Monday, April 7, 2014

Kauffman Sells to Pompeo in Malibu

SELLER: Marta Kauffman and Michael Skloff
BUYER: Ellen Pompeo and Chris Ivery
PRICE: $6,365,000
LOCATION: Malibu, CA
SIZE: 2,130 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (total)

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: It seems to this property gossip that Golden Globe-nominated actress Ellen Pompeo and her music producer husband Chris Ivery are on their way to Baby Real Estate Baller status.

In August 2005, in the blushing dawn of her starring role on the high rated hospital (melo)drama Grey's Anatomy, now in its tenth season and (likely) headed into at least two more, Miz Pompeo, then not married to Mister Ivery, shelled out $1.35 million for a 1920s Mediterranean on a prominent double lot in Hollywood's historic Whitley Terrace 'hood. A few years later, in April 2008 and now married to Mister Ivery—she/they paid $1.226 million for a contemporary, Harry Greene-designed abode in the Cahuenga Pass area between Hollywood and Universal Studios. The following October (2009), right after they produced their first and so far only offspring, the couple substantially upgraded their real estate circumstances with the $3.475 million purchase of an 8,000+ square foot manse in the historic and gated Laughlin Park enclave in the Los Feliz area.

That brings us to today, coming up on five years since their last (known) residential real estate acquisition, and we hear from plucky and prolific real estate yenta Yolanda Yakketyyak that Miz Pompeo and Miser Ivery have become—like so many wealthy Tinseltowners before them—homeowners in the supremely pricey and celebrity packed oceanside community of Malibu.

While property records are a mite opaque, making this some good ol' unverified celebrity real estate rumor and gossip, Yolanda swears on her perfectly preserved collection of Ferragamo pumps that Miz Pompeo and Mister Ivery are the peeps behind the mystery corporate entity that recently paid $6,365,000 for a bluff-top Buff and Hensman designed house along the western-most stretch of Malibu.

The sellers, according to property records and other digital resources, were sitcom royalty Marta Kaufman and her composer husband Michael Skloff. She's the gal responsible for creating and writing Friends and he's the guy who came up with the title ditty for Friends. (Can you even fathom, butter beans, how much they've earned and continue to earn for syndication residuals? A person can not turn on their bloody boob-toob without Friends re-runs being aired in marathon form on some cable channel or another.)

Veteran celebrity real estate watchers may recall that Miz Kauffman and her bluff-top Buff and Hensman first came to Your Mama's attention back in August 2007 when the modestly sized 2,130 square foot residence and a vacant adjacent parcel—a total of 2.71 acres—were on the open market with an asking price of $20 million.

The larger parcel—around 1.75 acres—was sold in October of 2007 for $10,725,000 to a wealthy but not famous couple. The dated but classic Buff and Hensman on the neighboring .81 acre parcel languished on (and off) the market for year.  In late August of 2013 the property was re-listed for the sixth or sixtieth time with an asking price of $6.5 million and, lo and behold, shortly came along Miz Pompeo and Mister Ivery with their $6.365 million. According to Yolanda—and do not ask Your Mama how she knows this because we don't know—the couple plan to to give the place a restorative spit and polish as they've done with all of their three other vintage homes in Los Angeles.*

Digital marketing materials show the low-slung micro-compound was built in 1980 and surrounds a walled and gated central courtyard with swimming pool and spa. As best as Your Mama can parse from listing details there are two bedroom and two bathrooms in the main house and an additional bedroom and bathroom in the guest house on the far side of the pool.

A deep overhang and covered porch area shade the back of the house to the scorching afternoon sunshine. Wide steps lead down to a bluff-side seating area with built-in fire pit and big open views that sweep up and down the rugged coastline.

As for Miz Kaufmann, she owns a substantial residence in the affluent Hancock Park are of Los Angeles and in September 2006, long before she sold her Buff and Hensman white elephant or even the lot next door, she paid $15,725,000 for a meticulously done and very traditional Hampton's style shingled cottage much closer to "downtown" Malibu and Santa Monica on (not so) Broad Beach.

*As far as we know the couple make a home in Laughlin Park and rent out at least one of their other homes; We found digital residue that indicates the tree house-like Harry Greene-designed house they own in the Cahuenga Pass was listed for lease in October 2009 with an asking price of almost $8,000.

listing photos: Coldwell Banker

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Malibu is great for people who want to be bored and have nothing to do.

Anonymous said...

Who cares? NEXT

Petra's said...

4:20, that's precisely the reason many wealthy people own second homes in Malibu - to get away from the hectic LA scene and just relax with the beautiful scenery - without anything to do.

Anonymous said...

Petra Honey...Relax? One way in and one way out.. Freeway out your front door. The homeowners can put a price on each eroding grain of sand on the beach..shall I go on?

Sandpiper said...

Hi 4:20, Certainly not stepping on your comment, but sometimes there's a fine line between bored and leisure. I get your point, and it's often true, especially when money and big homes are no fix for the perpetually board. But in defense of the happier half of this equation, they arrive for the weekend with groceries, good books and no intention to get back on the highway 'til it's time to head back to the city for work.

waynedeer said...

Thank you for posting this blog on real estate business in Malibu. I would love to learn more about this. Can you tell me where to look? Thanks for your help!

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