Buffy and her Prinze Buy Big New Digs

BUYERS: Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr.
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $6,100,000
SIZE: 7,318 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: A little more year ago, television and movie actors Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr. produced a second child and, just as so many rich and/or famous folk feel they must do when they issue forth with an heir, the veteran Showbizzers bought a big new house in which to bring up new baby. Although the property records Your Mama peeped are pretty opaque, the industrious impeccably connected real estate yenta Yolanda Yakketyyak swears on her heavily fortified French-made undergarments that the Gellar-Prinze's shelled out $6,100,000 for a three-story East Coast-y Colonial deep in Los Angeles's low key and semi-rustic but most assuredly swank Mandeville Canyon area.

Property records are quite clear when it comes to the sellers: powerhouse entertainment attorney Ernest Del and his talent agent wife, Danielle Del, who Yolanda described to Your Mama as "part of the Tinseltown 'Ladies Who Lunch' crowd and is b.f.f. with Hollywood hostess du jour Alexandra Dwek" who—some of the children whose brains aren't ruined by booze and television—lives in a Georgian mansion in Bel Air she bought a few years ago from Giannulli Mossimo and Lori Laughlin for almost $20 million. But we digress...

In 1995, a teen-aged Miss Gellar won a Daytime Emmy for her make-believe work the soap story All My Children before she trampolined to sci-fi superstardom the following year as the star of the cult-favorite television program Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since her seven season run on B.V.S. Miz Gellar—a.k.a. Missus Prinze—has worked almost constantly, often in overlapping television and movie gigs and most notably, perhaps, in a series of horror film franchises (I Know What Your Did Last Summer, The Grudge, Scream).

Mister Prinze, Jr., the son of late comedian/actor Freddie Prinze of the 70s sitcom Chico and the Man, shot to teen flick stardom in the She's All That, I Know What Your Did Last Summer, and Scooby-Doo movie franchises, all of which he co-starred opposite his wife. He very briefly starred in an eponymous sitcom, popped up several times on Boston Legal and 24, and, like his wife and dozens of other Hollywood stars, has done occasional voice over work on the animated sci-fi comedy Robot Chicken. Much to Your Mama's surprise—and, we'll be honest, flabbergast—Mister Prinze has twice taken steady gigs as a director and producer for the WWE, short for World Wresting Entertainment. That's right, children, Mister Prinze is waist deep in the low-brow and high-camp professional wrestling world. Who knew? Not Your Mama, that's who. Anyhoo...

Listing details show the Gellar-Prinze's new, many-gabled center hall Colonial was built in 2006, clad in classic clapboard siding, and accessorized with black shutters and a columned portico. The six bedroom and five bathroom house sits tightly on a wedge-shaped parcel of just over a third of an acre and measures in at an ample but not embarrassingly bloated 7,318 square feet.

Invited guests and the Chinese food delivery man are meant to be impressed by the voluminous double-height entrance hall where light from a drippy cluster of crystal chandeliers is reflected and refracted in lustrous, medium brown-toned wood floors. An over-sized formal dining room and a cozier-scaled library flank the foyer that stretches deep in to the house before it opens into a formal living room large enough to accommodate a baby grand piano and a sizable seating arrangement in front of a fireplace. Multi-pane windows and French doors stretch luxuriously from floor to ceiling and provide a wide view of the (surprisingly compact) backyard entertainment and recreation areas.

A less formal, open-concept kitchen/family room, conveniently located behind the direct entry two car garage, orbits around a commodious kitchen finished with white, glass-fronted cabinetry and glossy black counter tops and equipped with a three-seat snack counter and a full suite of industrial-minded stainless steel appliances including two refrigerators. The sellers hung an iconic Slim Aarons photograph of the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs over the corner fireplace in the dining area and the lounge area is anchored by a built-in entertainment center with open shelving and closed storage for board games, table cloths, and media equipment.

Front and back stairs ascend to the second floor where, in addition to a handful of guest/family bedrooms and an unknown number of bathrooms, the roomy master bedroom has a vaulted and dormered ceiling, a sitting area with fireplace, a large bathroom, and two sets of French doors that open to a small terrace with backyard overview.

Speaking of the backyard, it appears to Your Mama to be a fairly compact situation compared to what many might expect in a six-plus million dollar property but it is none-the-less jam-packed with a decent list of amenities and luxuries that include a pergola-shaded flag stone terrace with retractable canvas awnings, a built-in barbecue/kitchenette, lots of mature foliage, and a wee patch of grass. Tucked in to the verdant hillside that rises steeply at the rear of the property, a dark-bottomed swimming pool and spa and additional flagstone terracing for sunbathing and horse playing.

Since October of 2001, Mister and Missus Prinze, Jr. have shacked up in a 7,300+ square foot house with seven bedrooms and 7 bathrooms in the very same guard-gated community in L.A.'s Bel Air area where reality television royal Kimmy Kardashian and her humorously arrogant baby daddy Yeezus apparently plan to shack up in a $9 million mock-Med macmansion with their directionally-named baby, a four gold-plated toilets, and a million dollars worth of custom-made mattresses.

listing photos: Coldwell Banker

Afternoon Delight: Joe Dahan

 SELLER: Joseph "Joe" Dahan
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $9,995,000
SIZE: 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: We feel like indulging in a little afternoon pretty in the form of a gated and photogenic mini-compound in the Hollywood Hills with a main house originally designed in the late 1960s by en vogue mid-century modern architect Hal Leavitt and listed on the open market with an asking price of $9,995,000.

Property records show the current owner as Joseph "Joe" Dahan, a muckety-muck in the premium denim industry who scooped up the nearly one acre spread in October 2005 for $4,650,000.

A long curved driveway almost passes under a slightly cantilevered corner of the main house that current digital marketing materials show has five bedrooms and five bathrooms in an unspecified amount of square footage.  (For the record, the L.A. County Tax Man shows 3,726.) Copious amounts of travertine flooring and long walls of floor-to-ceiling glass panels and sliding doors make for a barely-there transition between the inside areas and outdoor spaces ringed by dense, privacy-ensuring foliage.

The property is lushly planted with what listing details call "period landscaping" and offers its cosseted occupants a private enclave of meandering paths, an organic vegetable garden, a couple of greenhouse, and a flat patch of lawn dotted with a couple of clean-lined play structures.

Perched on a verdant, stepped hillside above a narrow flat strip of lawn and and and a perpendicularly arranged water feature are two glass pavilions set on a muscular concrete foundation. One pavilion has a tree growing right through the middle that's encased in a frameless glass shaft and both appear to be equipped with a sparse but high quality collection of bodily fitness equipment.

If any of you Hal Leavitt freak-fans think this might be you're opportunity to stroll through the house during a public open house, we suggest you think again. Listing details make a point to to say "Private showings to qualified Buyers only."

P.S. As far as this opinionated property gossip is concerned, the silver tile that lines the guest bathroom shower is glitzy, glam, and flagrantly conspicuous in all the best ways.

listing photos: Westside Estate Agency

Remix Master Adam Anders Lists Television-Filled House In Hidden Hills

SELLERS: Adam and Nikki Anders
LOCATION: Hidden Hills, CA
PRICE: $5,450,000
SIZE: 5,677 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Celebrity real estate rumor has it that reality television royal Kourtney Kardashian and her weirdly ostentatious baby-daddy boyfriend, Whatshisface, are on the hunt for big new digs in the Calabasas and Hidden Hills areas of the western suburbs of Los Angeles, CA, and Your Mama wonders if they checked out the recently remodeled and expanded Hidden Hills home of married music producers and songwriters Adam and Nikki Anders, currently on the market for $5,450,000.

In addition to his work with a slew of young stars such as Miley Cyrus, Clay Aiken, CeCe Winans, the Backstreet Boys and the Jonas Brothers, the Sweden-born Mister Ander taught Tom Cruise how to sing for the Rock of Ages, an unfortunate movie for which he also wrote the score. His real claim to Showbiz fame and fortune, however and perhaps, would most certainly be for his efforts as the fecund executive music producer/remix master for the socially-conscious and high-camp televised musical extravaganza Glee. In addition to writing a number of chart-making original songs for the mega-hit show it was Mister Anders who—just to name just a few examples—Glee-a-fied iconic songs by the Beatles, Madonna, and Lady Gaga, not to mention the soundtrack for Grease as well as the Belgian-born Australian singer Gotye's Grammy-winning song Somebody That I Used to Know. 

In her youth, Missus Anders (née Hassman) trained be an Olympic gymnast before she switched to music and was briefly, in the late 1990s, a member of the Christian band Avalon. Nowadays the Iowa-born blond often works side-by-side with her husband; She served as a judge on the only two season of the reality show spin off The Glee Project and together they own and operate a nascent record label with a growing stable of fresh-faced and squeaky clean wannabe pop-stars, none of whom Your Mama has ever heard of before.

A peep into the property records reveals Mister and Missus Anders acquired the property in June 2010 for $2,200,000 and current listing details show the 1.3 acre estate was redone in 2012 and now spans 5,677 square feet with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, three interior fireplaces plus at least one more outside, and a dozen high-quality wall-mounted flat-screen televisions.*

Other finishes and features of note include wide plank oak flooring, extensive mill work throughout, generous use of Carrera [sp] and Calcutta [sp] marbles, and oodles of custom built-ins. There are also newly installed high-tech audio and video systems throughout the house and yard, a water conditioning system, a 9-zone heating and cooling system, and a state-of-the-art security system that includes exterior and hidden interior cameras.

A vaulted, exposed beam wood ceiling with ridge line clerestory windows lends an airy-fairy sort of grandeur to the open-plan Great Room that includes a small but proper foyer and a buttoned up but easy-breezy living room/den area where a window-flanked fireplace is surmounted by a frameless flat-screen television and a full-wall of back-lit floor-to-ceiling shelving provides plenty of space to display books, knick-knacks, and industry awards. (In addition to his three Grammy nominations, Mister Anders has won, according to his own website, two People's Choice and two Golden Globe awards.)

The adjoining dining area stretches such a distance it comfortably accommodates a small sitting area at one end, a table that seats twelve in the middle, and a high-gloss baby grand piano at the far end. A twelve-foot stretch of windows in the dining area fold open and link to a roomy outdoor living area shaded by a pergola with retractable canvas awnings and anchored at one end by a monolithic, eight-foot long concrete fireplace wall.

The ceilings are equally vaulted and also sky-lit in the adjoining kitchen complex that encompasses an all-white and stainless steel center island kitchen, a breakfast area set in to a giant wall of windows, and a small sitting area with just two wing back chairs, a built-in media center (with integrated flat screen television), and a raised corner fireplace. In the vicinity are a back entrance, a kitchen-sized laundry room with dishwasher, and a children's play room that's easily converted to a home office, a Zumba studio or maybe even a staff suite.

There's another fireplace (surmounted by television, of course) and even higher, 16-foot vaulted ceilings with exposed beams in the master suite where French doors open to a semi-private terrace with a direct and unimpeded view of an elaborate children's play structure. The attached master bathroom has a double-sink vanity lit by glammy light fixtures, a free-standing soaking tub in front of a window that's far to high for someone bathing to see out, a separate, and marble-lined and glass-enclosed steam shower with multiple shower heads and built-in bench seating. Digital marketing materials also point out that the master bathroom has a flat-screen television with built-in speakers.

A newly-added second level with exterior access has a sun-bathed landing lounge, a separate sitting room with kitchenette (surmounted by another giant flat-screen television), and a multi-room recording studio that does double duty as a home theater with a drop down screen and projection equipment.

The backyard has, according to marketing materials, custom LED lighting and a million dollars worth of exterior landscaping that includes sweeping lawns, a French side garden with citrus trees, a redwood constructed vegetable house, more than 150 rose bushes, and a variety of fruit trees (apple, peach pomegranate, apricot, and more) all kept from thirst by an automatic 32-zone irrigation system.

Exterior recreational amenities include copious terraces, a swimming pool and spa, a sport court, a cedar-chip playground with elaborate play structure, a tricycle path, a fire pit with built-in broken concrete bench, a giant-sized chess board punched in to a flat spot on the lawn, and an open air cabana—with flat screen television—that listing details (regrettably) call a "covered man cave."

The circular gravel drive at the front of the house curves around the side to a rear motor court for accesses to an over-sized two-car attached garage and a newly-added detached carriage house with a third garage that's currently outfitted with a smattering of fitness equipment and—you got it—another wall-mounted flat-screen television.

We really have no idea why Mister and Missus Anders would spend a couple years and a whole lotta cheddar to completely customize their house in Hidden Hills only to put it up for sale. Could be they desire even more impressive digs or perhaps they feel they've outgrown the the estate-sized property. Maybe it just makes good financial sense. Whatever the reason(s), let's just call it a classic case of The Real Estate Fickle, a malady that seems afflict so many rich and/or famous folk.

*Digital marketing materials that Your Mama scared up from the time of the Anders' 2010 purchase show the then single-story residence, described as a "California ranch" that "exudes rustic simplicity," had five bedrooms and four bathrooms in 4,207 square feet.

listing photos: Shawn Cordon for Berkshire Hathaway Home Service

Douglas M. Fey

Fey Insurance Services morns the loss of Douglas M Fey who served those in our agency as an owner, brother and uncle.  We will greatly miss him and his warm spirit around the office.  Below is his obituary.

FEY, Douglas Michael age 64, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, September 27, 2013. He was born on December 30, 1948 in Cincinnati, OH, the son of Ralph N. Fey and Ruth Yvonne Curpen "Bonnie" Fey. He attended school in Oxford graduating from Talawanda High School and later attending Miami University in Oxford where he was awarded a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration in 1971. While at Miami he was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity where he served as Chapter Treasurer. Following graduation he entered the U. S. Army serving in the Finance Branch in the United States and for 18 months in South Korea. Upon completion of his military service he returned to Oxford to begin working in the family insurance business with his father, older brother, his sister-in-law and later his nephew. Doug was Vice President of Fey Insurance Services. He loved to fly and held a commercial instructor's rating, and at one time he owned a vintage 1946 Piper Cub which he hangered at his family's farm. In addition, he was at various times a member of the Oxford Presbyterian Church, the Oxford Kiwanis Club, the Oxford Rotary Club and the Oxford Country Club. On October 17, 1993, Doug married his beloved Paulette, and they moved to Lebanon, OH where he lived the rest of his life. Doug and Paulette loved to travel and spend time with their children and grandchildren. He leaves his brother, Thomas Curpen Fey (Cathy) of Oxford, Ohio, Paulette's daughters Amber Mitchell (Jon) of New Carlisle, Ohio, Kim Martin (Zach) of Loveland, Ohio and Laura Hockett of Lebanon, and thirteen grandchildren including Samantha Mitchell, Milo Mitchell, Ulyana Mitchell, Ilia Mitchell, Anastasia Mitchell, Slava Mitchell, Olga Mitchell, China Martin, Nova Martin, Cherokee Martin, Zion Martin, Ivy Hockett, a niece, Elizabeth Fey Mundy (Al) of Cincinnati, Ohio and nephew, Brian Douglas Fey (Kate) of Cincinnati, Ohio and their children. He was preceded in death by his parents. Visitation will be held on Wednesday October 2nd from 10:00-12noon at Oswald-Hoskins Funeral Home with a service immediately following. Interment will take place in Lebanon Cemetery. Arrangements were made by Oswald-Hoskins Funeral Home. Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.hoskinsfh.com

Real Estate Housing Burst - Take an Expert's Advice

For several years, economists have forecast a burst in the real estate market. Although many professionals have their theory as to when the market will burst, no one really can know, and no one is for sure that when the market will return to normal. Until then, the market is currently a buyers commercial area.
There are many reasons that could lead a real estate bubble to burst. The booming housing market seems to have halted in many parts of the country in late 2005 and early 2006. This halt in the market was characterized by an overabundance of inventories, falling prices, and reduced sales volume. The unpredictability in the real estate trading zone will not only affect the United States economy but also the world economy. Many have been predicting a housing crisis, as median prices of new homes drop, more new homes continue to be built, and existing home inventories are at an all time high. More people are defaulting on their mortgages, due in part to shady business practices, which is leading to massive defaults and neighborhood instability. Many professionals have worked to predict when aspects of the housing crisis will end, but it has been difficult to really predict when this crisis will end and what affects it will have on the world. In addition, if the real estate trading does burst, it is difficult for professionals to predict if the burst will be detrimental or a "soft landing". In cities such as Los Angeles, Washington DC and Seattle, the housing market has come to a halt, as there are too many houses in the trading zone and not enough sellers.
We are currently in a buyers' trading zone, as more houses are available in the market than there are sellers available. In a true buyers' commercial area, a large percentage of the listings have had at least one price decrease since they initially entered the market and many sellers feel pressure selling their house. With more homes on the trading zone, buyers can afford to take their time to purchase a house and negotiate with the seller. Ultimately the buyer has the upper hand, because if the seller is unwilling to work with the buyer, they can move elsewhere to someone who is a bit more flexible. In addition, there are many new construction projects being released every month directly from builders. Since many builders are feeling the pressure of the real estate bubble, many are selling brand new houses with incentives, such as free upgrades, because of the over abundance of inventory. These incentives are meant to encourage buyers to purchase new housing stalk. Buyers are free to work with their own preferred lender, when working with a builder and therefore a buyer should talk to other lenders.
If you are a seller, you can still sell your house for a reasonable price in a buyer's real estate trading zone and make a profit. For sellers, it is especially important to price the house appropriately and also be patient. Since there is an overabundance of houses available, buyers will avoid a house that is overpriced, especially if there are reasonably priced new houses in the commercial area. In addition, sellers should take special care to prepare the house before an open house, which means cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, fixing any cracks or painting the walls. Make sure your house is as move-in ready, before it goes on the market.

With the real estate housing burst, buying and selling of a house has taken a new turn and changed the market scenario. In buyer's market, dealings are critical. So, take an expert advice and guidance from Real Estate Louisiana, to avoid hurdles.

Josh Altman Buys Ass-Ugly Sunset Strip Wart

BUYER: Josh Altman
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $2,300,000
SIZE: 2,436 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: A little celebrity real estate birdie we'll call Hedda D. Class chirped to Your Mama via covert communique—and then we confirmed with property records—that the always dapperly dressed and hard-charging Beverly Hills-based real estate agent and Million Dollar Listing star Josh Altman dropped $2.3 million on a very truly ass-ugly wart of a house just above West Hollywood's bustling Sunset Strip.

Digital marketing materials describe the existing dwelling as an "ARCHITECTURAL GEM" but anybody with functional eyeballs can plainly see from even the most cursory of glance over listing images that that's nothing but insincere (and even slightly cynical) real estate hyperbole because—all T no shade, buttercups—this house is hideously deformed. You know it is. We know it is. And so does Mister Altman who may be many things but he ain't no real estate fool. Fer chrissakes, children, the immaculately-groomed man drives a Fisker* and probably puts on a designer suit just to go to the damn bathroom in the middle of the night so it's highly unlikely he's going to shack up in this revolting little residence without, at the very least, giving the place a comprehensive re-do that renders it otherwise unrecognizable from its current, sad state of affairs.

Listing materials show the existing house, built in 1962 and situated down a long gated driveway, is conveniently located a short distance—a easily walked distance, for anyone so inclined—to the many designer boutiques and upscale eateries in the perennially trendy Sunset Plaza shopping and dining district. Your Mama, who does not know a damn thing about a damn thing, happens to be of the mind that Mister Altman's $2.3 million outlay for the beastly abode is wholly justified by the easy-access central location, commodious half acre-plus lot, and sweeping city view. While it may come as a surprise to some and the self-righteous chagrin of others, a half an acre lot is whole lotta land to own just above the Sunset Strip where houses are often tightly packed on minuscule lots carved out of steep hillsides on impossibly narrow and dangerously windy roads.

The two-story residence as it stands, according to listing details, has three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms in just over 2,400 square feet. At the foot of the driveway there's a detached two-car garage and in between the garage and the house there's a walled and gated courtyard with a swimming pool and a disturbing lattice-encased elevated view terrace. The listing description goes on to state that the kitchen was remodeled with "STAINLESS STEEL AND STONE" but that the rest of the house is "SOMEWHAT DATED." Somewhat dated? Seriously? Pleeze.

We know that taste and fashion in architectural style change over time but, still, it just gets Your Mama's blood all worked up to think that somebody designed that house and, when it was all done, looked at it and thought—and we paraphrase imaginatively, of course—"That looks exactly like what I wanted." Somebody really wanted and actually paid for all that decorative wrought-iron that looks like the sort of affectation you might find in an affluent trailer park in Romania and the rectangular windows with the inset arches are perplexingly perplexing. The hulking, herringbone patterned brick masses on the front façade, especially that one that looks like it's floating mysteriously over the corner of the house, are beyond wrong and the striped awnings over some of the upper level windows along with the totally fucked-up wrought iron cornice on both the garage and the house only enhance the utter absurdity of the whole thing.

Anyhoodles, poodles, as part of our research in to the matter Your Mama made a couple of queries with a few of the people we know whom we thought might know a little something about the situation and it wasn't too long before we heard back from a well-placed contact we'll call Wanda Gitterdone who told us that scuttlebutt on the Platinum Triangle real estate street is that Mister Altman plans to raze the existing house and replace it with a 7,500 square foot über-contemporary crib that will be worth $9 million when it's finished. When we asked Wanda if Mister Altman planned to sell the new house or move in with his real estate agent fiancée, Heather Bilyeu, she huffed and clucked and said, "Who knows? But, you know, baby, he's a real estate agent. Everything is an investment and everything is for sale."

*Just because we can identify our own BMW in a parking lot doesn't mean this boozy property gossip knows diddly squat between a Tesla and a Fisker and, indeed, the children in the comments are correct, Mister Altman drives a Fisker and not, as we first "reported," at Tesla.

listing photos: Coldwell Banker Gene Armstrong

Todd Phillips Lists on La Costa

SELLER: Todd Phillips
LOCATION: Malibu, CA
PRICE: $8,995,000
SIZE: 3,159 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: A late night missive from The Rolling Stone let Your Mama know that Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director, producer and occasional actor Todd Phillips has his hideaway house on Malibu's La Costa beach on the open market with a freshly reduced $8,995,000 asking price.* Property records show Mister Phillips bought his beach house in February 2010 from high-flying movie producer—and newly minted billionaire—Ryan Kavanaugh for exactly $9,000,000.

Mister Phillips earned his Oscar nod as screenwriter for the polemical and over-cumbersomely titled 2007 spoof Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan but the NYU film school drop out's real rocket to Tinseltown fame and fortune as the writer, directer and producer of the freakishly popular and preposterously profitable Hangover franchise; The three bro-mancy movies have hauled in an astonishing 1.4 billion bucks in gross worldwide box office receipts. (If any of the children had any question how this Todd Phillips person, who you might never have heard of before qualifies for our saucy celebrity real estate online endeavor and/or how this fella can afford a nine million dollar house at the beach, well, now you know.)

Current listing information shows the 1938 Spanish-ish style residence has three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms—plus four fireplaces and garage parking for two cars—in 3,159 square feet of newly remodeled and updated interior space with state-of-the-art electronic and lighting systems. A locked and gated entry opens to a supermodel slender courtyard—a corridor really—that leads to the wrought iron and glass front door.

There are textured stone tiles the color of wet sand throughout the main floor open plan living/dining space that spans the full width of the lower level and spills out through three sets of French doors to a bench-lined beach front deck. The re-done kitchen has dark chocolate Shaker style cabinetry, some sort of solid surface counter top—no doubt of costly quality, a white tile backsplash behind the range that (unfortunately) makes use of three differently sized and shaped tiles, and a full suite of commercial-style appliances.

A cozy, second floor den/media lounge has hardwood floors, a fireplace over-mounted by a flat-screen television, a built-in media equipment niche, and a pitched and beamed ceiling pierced by numerous sky lights that fill the room with natural light.

A short enfilade of archways links the media lounge/den to the master suite. Like the living/dining room directly below it, the master bedroom stretches the full width of the house and easily accommodates a television-centric sitting area. There are more wood floors, more sky lights in the pitched and beamed ceiling, and an entire wall of wood-framed doors that slide open to a private, wrought iron railed terrace. The attached master bathroom is an all-white affair with over-sized walk-in steam shower and louvered panels behind the separate soaking tub that, when open, facilitate an ocean view for teeth brushers and tub loungers.

Avid celebrity real estate watchers will recall that not-divorcing rock-n-roll royals Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne used to have a house on La Costa that they unloaded after a long slog in April 2012 for $7,925,000. Sitcom actor (and ladies man) David Space sold his beach house that's just a few doors down from Mister Phillip's seaside shack this last June (2013) for $10,225,000 and a few doors down in the other direction is the itty-bitty but smartly dressed 1930s cottage that Charlize Theron sold it in May 2011 for $6,562,500 to Glee creator Ryan Murphy who quickly flipped it (at a bit of a loss) in October 2012 for $6.5 million to text prep tycoon Robert Feinberg who, as it turns out, shoveled the property back on the market in early August (2013) with a higher price tag of $7,950,000.

It doesn't take a genius (or a snarky property gossip) to figure out that even though the current asking price is only five grand less than his $9 million purchase price Mister Phillips none-the-less faces a substantial punishment to his pocketbook when upkeep, improvements, carrying costs and real estate fees are subtracted from the final sale price. As it turns out, this isn't the first ocean front house in Malibu owned by Mister Phillips and it's not, funnily enough, the first one he's likely to take a hit on. In September 2005 the money-minting Showbiz superstar shelled out $3,950,000 for an approximately 1,800 square foot contemporary on a rocky stretch of Las Tunas State Beach that he sold at a $700,000 loss (not counting upkeep, improvements, carrying costs and real estate fees ) in July 2010 for $3,250,000.

Property records also suggest Mister Phillips continues to own a fairly modest (if hardly inexpensive) house on a little-trafficked street right on the border between West Hollywood and Beverly Hills that he scooped up way back in March 2002 for $1,935,000 even though last year, as we had forgotten but once floated a blind item about, last year Mister Phillips traded up to a double-lot estate in the flats of Beverly Hills for which he paid a very A-list $17,250,000. Last August (2012), property records indicate the Hollywood mover and shaker coughed up almost $4.3 million for a three bedroom and 2.5 bathroom mid-floor condo at the celebrified Robert A.M. Stern-designed Superior Ink building in New York City's far West Village.

*Mister Phillips first put his La Costa beach front house on the market in early September for $9.4 million and lowered the price by $405,000 just a few weeks later.

listing photos: Westside Estate Agency