Westside Bound, After the Wedding
Pop singers Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey are looking forward to selling their bachelor pads now that they have purchased a honeymoon home on the Westside. They plan to get married in October.
The couple, who don’t plan to move into their house together until after they are married, have been living in separate condominiums in a Wilshire Boulevard high-rise.
Lachey listed his condo a couple of months ago at $1 million but the sale price has since been reduced to $989,000. Or the condo may be leased for $7,000 a month; furnishings are negotiable.
The nearly 2,000-square-foot condo has two bedroom suites, a living room and a dining room plus a patio with a northern city view. It also has a state-of-the-art kitchen and bathrooms with imported Spanish tiles.
Simpson’s unit is on the market at $925,000 or may be leased at $6,000 a month. Her condo is two floors lower in the 20-story building. The 1,600-plus-square-foot unit also has northern views, indoor and outdoor living rooms, a stone fireplace and two bedroom suites.
The tower was built about 20 years ago and has a clubhouse, concierge, pool, spa, exercise room and valet parking.
Simpson, 22, started singing on the gospel circuit at age 11, and she was signed to Sony Music in 1997. With a reported five-octave range, Simpson has recorded such successful singles as “I Wanna Love You Forever,” “I Think I’m in Love With You” and “Where You Are,” a duet she sang with Lachey.
She was raised in Dallas, where her father was a youth minister. Her image of having strong moral convictions and a positive attitude has made her a role model for teenage girls. Simpson started dating Lachey when she was 19. They were engaged in February.
Lachey, 28, is one of the four members of the pop group 98 Degrees, with whom Simpson toured in 1999. Among 98 Degrees’ hits was the Latin-influenced “Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)” and the group’s debut single, “Invisible Man,” released in 1997.
Lachey grew up in Cincinnati. His younger brother Drew is also a member of 98 Degrees.
Betty Lethe and Heidi Lake of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, have the listings.
Helen Hunt has sold her newly built Hollywood Hills home for $8.3 million.
The Oscar-winning actress (“As Good as It Gets,” 1997) listed the estate at $8.9 million as soon as it was completed in March. The home, on nearly 10 acres, includes a tennis court, two office suites and a screening room with a lobby and a wet bar.
About three acres of the gated property once belonged to actor Errol Flynn. Later, the Flynn estate was purchased by singer-actor Rick Nelson. The house that Flynn and Nelson owned was torn down before Hunt bought the site in 1997. Hunt’s plans to live in such a large home changed, but she carried on with building the house and expanded the grounds by buying adjacent lots.
Hunt, 39, never lived in the home but had considerable input in its design. It was her idea to build a 1,000-square-foot porch with San Fernando Valley views.
The Pacific Palisades home of the late bandleader Les Brown has been sold for close to its $2.3-million asking price.
Brown, who died at 88 in January 2001, had owned the home since 1996. Built in 1960, the nearly 4,000-square-foot house has three bedrooms plus maid’s quarters and a large family room, which overlooks a patio and a pool. The house sits on a knoll and has a circular driveway.
Les Brown and his Band of Renown made the hit parade in the ‘40s with such songs as “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” He recorded “Sentimental Journey” with singer-actress Doris Day in 1945. Until about five months before he died, Brown was still touring with his band. He was also a longtime bandleader for Bob Hope. His son, Les Brown Jr., now leads the band.
Mimi Littman of Coldwell Banker, Sherman Oaks, represented the trustee for Brown’s estate. Joyce Gottlieb of Coldwell Banker, Brentwood Court, represented the buyer.
Independent producer Reba Merrill has sold her oceanfront Malibu home of 14 years for about its $1.5-million asking price. The house has two bedrooms and a den plus a rental unit with street and beach access.
Merrill is currently producing video publicity for the movies “Signs,” “Reign of Fire” and “XXX.”
Suzanne Altfeld and Kathleen Lawrence of Gilleran & Griffin Realtors represented both sides of the deal, and they handled Merrill’s purchase of a condominium in Santa Monica.
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