Real Estate News

Reality television personality Kim Kardashian has purchased a furnished home in the Beverly Hills Post Office area -- that is, within the 90210 zip code. She paid about $3.5 million for the two-story, gated home, reported the Los Angeles Times. (What's with all the gates in LA, anyway?)

The Tuscan-style 5-bedroom, 4.5 bath home has fireplaces in the dining room, family room, living room, master bedroom and kitchen as well as outdoors. The zaftig star will turn one bedroom into a giant walk-in closet, according to the LA Times. But we're more envious of the kitchen that opens up to the outside, and the outdoor massage room.

Calling all Russian (and other) oligarchs and hedge fund types: if you already have a slew of residences around the world, how about something completely different that will make you the envy of other wealthy types? We're talking about your own private island or a yacht marketed as a man-made floating island. Ah, there's nothing like the allure of a private isle, where you can forget about noisy neighbors and prying eyes.

With Greece's government in turmoil over the country's mounting financial woes, two German members of parliament have dared to suggest that the Greeks sell some of their prized property assets - islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas - to help meet their debt payments. This didn't go down well with Greeks, of course, who are looking to Germany for a possible financial bailout.

Aaron Goldberg discovered Park Slope, Brooklyn while visiting New York during his summers off from Harvard. Since traveling the world is the norm for this musician, Goldberg tells us why the tranquility of Park Slope is the best place for him to call home.

Name, Age, Occupation: Aaron Goldberg, 35, Jazz Pianist

Abode: One bedroom, "floor-through" (or entire floor) co-op apartment in a brownstone

How long have you lived in Park Slope? I've lived here for 13 and a half years.

Mel Gibson, who last year split from his wife Robyn after nearly 30 years of marriage and seven kids, is selling one of his Malibu homes for $14.5 million, reports Monsters and Critics.

The recently remodeled home, located at 23333 Palm Canyon Lane, has 6 bedrooms and 6 baths. The estate also features a tennis court, a swimming pool, three guest houses, two offices, a detached gym and a garden cabana with a game room, not to mention fruit orchards and organic gardens (it's not called Lavender Hill Farm for nothing!) You can check out the house, which is listed with Chris Cortazzo of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, at RealEstate.com.

Gibson, 54, bought the 5,403-square-foot home in 1993 (See our slideshow of this home at the end of the article). It's only one of several Malibu homes and other properties that the Braveheart star owns, but it is the one that he and his wife raised their family in and called home.

You've ready to buy a new home: thrilled, right? But somehow, you can't shake that nagging feeling that maybe you're paying more than you needed to. Did your agent act soley in your interest? Or did he/she have other incentives to weigh?

The fact is, you may never know for sure. There is no one national governing body that dictates agents' behavior or disclosures. The National Association of Realtors has a Code of Ethics and Standards, but laws vary by state. Some states don't allow agents to represent both buyer and seller without full disclosure, while others give carte blanche to any and all incentive fees to sell a property.

The agent disclosure issue has become a flashpoint in some states.

At a time when a growing army of Americans face the cold, harsh reality of foreclosure, celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz managed to work a deal allowing her to hold on to not one, but four different chunks of real estate: three brownstones in Manhattan's Greenwich Village and a rather large property in Rhinebeck, New York. This must be the grand-momma of all modification deals!

Not long ago, it looked as if the big-spending, in-hock-up-to-her-ears photographer would lose not only her properties, but the rights to her photographs as well. Then, back in September, she renegotiated a $24 million loan with Art Capital, although still risked losing control of her assets, which were put up as collateral.

Now, Colony Capital, an L.A.-based private-equity that specializes in distressed real estate, has agreed to take over all of the debt and, as part of the deal, will help Leibovitz market her famous pictures, according to the Financial Times and others.

Well, OK, it wasn't actually a mortgage modification, but it's a whopper of a deal for Annie.

A recent interview with a Studio City resident got me curious about the homes in this area and this 4-bedroom, 4-bath gem popped right up. The views from the living room (left) are incredible, but most of the rooms in this house have great views. To wake to this view and be in a city that is such a pleasant community could make this house a very nice home.

Don't overlook Twitter.com when searching for your dream home. You can find agents and properties via the social media site -- not just where Lindsay Lohan's partying and what Martha Stewart's dogs are up to. Thousands of real estate agents worldwide are actively tweeting (not surprising as they are experts at self-promotion and networking) but how does a would-be savvy buyer determine whose tweets are trustworthy?

Spice Girl Mel B mistook a property appraiser parked outside of her Los Angeles home with a camera for a paparazzo and sic'd her hubby on him. The appraiser, Amada Aguirre, claims he was assaulted by Scary Spice and husband producer Stephen Belafonte while just trying to do his job. Apparently, he was scared enough to file a lawsuit alleging assault, battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

A press release issued by the law firm, Frederick S. Schwartz, Esq., says that Aguirre had no idea the home belonged to a celebrity.

As if appraisers weren't vilified enough these days, thanks to a few bad (ok, really bad) apples!

Underwater on your mortgage? Thinking about asking your lender to sign off on a short sale, or even just mailing back the keys? If you've tried to request clearance for a short sale, you know that most banks have hesitated to give an OK to borrowers who want to bail out for less than their property is worth. But thanks to the Obama administration, your moment may have now arrived.

As detailed by The New York Times today, starting on April 5th the Department of the Treasury will support short sales and deeds-in-lieu-of-foreclosure as options for homeowners who owe their lenders more than the sale price of the property.