funded, and clearly legally savvy, adjacent
owners.
Hadid has thus demonstrated
how to take a piece of perfectly good land, invest years of your life and
millions of dollars into its development, and walk away in bankruptcy. This is
how the pros lose big. It also is a reminder of one of the key differences
between spending 45 million on a trophy house and a Picasso. When the government
decides to start breathing down your neck, you can’t just roll the thing up and
take it to a safe deposit box in Switzerland.
When amateurs lose money
on real estate it usually isn’t that extreme. But celebrities losing money on
the resale of their house is surprisingly common. This week we examine the case
of Motley Crüe drummer, Tommy Lee.
The property in question
was purchased by the performer for 5.85 in 2007, per an article compiled by
Realtor.com. It looks exactly like the kind of home you should own if you are a
rock star. There is a pool taking up most of the yard, a movie theater with
concession stand, retractable roof, and tricked out recording studio. Its style
is bold and elaborate, and one would expect, customized a great deal by Tommy
Lee.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Calabasas/24359-La-Masina-Ct-91302/home/3511704
Unfortunately, in doing so
he broke many a cardinal rule in real estate. For one, he now has the most
expensive house on a block of similar houses. The house is a unicorn amongst a
stable of dull, identical ponies. It is twice as large and exponentially fancier.
Further, there is too much
style. It is a tall ask for a buyer to absorb it whole. However, renovating
almost 10K sq ft is not for the faint at heart.
Additionally, let’s consider
the main buyers of houses of houses located in the Westridge development in
Calabasas. Google map reveals it to be exactly the kind of place family buyers flock
to live, and rock stars fear to tread. Tommy Lee, while clearly building a home
he could enjoy to the fullest, was also actively constructing a toddler deathtrap
destined to drive away buyers in droves.
And finally, in what I can
only assume was the coup de gras to the whole “Build-Your-Dream-Home-And-Hold-Forever”
strategy, Tommy Lee fell in love. While the house in question has been on and
off the market since 2016, this month he went ahead and closed on a new one in
Brentwood for 4.15. One can only imagine the new Mrs. appreciates a fresh start
in a new space two years on from the wedding.
As for the fate of the one
on the market?
Yikes.
This could take a while
without a major price cut or change in marketing strategy. Buyers for such a product are few and far between. On the upside, Tommy
Lee doesn’t seem to be suffering all that much financially over the matter. Blowing a few million on a sick pad an walking away at a loss without missing a beat? Nothing more rock star than that...
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