Sun, stars align in Malibu
Malibu is a summer rental hotspot for those in the entertainment industry.
Even some of the most private movie and pop stars turn landlord in July and August, when rates are at their highest. Some places rent for six figures a month. And they may not even include furniture.
So popular are big-ticket leases that many homes are reserved well in advance. James Respondek, a real estate agent at Sotheby’s, Pacific Palisades, has been looking for a vacation rental in Malibu for a Fox TV executive who lives in Brentwood.
“He was trying to decide whether to go to Greece or Malibu,” Respondek said. “Malibu is easier because it’s closer, but it’s not necessarily less expensive.”
Rather than compete for the summer months, some people sign year leases. Among these is actress Jennifer Aniston, who has been renting in Malibu for several months now. The two-bedroom house she is leasing, on 50 feet of beachfront, cost its owners about $15 million. Aniston won’t see her rent rise to the going rate of $100,000 or more a month once summer arrives; she will continue to pay in the range of $25,000 to $30,000 a month. That’s about what Lesley Stahl, co-editor of the CBS program “60 Minutes,” plans to spend in July to rent a Santa Barbara home with five bedrooms, a guesthouse and mountain-to-ocean views on 3 1/2 acres.
Here is a sampling of what some Malibu homeowners make in rents during the summer.
Lookout perch for message in a bottle
Sting will be collecting more than $100,000 a month for his ocean-facing Malibu home, which has six bedrooms in 8,000 square feet, plus separate guest quarters and a pool.
The house, built in the 1920s and completely redesigned in the ‘80s, also has five fireplaces.
Sting and his family have owned the home since 1997, when they bought it for $6 million. They maintain other properties in England and New York.
Sting, 53, came to prominence in the late ‘70s as a singer-songwriter with the Police. He has won numerous Grammy Awards, appeared in films and was in the 1989 Broadway revival of “The Threepenny Opera.” He was on tour earlier this year.
Try it at $80,000 first, then buy it
Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen are planning to sell their Cape Cod-style home, which they leased out in previous years. One of their recent summer tenants was Norman Lear.
Before Danson and Steenburgen decided to sell their Malibu house, it was listed as a summer rental at $80,000 a month. The house also was listed as a rental at $35,000 a month from March to June and $45,000 a month from September to November.
The home, which was built in 1930 and totally remodeled under Steenburgen’s direction, has five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms in about 3,500 square feet. It has an ocean-view master bedroom suite, a sun deck, a guest suite with its own entrance, a large media/family room, a kitchen with new appliances and a living area with a projection TV.
The gated house was most recently for sale at $14.5 million. The couple have owned the home since 2000. They bought it for $4 million after they leased it in August of that year.
Danson, 57, is a two-time Emmy winner for his role in the sitcom “Cheers” (1982-93). He also starred in the series “Becker” (1998-2004).
Steenburgen, 52, starred as the mother of the lead character in the recently canceled CBS series “Joan of Arcadia.”
Have your own little Ozzfest
Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, Sharon, have put their Malibu home up for lease at $75,000 a month.
The contemporary Mediterranean has two oceanfront bedrooms and three other bedrooms plus five bathrooms in 4,500 square feet. The house was built in 1955 and recently updated. The home is also available on a long-term lease.
The rock star, 56, plans to appear on a 15-date European tour as part of Black Sabbath, headlining Ozzfest, starting July 15.
Live like 007 for six figures
Pierce Brosnan, who played James Bond in “Die Another Day” (2002) and three other films, leases out his home for more than $100,000 a month.
The actor has lived in Malibu for about 20 years. He bought this home in 2000 for about $7 million. At the time, it had five bedrooms and a media room in 2,700 square feet. The property, on almost an acre, has an oceanfront deck, 120 feet of sandy beach and a pool with a cabana.
There has been talk that the 52-year-old actor will star in his fifth 007 movie, to begin filming in December or January. He is also expected to play Thomas Crown again in “The Topkapi Affair,” a sequel to the 1999 remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair.”
Cottage, owner are both originals
Mel Brooks’ Malibu home leases for $55,000 a month.
The producer-writer-actor-songwriter also has an East Coast residence that he shared with his wife, actress Anne Bancroft, who died June 6.
His getaway has five bedrooms and six bathrooms in 3,400 square feet, according to public records. It’s an original beach cottage dating to 1927. An upstairs master bedroom overlooks the water.
Brooks, who will turn 79 on June 28, is a former stand-up comic who graduated from Sid Caesar’s 1950s TV program, “Your Show of Shows.” Brooks created the ‘60s series “Get Smart.” He won an Oscar for writing the screenplay for “The Producers” (1968). In 2000, he wrote the score, including 17 new songs, for the musical stage version. Brooks also has won Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards.
