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A quick flip is sure to bring good cheer

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MEET Kelsey the flipper.

Kelsey Grammer, who lives in Malibu’s Serra Retreat, has listed an English Country-style estate in Holmby Hills for $19.9 million. Grammer and his wife, Camille, have owned this home for about a year and are hoping to flip it for a profit.

The purchase price was $13.7 million last summer, according to public records.

Real estate, like comedy, is all about timing, and one hopes this listing won’t bomb with today’s market. But several local agents report that, in this price range, prices are holding steady and inventory is slim.

The house, all 10,567 square feet of it, certainly sits on desirable turf -- nearly an acre at that. It has seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms and seven fireplaces -- including the one in the gym. I personally don’t need more heat in my gym, but I’d much rather be treadmilling to a relaxing fire than to Dr. Phil, wouldn’t you?

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There are beamed ceilings, Palladian-style French doors, his-and-her bathrooms in the master suite and a media room with built-in bookshelves and a built-in bar. The home sits behind high hedges, and there is a large motor court with covered parking for four cars. A vine-wrapped covered terrace overlooks the swimming pool.

Grammer, 53, a five-time Emmy winner, has owned his Malibu house since 1998, when he bought it for $4.5 million.

The Grammers also own property in Hawaii, which is believed to be for their personal use.

The actor has been a TV fixture since his days on “Cheers” (1984-93) and his own spinoff, “Frasier” (1993-2004). His most recent TV venture was playing TV news anchor Chuck Darling on “Back to You” (2007). He is working on several movies that are in various stages of production.

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Mauricio Umansky of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, is the listing agent, according to the MLS Combined L.A./Westside.

Splitting from this Brentwood asset too

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes divorce and a Brentwood mansion for sale for $11 million.

Actor Dylan McDermott and his wife, Shiva Rose, have put their 1920 Spanish hacienda on the market. The pair announced plans to divorce in March.

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The house was one of the first built in Brentwood, according to the MLS. The two-story, 4,500-square-foot home has five bedrooms and three bathrooms and is set on 30,000 square feet of park-like grounds with a 250-year-old oak as a centerpiece. There is a courtyard with a fountain, and a pool and spa area that overlooks the hills. The two-story vaulted living room has a hand-carved minstrel’s balcony. The house has original beams, stenciled walls and three fireplaces.

McDermott and Rose bought the home in 1999 for about $4 million from Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, according to public records.

McDermott, 46, may be best known for his role as Bobby Donnell in “The Practice,” which aired from 1997 to 2004. Since then, the Golden Globe-winning actor has appeared in numerous films and TV shows.

Rose, 39, has appeared in episodes of “CSI: Miami,” “Las Vegas” and “The Division.”

It’s his world, and you’re welcome to it

The thing about Hollywood is that for every name in neon, there are hundreds of people behind the lights who helped get it there. One of the kingpins of this class of uber-salesmen and marketers is Ken Kragen, the mastermind behind the Hands Across America and “We Are the World” events.

Kragen has listed his Beverly Hills home for sale at $5,595,000. The guard-gated Mediterranean was built in 1998, and Kragen has been the sole owner. The 7,488-square-foot house has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. It has mountain and valley views and a two-story foyer with a classic sweeping staircase. There is a gourmet chef’s kitchen and a resort-size pool and spa. It is across the street from three community tennis courts and two racquetball courts.

Kragen, by trade, is an entertainment lawyer. But his work as an activist has propelled his fame. In 1985, he was instrumental in securing the talent to appear on the fundraising single “We Are the World.” That included Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers and other headliners.

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The following year, Kragen organized Hands Across America, a transcontinental human chain of 5 million people, to raise money to feed the hungry and homeless.

Kragen was Harry Belafonte’s longtime agent and served as personal manager to country music star Kenny Rogers. He also teaches at UCLA and is the author of “Life Is a Contact Sport.” He most recently produced “The 12 Dogs of Christmas,” a film based on his daughter’s bestselling children’s book.

Ron Holliman of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, has the listing.

His ‘Halloween’ haunt is for sale

Baby-sitting has never been the same since “Halloween” premiered in 1978. Much copied but rarely matched, this classic horror film gave birth to a genre -- and it did so without slash and gore.

An executive producer of the original “Halloween,” (no, young ‘uns, not Rob Zombie) has listed his Hollywood Hills home for $2.95 million. Irwin Yablans, the distributor of horror, hopes to sell his three-bedroom, 4 1/2 -bathroom traditional home near the Sunset Strip. It has a pool and spa.

The 3,407-square-foot house features a classic center hall plan. There is a formal dining room, crown moldings and a fireplace in the living room and a gourmet kitchen. And for those who believe in ghosts, Groucho Marx is believed to have lived here after World War II.

Yablans must be the envy of much of modern Hollywood, having made a movie for $320,000 that spawned seven sequels and a remake.

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Barbara Tenenbaum of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, has the listing.

Batchelder tiles? Paging Brad Pitt . . .

If you have Brad Pitt’s number handy, he’d probably appreciate a jingle about this. Pitt is said to admire Batchelder tiles -- and this listing is loaded with them.

A hilltop vintage Spanish villa in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles with 800 Batchelder tiles has just come on the market for $1,899,000.

It is owned by French artist Sylvain Copon, who has a studio in downtown L.A.

The house, built in 1939, is about 2,650 square feet and has four bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms. It sits on 1.6 acres and has a mature olive orchard. There are panoramic views from every room.

The home, which is gated, features hand-hewed wood beams, bronze window screens, chair rails and moldings, plank doors and tongue-and-groove oak floors. There is a fireplace, plus several water features and an octagonal breakfast room. Charm, charm, charm.

Ernest A. Batchelder was one of the country’s premier tile makers and personified the Arts and Crafts movement. His studio was in Pasadena; today, his tiles -- although not rare -- add value to a home and are greatly sought after.

Copon’s works are shown in Europe and North America.

Magnus Hellberg and Alexander Firempong, both of Sotheby’s International Realty in Brentwood, have the listing.

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ann.brenoff@latimes.com

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