Home Seller Goes Straight to the Source
Although his mother was German and his father Sicilian, Joseph Portaro is clearly partial to East Asia when it comes to foreign travel. He has been to Hong Kong on vacation 19 times.
These days, though, Japan is very much on Portaro’s mind, and it is strictly business. He is trying to sell his castle-like home in the remote Hidden Valley section of Thousand Oaks, and he feels that someone Japanese might best be able to foot the $7.5-million price tag for the 14-room estate.
As the world’s latest band of nouveau riche, the Japanese have grown accustomed to hearing that familiar sales pitch from America: “Have I got a deal for you!” But only now are they starting to hear that refrain from California housing salesmen.
Portaro’s effort was sparked by the recent buying frenzy in Hawaii, in which Japanese investors gobbled up some of the choicest residential real estate in east Honolulu. If that’s happening in Hawaii, Portaro figured, Southern California can’t be far behind.
The 65-year-old Portaro has been a jack of several trades--actor, real estate developer, beauty shop entrepreneur. Now he is trying to sell the Hidden Valley house himself--without the aid of a real estate broker--a move that stands to save him more than $400,000 in brokerage fees.
Whoever buys the home--Japanese or not--will take on a piece of real estate whose history is laced with tales of culture, mystery and violence.
Built in the 1920s, the home was first occupied by Maria Jeritza, a glamorous soprano who had top billing in Golden Age of Opera along with luminaries such as Enrico Caruso. The property was also owned by the late Robert A. Franklyn, a nationally known Los Angeles plastic surgeon who bred horses there. Franklyn’s widow was shot and wounded there in 1981 during a drug raid by police who said the ranch was being used to make drugs and grow marijuana.
Luxury Features
Portaro entered the picture shortly after the raid when he and three other investors bought the home for $2 million. “The place was a shambles when we bought it,” he said. It is not anymore, thanks to the nearly $3 million that Portaro and his partners--shopping center developers from Ohio--have invested in rehabilitating the home.
Built in the style of a French chateau on 25 acres of land, the property has a chipping green for golfers and a landing pad for helicopters. There are several separate guest and servant quarters, an oval swimming pool and a lighted tennis court.
Los Angeles business tycoon David Murdock has a cattle ranch across the street, while Republican Party activist Robert D. Nesen, U.S. ambassador to Australia from 1981 to 1985, owns an adjacent property. Record promoter Michael Curb, a former California lieutenant governor, has a home nearby.
According to Portaro, the home should be an excellent investment. “This is where the people are coming,” he said. “There’s no more land in L.A.”
