Monday, August 3, 2009

Donald Trump Selling Beverly Hills Abode

SELLER: Donald Trump
LOCATION: Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, CA
PRICE: $12,000,000
SIZE: 10,442 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Excellent development opportunity in prime Beverly Hills Flats location. Over 31,000 Sq Ft flat lot that includes North/South facing, lighted tennis court, pool, spa, and beautiful grounds. In the best location, very close to the Beverly Hills Hotel.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Back in the summer of 2008 Your Mama received a covert communique from Our Fairy Godmother in Beverly Hills who passed along the rumor that real estate's biggest braggadocio Donald Trump had snatched up a center hall Colonial style mansion with a symmetrical front facade on Bev Hills' tree-lined Roe-day-oh Drive. At the time, Your Mama was unable to confirm the purchase with a second source and before long our booze-addled brain plum forgot about the property altogether.

That is, until late last week when Our Fairy Godmother in Beverly Hills sent us another delishus missive regarding the Rodeo Drive residence indicating that Mister Trump had not only flipped the property back on the market with an asking price of $12,000,000, but that it also appeared to be in escrow after less than two weeks on the open market.

So this time, rather than have the information dissipate in thin air like smoke froma candle, we got on the horn with this tipster and that informant and wound up yakking with the nearly omniscient Lucy Spillerguts who verified that Mister Trump is indeed the owner of the property in question. Although Beverly Hills is unquestionably the perfect Los Angeles locale for Mister Trump to parade around in bejeweled cufflinks and a long limo-zeen with 24-carat gold accents, what no one we know seems to know is why Mister Trump bought this west coast outpost in the first place or why he'd sell it just a year later, albeit seemingly at a million dollar (or more) profit. What's also unknown to Your Mama and our spider web of spies is whether Mister Trump ever occupied or even stepped foot onto this property.

Whatever the case, information we received–and records reveal–that an organization Miss Spillerguts swears on her Cross-Your-Heart is controlled by the man with the cotton-candy comb over bought the 10,442 square foot pile in July of 2008. Conveniently located just a short skip (or drunken stumble) from the Beverly Hills Hotel where a basic burger will suck twenty-five smackers out of your wallet, the 2-story, 10,442 square foot pile sits on flat a 31,000 square foot lot and includes 6 bedrooms, 6.5 poopers, 4 fireplaces and a double height entrance portico with 8 skinny columns.

Although the exterior of the house looks like it might be a 1930s relic of Hollywood's golden age where some Tinseltown diva like Gloria Swanson or Tallulah Bankhead might have shacked up, listing information and county records both indicate the house was actually put up in 1981. That's right, 1981. Formal living and dining rooms with hih-dee-us inlaid marble floors flank the center entrance hall which at the time Mister Trump purchased the place featured marble floors and balustrades, a double height ceiling, gilded moldings, and a curving, red-carpeted staircase that would make Scarlett O'Hara weep with envy. We can't imagine that the Mister Trump, who has a thing for all things shiny, glitzy and ostentatious, would have changed a thing in this shiny, glitzy and ostentatious foyer but honestly chickens, since current listing photos are slim (meaning none of the interiors) we really don't know if his team of nice gay decorators got up in there and gussy the place up Trump style with even more gilding, marble, crystal and faux-Rococo this and thats.

Listing information reveals that additional interior amenities include an art studio, den, family room with a built in bar, gym, library/study, media room, office, eat-in kitchen, sauna, and elevator. The massive master suite, according to information provided to Your Mama by Babbling Babette, includes dual poopers, closets and dressing rooms perfect for unhappily married couples do not care to run into each other while performing their morning and evening toilette. Behind the towering hedge at the front of the property, double drive gates open to a semi-circular driveway and an unfortunately front facing four car garage. In the back yard is the requisite swimming pool and spa, a patch of lawn for the canines to use as a terlit and a properly oriented north/south lighted tennis court.

Since the property is being marketed as an "excellent development opportunity" we presume Mister Trump didn't do a whole lot to the property in the short time he owned it. What's fassinatin' to Your Mama is that if this is such a excellent development opportunity why didn't or doesn't the world's biggest show boating property developer develop the damn property hisself? But if we've said it once we've said it 49,000 times, who are we to question the real estate decisions of the rich, the famous and the rich and famous.

33 comments:

Jimmy said...

Well, making close to $1M in a year and in a really down RE market seems to indicate he is very lucky or reasonably smart.

angie said...

Great article Mama, thank you. You raise a good question at to why Mr. Trump bought this property in the first place, but I'd be willing to bet that Rodeo Drive's instantly recognizable name cachet factored heavily into his decision to choose this particular one, despite everything looking to be a bit too squeezed onto a plot of land not quite big enough to comfortably accomodate it all.

I'm wondering why it has sold so quickly because while nice enough I suppose, it's priced at about the same or higher than a few others which are north of Sunset with more land, unless the street's supposed snob appeal 'trumps' even possessing an inherently more desirable property in the same zip code.

Kissyface said...

The Donald seems to be having something of an "everything must go" sale ... The Donald Style. In New York City, for example, his company just cut the price of a Park Avenue apartment by $20 Million. The asking price just fell from $51 million to $31 million. Here's the link:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08032009/news/regionalnews/luxe_apts__182765.htm

The Donald uses a lot of debt in his transactions and looks for aggressive appraisals, which are in short supply these days. He could easilly be under water now. (O.M.G., is he going to sue me for saying that! Don't rat on me, Mama, I'm scared!!)

Back in the last real estate recession Trump famously stopped to observe a sleeping homeless man on the street and said to his companion something along the lines of: "Isn't it remarkable that this man is worth $900 Million more than I am?" And here the Donald was right and his companion was impressed by the insight! The Donald survived anyway, although the homeless man's fate is not known. Most of The Donald's real, available assets aren't owned by him in the traditional sense anyway That's always been part of his system... while the homeless man probably just owned what was there to be seen on the street. Sad.

I suppose The Donald is a "celebrity" in a technical sense ... the way antimatter is technically in some sense "matter" because it sure isn't energy. Similarly, The Donald seems to be a kind of "anti-celebrity" that sucks the life out of the very concept of "celebrity" ... and that's a concept without a whole lot of life in it in the first palce.

Anonymous said...

I saw the house around 2-3 weeks ago on Broker's Caravan... and I must say, it is a wonderful 30,000 lot; while the house needs a complete overhaul (the kitchen is already torn out) the public rooms have massive volume and scale. The "Rodeo" address is definitely the added cache here. House could be magnificent in the right decorative hands.

Anonymous said...

How burglar secure are homes down on the flats in BH? It's been ages since I've been to BH but even in the 1960s I thought homes on Rodeo Drive, etc., were sitting ducks for clever burglars. How am I not getting it?

Anonymous said...

This is sooooo BO-RING! The outside looks like a big cement parking lot. Plus, I don't know about everyone else, but double-height entry portico with columns is only looking good for the White House. For a regular, even if posh, residence, it is just a little too much.

Anonymous said...

I have no idea who lives where in Beverly Hills...but didn't The Donald bail out Ed McMahon about the same time? Could this be that house on the market?

Viva! said...

Houses in the flats of BH are safer than those in the hills, in my opinion, since they're so closely packed together. Though the houses are mansions, you know your neighbors and know their business.

The houses in the hills are more secluded, therefore burglars have more time with a house in the hills than they do with a house in the flats.

Additionally, the security patrols that go through the flats are an added bonus. That said, if a burglar wants in your house, they'll find a way.

The Donald's pile has such potential. The landscaping/gardens need some flowers and colour. Everything needs a bit of jazzing up. The place has all the makings of a fabulous house and the Rodeo address is undoubtedly what sealed the deal.

The only sour note is the fucking garage. If it had been situated on the side of the house, rather than right in line beside it, it would be much nicer.

pch said...

As residential addresses go, Rodeo is more likely to impress out of towners because of its association with the shops south of Santa Monica. Locals won't care. I think of it as a busy connector street, and from a practical perspective the center median would be a pain in the ass. Also, this is smack in the middle of heavily trafficked multi-road intersections. So the Rodeo address is actually more of a liability from my perspective.

Nice big piece of property, but unless you're in love with the house, and I consider it a teardown/major remodel, you can do a lot better for the money, I think, in a more serene setting.

E.J. said...

This house actually does have wonderful Hollywood provenence; at different times Fred Astaire, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Maurice Chevalier, Charlotte Greenwood, and Jean Parker lived here. As did composer Martin Broones.

Anonymous said...

How good it is to see a bunch of interesting, thoughtful and intelligent comments without the filth and inanities we have been subjected to lately.
Love it ... thanks Mama
Andra

Nancy/PA said...

Anon 1:33, I don't think this is the Ed McMahon house. I remember the house being in a hilly area when McMahon's obligatory Wacky Gay Assistant was being trained in dog-walking by The Dog Whisperer.

I love the BH Hotel. They were so nice to me and my Mom, even though we're nobodies. The few other times I was there, they were still wonderful even though I was still a nobody.

Shout-out to Your Mama: Saw you on the Celeb Homes marathon on VH-1...you are one good-looking Mama.

Anonymous said...

all it means is he had better uses of cash than this home

Anonymous said...

Are those garage doors to the right of the main entry door? Ugh...

At least try to disguise them so they're not such a prominent feature.

Anonymous said...

Definitely not McMahon's house.

I'm betting The Donald bought as a flip and changed his mind.

Police response times are amazing, especially this close to the BHPD station (less than a mile).

Anonymous said...

FYI... there is more traffic on Beverly Drive and Canon Drive, than on Rodeo.

Anonymous said...

I thought he lived at 721 Fifth?

StPaulSnowman said...

The exterior would be an excellent location for the late Colonel Sanders to shoot a commercial....it has that pseudo-plantation look without the soul of the real thing.
Mama's comments about the cheesy mosaic floors got me ta thinkin' about the magnificent marble floors laid back when people with tons of money also had exquisite taste or were smart enough to hire someone who did. Magnificent examples are to be found in the jewel of a book "Newport Villas" by Michael Kathrens. I don't know him and I don't sell books but this is an absolute "must read" for anyone who relishes grand residential architecture and design.

angie said...

Snowman, you just reminded me about an awesome A&E cable station series that aired about a decade ago called America's Castles which featured the old Newport mansions still in existence, among others. It was my favorite TV show at the time, and they were marvelous. I'm going to write them now to request a rebroadcast, lol.

Really enjoying reading the comments, and special thanks to those who live there for sharing their personal knowledge and insights.

StPaulSnowman said...

Angeleyes.......that was a great series. There must be plenty of others who feel that way because every time I bid on the DVDs on Ebay..........I lose. I don't think Trumpelstiltskin's house would make the cut!

Anonymous said...

Did Alfred Hitchcock live in a large fancy house in LA or was he a condo kind of guy?

Anonymous said...

This does indeed seem to be a very strange purchase by the Donald...the lot is too small, and the location lacking in cache (by LA standards, the flats of Beverly Hills are not nearly the most desirable 'hood in town), for it to be conceivable he planned to do another mega-mansion flip similar to the one he did in Palm Beach a few years back...also seems like the Donald would be savvier than to be ignorant of the fact that in LA, north of sunset is the place to be...perhaps he bought it for one of his children (I'm thinking Ivanka?) who is (or was) interested in pursuing a career in Hollywood and then changed their minds?

gwen2xs said...

Sorry, it's just too much like his hair. Badly done. Then redone. Then sprayed into place.

gwen2xs said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

This house looks like the one they use at the beginning of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Could it be?

Anonymous said...

Hitchcock's house is on Mapleton a few houses north of Spellings...it's one of my favorites...you can actually see because there is a metal fence rather than shrubs...old spanish on a huge flat lot with lots of lawn area right on LACC.

E.J. said...

Sorry, but Alfred Hitchcock never lived on Mapleton. He lived in a series of hotels when he first arrived and bought a house at 609 St. Cloud where his lived into the 1930's. He rented it to Carole Lombard, who lived there when she began her relationship with Clark Gable. When Lombard died, Hitchcock was so bummed he sold the St. Cloud house.

In the late 1930's he lived at the Beverly Wilshire (several years of travel manifests confirm that) and then in the early 1940's he moved to a house at 10957 Bellagio (again, travel manifests beginning in the late 1930's and into the 1960's confirm that). He was living there when he died in 1980.

No records anywhere mention a Mapleton address. Where did you get that information. Just curious.

E.J.

Nancy/PA said...

Anon 5:44 -- I googled your question and found the answer in a half-second.

Anonymous said...

This address's previous structure feels spooky.

Kissyface said...

The Fresh Prince house is located at 251 N. Bristol Avenue, at the corner of Bristol Avenue and Parkyns Street, in Brentwood (actually part of Los Angeles, the "real" Brentwood California being about 400 miles away from Los Angeles).

Of course, the faux address for the Banks' family in the "Fresh prince" show is on Saint Cloud Road in Bel Air, right up the sstreet from the real home address of Nancy Reagan ... a home she shared with Ronald before he died.

Hugs and kisses!

Anonymous said...

I thought this was the fresh prince house too!

Anonymous said...

The homes in the "flats" of Beverly Hills are about as safe as you can get in the USA. Beverly Hills Police will respond to any call in about 3 minutes. You don't need a "Security Patrol" because BHPD treats every alam call as a priority call. (2) cars are immediately dispatched. The only problem you might have with the response is if the property is fully gated and the police can't get access to search. Bottom line, if you live in the Los Angeles area, Beverly Hills is the most secure community(because of their Police Dept.) If your house is located outside of B.H., like Holmby Hills, Bel-Air, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Hancock Park etc., good luck getting LAPD to respond.

Dan said...

The address is 806 N. Rodeo Drive. Here is the google maps link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.0794,-118.413469&t=h&sll=34.056941,-118.400123&sspn=0.006295,0.006295&ie=UTF8&ll=34.079098,-118.413289&spn=0.002193,0.004128&z=19&iwloc=A

That one to left, being constructed when this pic was taken, would be a likely buyer, to make their choice located property, adjacent to the BH hotel, even more valuable.