Investor who bought Kanye's Malibu home makes lowball offer for Diddy's 'Freak Off' mansion
There's been a $30 million offer on Sean Combs' Los Angeles mansion.
The home, listed for $61.5 million, was searched by the feds, who found "freak off" supplies there.
The lowball offer comes from the same real estate investor who purchased Kanye West's Malibu house.
After more than two months on the market, Sean "Diddy" Combs' Los Angeles mansion has received an offer — and from someone who seems to have a penchant for buying up the homes of hip-hop moguls.
Bo Belmont, the founder of Belwood Investments, offered $30 million for the Holmby Hills mansion, according to a press release. That's less than half of its $61.5 million asking price. The firm has plans for "major renovations," it said in the release.
The real-estate agent representing Combs declined to comment about the offer to Business Insider.
Combs purchased the house in 2014 for $39 million. It is 17,000 square feet, sits on 1.3 acres, and features a wine cellar, gym, theater, basketball court, sauna, and swimming pool, according to the listing. The listing does not show any interior photographs of the home.
The home was searched in March by federal agents, who "seized various Freak Off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant" from his residences, including this one, the indictment against Combs says.
The mansion is in one of Los Angeles' richest neighborhoods, known for its proximity to Beverly Hills and large lots. The Spelling Estate, just down the road, is on the market for $137.5 million.
The home was put on the market just weeks before Combs' September arrest on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty and repeatedly denied committing sexual assault.
"I want to remove the stigma and focus on the charming elegance of this remarkable property," Belmont said in the release.
Belmont's low-ball offer may not be entirely related to Diddy's legal woes. Luxury real estate in Los Angeles is currently experiencing a major slump, Beverly Hills agent Rochelle Atlas Maize told BI.
"Homes between $15 and $60 million are having a really difficult time," Maize said. "The list at $61.5 million is already kind of high."
Given Diddy's home's "dated" features, Maize estimates it is probably worth between $40 million and $50 million.
Still, the home is one of Combs' largest remaining liquid assets.
Since a series of civil lawsuits was filed against the musician last year, Diddy's business empire has taken hit after hit.
That makes his real estate assets increasingly important. In addition to his Los Angeles home, Combs owns a mansion on Miami's Star Island worth about $48 million, according to assessments submitted as part of a bail package. The home has been offered as collateral in Combs' requests to be released from jail.
Combs owns a private jet, too, which he is trying to offload.
Belwood made headlines earlier this year for purchasing Kanye West's gutted Malibu home, designed by starchitect Tadao Ando. The firm bought the house for $21 million, a significant discount on the asking price of $39 million.
The company allows individual investors to provide capital through an app to purchase properties. They become trustees on those properties until the homes are flipped and resold, at which point they get a piece of the profits. Through the app, individual investors can comment on the renovations.
Combs' home's reputation won't sink its value long-term, Maize said.
She pointed to another scandal-ridden Los Angeles home, the Menendez brothers' seven-bedroom Mediterranean-style villa in Beverly Flats, where the infamous 1989 murder of their parents took place.
The home languished for years on the market before finding a buyer in 1991. Maize, who was personally shopping for homes in Los Angeles at the time, said she wouldn't step foot near it.
"You couldn't give that house away, and now it's like the hottest ticket in town," Maize said, adding that crowds have formed outside the home following the release of Ryan Murphy's Netflix show "Monsters," which depicts the famous trial.
She predicts that the same turn-around will eventually happen for the Diddy mansion.
"It's all negative now, but the smart money knows it's always 'location, location, location,'" Maize said. "Somebody savvy will take the opportunity. It's not a bad play."
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