She’s not wedded to the beach
Britney Spears, who filed for divorce Nov. 7, has been house hunting in Beverly Hills and areas close to her old neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills.
The pop princess sold her home there for close to $4 million in June 2003. She wants to move back to town instead of living out by the beach in Malibu. She’s shopping in the $7-million range.
After she finds a house that she likes, she is expected to put her Malibu home on the market. Spears has been living there since she married backup dancer-rapper Kevin Federline in 2004. It’s a traditional-style house, which she bought for close to $6.9 million.
Her Malibu home has eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms in 9,000 square feet. Even when the family of four was home in Malibu, it was a big house. It might even be described as a mini-resort; it has a tennis court, a pool, a spa, a gym, gardens and an outdoor kitchen. The home was built in the ‘80s on slightly more than 1.5 acres, behind gates.
The couple signed a prenuptial agreement to protect Spears, whose net worth when they married was estimated at $32 million.
NBA star bounces off the Strip
Carlos Boozer, forward for the Utah Jazz, and his wife, Cindy, have sold their 10-bedroom, 13-bathroom home near the Sunset Strip for close to its $10 million asking price. The nearly 18,000-square-foot estate, on a gated hilltop with panoramic views, has 30-foot ceilings, an indoor racquetball court, a tennis court and a five-bedroom, four-bathroom guesthouse.
The buyer was Russell Weiner, chief executive officer of Rockstar Inc., maker of Rockstar Energy Drinks.
The property sold in a five-day escrow.
Roxanne Nelson of the Wales Group at Keller Williams Realty, Westside, had the listing.
Lucky for Luc: He scores the house
Hockey star Luc Robitaille, the former Kings player who retired at 40 last season to be named assistant to Kings governor Tim Leiweke, and his wife, Stacia, have purchased a home in Westwood for more than the asking price of about $2.5 million. The five-bedroom, nearly 3,000-square-foot home sold in three days with multiple back-up offers.
The traditional-style house, in the prime Westwood area of Little Holmby, was built in 1935 and has a remodeled kitchen with maple cabinetry and a center island, a library, hardwood floors, French doors and windows overlooking a pool, spa and garden with mature trees.
Martha Freeman of Coldwell Banker Previews, Brentwood Court, had the listing, and Brit Fennell of Coldwell Banker, Santa Monica, represented the Robitailles in buying their home.
Shopped till they dropped $28 mil
Businesswoman Bren Simon, wife of shopping center magnate and Indiana Pacers co-owner Mel Simon, has purchased a newly built home in Bel-Air for $28 million, one of the highest sales recorded in the area.
The sellers are businessman Guy Hackbarth and his wife, real estate agent Tania Ferris.
The Italian palazzo-style home has eight bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a movie theater and a spa in slightly more than 20,000 square feet. It is adjacent to the Bel-Air Country Club.
The property was not listed for sale at the time of purchase, agents said.
A princely estate for a kingly sum
A Beverly Hills compound listed at $33 million is under a court order to be sold.
The estate, which is believed to have been under construction by a Saudi prince, is about 90% completed, according to Mazda Hoghoughi, the listing agent. A divorce precipitated the sale.
The property was on the market last year for $65 million, Hoghoughi said. The court is researching a dozen offers and will accept one, he added, refusing to divulge further details.
The property is on 25 acres and has 10 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms in several buildings with a total of 50,000 square feet. It has a quarter-mile private drive, a vineyard, a main residence, an entertainment house and a detached guest quarters. Architect Bob Offenhauser designed the contemporary Mediterranean-style compound.
Hoghoughi estimated the cost to complete construction at $5 million to $6 million.
He has the listing at Elite Properties Realty in Beverly Hills.
A nip here, a tuck there, then sell it
Jeffrey Alan Marks -- who has designed home interiors for actors Gillian Anderson and Paul Reiser, “Lost” director Jack Bender and other entertainment professionals -- bought a Hollywood Hills home this year for $1.7 million, fixed it up and is selling it for close to its $2.5-million asking price.
The house, a Georgian traditional dating to the ‘30s, was purchased by Robert Semmer, whose company does post-editing for the TV shows “Nip/Tuck” and “Desperate Housewives.” The house Semmer is purchasing is on a 17,000-square-foot knoll and has three bedrooms and four bathrooms in 3,600 square feet.
Escrow is due to close Dec. 10.
Marks’ next project is to turn a Santa Monica Canyon home with ocean views into a 19th century farmhouse.
To see previous columns on celebrity realty transactions, go to latimes.com/hotproperty.
