Friday, November 16, 2007

Slash Sues

Gossip juggernaut TMZ is reporting that Guns and Roses guitarist Slash (real name Saul Hudson) and his wife Perla are suing real estate agent Greg Holcomb–and the Sothebys International Realty brokerage to which he is affiliated–who represented the couple in the purchase of a house high in the Hollywood Hills back in December of 2005.

Then, in the Spring of 2006 Slash quietly filed for dee-vorce.

According to one of our sources, the couple purchased the house back in December of 2005 for $6,250,000,. By the Spring of 2007, the house, which looms over de-lovely Drew Barrymore's little compound, was back on the market for $6,995,000. The sprawling 5 bedroom and 6.5 bathroom house has languished on the market and is currently listed with an asking price of $5,995,999, or for lease (with option to buy) at $50,000 per month. Yes puppies, you read that correctly, it is now listed for less than they paid.

The lawsuit alleges that the agent (and the MLS listing itself) misrepresented the size of the house, told them the house was on a private and gated street (it is in fact a gated street, but it does not appear to be a private street), and that there were issues with the title on the property about which the agent should have alerted the Hudsons. According to the suit, the Hudsons were also unhappy with the lack of parking because they like to have a lot of people over to entertain and need space for them to park their vehicles.

We can't speak on the more technical aspects of the allegations, but it would seem to Your Mama's pea brain that Mister and Missus Hudson should have been well aware of how much or how little parking there was at the property. Certainly they visited the property and checked out the parking situation before signing on the dotted line for a $6,250,000 property, didn't they?

Because, the Hudson's $1,000,000+ suit declares, Mister Holcomb did not properly represent the property or disclose alleged issues that might negatively impact the desirability of the property, the couple have suffered "grief, shame, humiliation, embarrassment, anger, worry, disappointment, nervousness, stomach disorders, backaches, loss of appetite and inability to concentrate on work." Oh dear.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

they are upset because they WAY OVERPAID !!!!!!!! they probally wanted to flip it and make an extra 2MM, did not happen;

let the lawsuits begin !!!!!! soon agents are going to have to give back 80% of their commissions...........

this is going to be a wild year.......

Anonymous said...

oh average joe you're an idiot. sorry i don't mean to poke fingers, but you keep writing all this weird shit here that doesn't make sense.

yes, the market is declining, and it may in fact tank like you so gleefully predict. BUT...

real estate agents are not going to have to "give back 80% of their commissions" because a buyer might have overpaid for a house. If a buyer thought they were overpaying for the house, they shouldn't have bought the house, should they?

"oh judge, I'm so unhappy because my real estate agent FORCED me to over pay for a house I did not want and now I want him/or her to compensate me for the value my house has lost in a declining market."

give me a break.

wise up dude.

Besides, the issues alleged in the hudson's lawsuit have nothing to do with whether the Hudsons feel they overpaid or not. Are they just sore that they can't get what they paid for a house they no longer want? could be.

But you'll note that you can't sue for that without being laughed out of a courtroom.

Anonymous said...

This is why realtors are "vilified".

Anonymous said...

time will tell.......

Anonymous said...

Kitty Boots:

You have a point; no more negative news from me;


We can get that from CNN;

Anonymous said...

thank you kitty and thank you average joe. anon 8:06, please follow joe's lead.
Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like sleazy Agent Jan Horn, at Coldwell Banker would do. He's a sneaky one Mama,the childrens and Seller should watch out. Verify and get referrences.

Cameron J. Awesome said...

There's this thing called due-diligence... I would assume that Slash and his team of lawyers/representatives would look into issues of title, parking and square footage (appraisal, anyone?).

It's not like this is a case of a developer misrepresenting the size of a property. instead, it's the backhanded complaints of a lazy man who didn't properly investigate his property before purchase. Now, he's crying over spilled milk (or million dollars... whatever). We'll see what happens, but I hope he has to pay their legal fees.

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Anonymous said...

Is this the SAME HOUSE that I just saw on the E True Hollywood Stories "Rock Star Wives" episode the other day? Mrs. Slash talked about how great the rock-star perks are, and used that house as proof. They are divorced already? That show is dated 2007!

Anonymous said...

And the Jan Horn hater returns...must be a slow day at the 7-11 where they work.

Anonymous said...

There are people lurking in my bushes!

Anonymous said...

This place was on the market for close to a year and the offers are very low.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't that house on the show "Starting Over"?

Anonymous said...

HELP!

Anonymous said...

he should have taken an econ 101 course at some point in his life and then he would have been able to realize a bubble when he sees one.


You were supposed to SELL your mcMansions in 2005. Who's gonna catch that falling knife?

I wonder if he financed it with a Neg-am Jumbo?

Anonymous said...

Hey kitty boots I have been thinking, why are you calling me an idiot ?

I am just sharing information that is real at this moment.

btw do you have a lic ? I have 2 in NY and LA, do you really know what you are talking about ? or are you a jerkoff and a buffoon, and using the word DUDE tells me that you are !!!!

Anonymous said...

Kitty Boots, you should work for a broker for a week, maybe then you will change your tune............

Anonymous said...

Ironically, the current listing for this property still states that it is sited on a "private, gated road"...the defense in this case should present this to the judge and have it laughed out of court, since they and their current realtor are apparently trying to perpetrate the same "fraud" on the next unsuspecting buyer that they claim was perpetrated on them...what nerve!

Anonymous said...

No doom and gloom, just facts. Until median income in Los Angeles reaches approx. $125000 a year there is no way these housing prices in this area can sustain. Standard housing affordability formula, $125000 * 4 =$500,000 and by the way I'm being aggressive, the old school of thought is 2.5. This is not rocket science you can't buy a home that is ten times your earnings and service the debt, not gonna happen.

In the beginning.... banks set a standard, if you don't have a 50% down payment, we're not going to give you a mortgage. U.S. Government steps in and says, oh come on, 20% down and we'll make sure you get the loan, great. Bank says fine but you can't borrow more than 2.5 times the amount of income you make per year on any purchase, seems fair. New school 20th century savings and loan lenders comes on board and say, that's too old school let's make it a 4:1 ration, take your monthly gross divide by 4, you can afford a payment 25% of your monthly gross, no problem (note - send a memo to fed “quick drop the rates”). 21st century lenders with all that baby boomer pension money comes to the table and says 4:1 is way too conservative, this is the NEW United States 3.5:1 or 30% to 35% of your monthly income is a much more realistic ratio, send memo to fed “quick, Mr. Fed can you lower the rates again just a little”. New bond fund lender/Mortgage Broker/Banker comes in and says way too conservative, 50% of your gross, nothing down, no problem, we’ll get you da cash, but we would like to see your paycheck stub. And that brings us to the Millennium lender of the 21st century, "Just tell us how much you make, we trust you". Ok nice real estate lady with the gold jacket, what's your next play?

Anonymous said...

Question;

There is a house in BH for 1.2MM on the MLS, the exact same place was selling for 200k in 1998.

Why ?

So the median for a house in BH is 1.2MM ?

Anonymous said...

No question some people overpay for property, and no question some people are going to be in trouble with their mortgages... this has been the case since people have bought property or anything for that matter.

If you look over the long term though, these houses are looking at even greater appreciation - as long as people can afford for that long.

By the way, anyone can list their house at $10M, but that doesn't mean they are going to get it. I will say, there must be 1,000's of homes that sold in 1998 for $200k that are worth at least $1M more now

Anonymous said...

a house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

all the crooked real estate agents and all the fraudulent lenders in the world can't collude and MAKE someone buy an overpriced house.

the price of houses skyrocketed because people were willing to pay such ridiculously high prices.

now people are not so willing. so the prices will decline. what goes up must come down.

but to imagine that a person can blame anyone other than themselves for buying house they can't really afford or using a loan they don't understand is ludicrous.

if you bought a house that is worth less than you want it to be or is worth less than you paid, well, shit happens. guess it's time to hang on to it until the market recovers.

oh, unless you're one of those bitter betty's who think it's more appropriate to blame and sue your real estate agent or mortgage broker for FORCING you buy an overpriced house.

when are people going to take personal responsibility for their real estate purchases rather than blame everyone else for their bad choices?

Anonymous said...

Higher standards are needed for realtors. Not just a few weeks of school. High school drop outs are smarter than some of these realtors.

I dont think its much to ask that a realtor at least have a bachelors degree in basket weaving.

I was just meeting with a 30 something realtor. He did not even know how to use a computer. Fuck, come on. i asked if he had finished high school. He refused to answer the question.

REALTORS = The last chance profession.

Anonymous said...

realtors = worse than car salesmen, don't trust them.

Anonymous said...

oh that's just absurd.

people who think all real estate people are sleazy are probably people who have never been able to afford to buy a house.

i have bought and sold many houses and have used several realtors who were smart (college educated even), upstanding, decent and honorable people.

real estate people are really just the go betweens anyway. when you buy a house, you have an engineer look at the place, a title company looks at the ownership, any trades people like plumbers electricians and etc. are hired to look for defects and problems. realtors merely faciliate that process.

if you bought a house from a realtor who duped you, well, you should been smarter, shouldn't you?

let me give you a tip...real estates treat people the way they are treated...you want a realtor to treat you right...well then treat a realtor with some respect.

treat them like shit, well, shit in shit out.

so while all you people feel like you're being rail roaded by realtors, I'm calling my lovely realtor lady and going to snap up a few investment properties.

Anonymous said...

I agree this realtor criticism is absurd...

That's like saying every construction worker is lazy. There are hard workers who do a brilliant job, and there are those who need to choose a different profession.

Great expertise in real estate can be hard to come by, and believe me, the best realtors are worth every penny of their commission.

Anonymous said...

rephrase, some of the realtors from BH and NY are sleazy;

btw Randy the Roto Rooter you are going to buy now ? are you retarded ?
or are you going to offer them 50% of the asking price ?

Anonymous said...

Here's the news item from the Arizona Republic: "Phoenix Suns star Amaré Stoudemire has purchased Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart's Ahwatukee home for $1.9 million. That's about $500,000 less than what Leinart paid for it last year."

More: "Leinart put the 6,800-square-foot home on the market in June for $2.4 million after he moved to a $2.3 million home in a gated community that real-estate agents have nicknamed 'the Beverly Hills of Chandler.' But the real-estate slowdown has hit everyone, and the home sat on the market."

Matt makes slightly more than the median income in Phoenix: The Republic reports Leinart "could make $50.8 million on his six-year contract."

Anonymous said...

Found the true value in todays market; 1997 prices

TOLD YOU SO !!!!!!!!!!

What was your house worth in 1997?
When John Talbott figures how far prices have to fall, he figures they'll return to 1997 levels, since that was the year in which many of the aggressive lending practices—like interest-only mortgages—really began to take off.

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking about buying a couple properties now as well..

and no, I'm not retarded or going to offer 50% of the asking price (because that would be a big waste of everyone's time).

Rates are still historically low. Buying property is a LONG TERM INVESTMENT.

Anonymous said...

The sky is falling!!!

Average joe... do you own anything?

if not, it sounds like you never will because by the time housing hits the lowest you will have already missed the boat and it'll be going back up.

Taking everything the news has said about housing as fact has obviously already cost you a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Anonymous said...

I missed out on the low market, I am waiting for it to drop by 80% or better yet 1997 prices and then I will buy.

I had thought that it would have gone up at teh most 50% from 2000 prices not 400-1500%.

If I had known that a starbucks employee could buy a 1MM house I would have bought 10 homes.

What can I say I was an idiot.....

Anonymous said...

Hollywood Mayor, you are right but you are buying them at the year 2100 prices,
real estate tops at an average of 100% every 10 years, 5% a year is the average profit margin in a healthy market.

So what happened, it went to 2100 prices in 5 years ?

The banks are writing off billions in bad loans, they are ready to write off 2 trillion in future loans, and you are ready to buy ?

A football star lost 500k in a year trying to flip his place.

What do I know .... go for it....

Anonymous said...

Typo; I meant the market is supposed to appreciate at 10% a year in a healthy market.

Anonymous said...

I am not going to buy 2 estates for the price of 20.

Anonymous said...

AZ is a much different market... the market I know is LA. Where do you live?

How do you explain Courtney Cox and David Arquette making $20M in 2 years on their Malibu house? What about Larry Ellison spending over $200 million on property?

If you wait forever you will miss out yet again. Get on the monopoly board average joe!

Anonymous said...

that was 2 years ago, a lot has changed.

Anonymous said...

I am live on sunset plaza/hollywood hills, in CA, I am currently renting, I think I am doing the right thing.

btw I have never seen news like this before.

"CNN"

The mortgage wipeout could result in a $2 trillion cutback in lending and have dramatic implications for the U.S. economy, according to Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs.

The housing slump is expected to end up costing banks, hedge funds and other lenders an estimated $400 billion as defaults on home loans rise, according to Goldman economist Jan Hatzius.

A $400 billion loss is equal to just about 2.5 percent of U.S. stock market capitalization - or a bad day on Wall Street, he wrote in a commentary on Thursday.

Anonymous said...

To all of you financial geniuses out there, when the market drops by 4000 points, will a 65MM estate be worth 5MM ? or do you think the owners will hold on to it until such a time so they can get 65MM for it.

Anonymous said...

and I am talking about the stock market, lotta negative CNN news today; they say the bears are back;

Anonymous said...

average joe said...
What can I say I was an idiot.....

update "was" typo to "am"

BTW, this is not an investment blog. Anyway, smart people buy the right house and they can improve and make money. Buy the wrong house regardless of when and expect to loose money. R/E investing is more common sense than trolling CNN..yawn.
Listen to the hollywood mayor.

Unknown said...

If either Slash or Perla had been sober when they signed the purchase contract maybe they would have known what they were buying.
Take responsibility for your actions and STOP WHINING!

Anonymous said...

Idiots who buy houses after taking one look at the property deserve what they get. You have to check the place out nights, weekends and workdays to see the traffic/parking
conditions. Is it near a school? How is the traffic noise? Who are the neighbors? People who buy homes on impulse generally are unhappy later on(unless the value of the home goes way up after the purchase). Slash will get nothing if he goes to trial, but some insurance company might pay something to avoid litigation costs. If he gets anything, it will be peanuts, in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

I agree with 11/20 Anonymous, and furthermore, in the court of public opinion, Slash loses in every way.

So I say, Slash, dump this line of thinking/suing, before you end up looking like a bigger tool than Axl.

Unknown said...

Slash needs to dump his wife, she has his balls in her purse.

Anonymous said...

AS A REAL ESTATE AGENT MYSELF I AM APPALLED THAT ANYONE...FAMOUS OR NOT HAS THE BALLS TO SUE A REALTOR OVER THE LOSS IN VALUE IN TODAY'S ECONOMIC DOWNTURN..IS PROPOSTEROUS. IF SLASH OR ANYONE ELSE BOUGHT AND SOLD AND MADE A PROFIT AND A REALTOR TRIED TO SUE FOR PROCURING CAUSE..THEY WOULD BE SCREEMING FOUL..THINK ABOUT IT...HAD THE MARKET NOT DIED..WOULD THEY BE CRYING..HELL NO.AND THEY SURE WOULDN'T BE SHARING THEIR GAINS WITH THE REALTOR WHO SOLD THEM THE PROPERTY. GIVE US A BREAK..FIRST OF ALL..NOT ONE REALTOR CAN POSSIBLE BE HELD LIABLE FOR TITLE ISSUES....WE REPRESENT THE SALE..NOT THE TITLE OF A PROPERTY.GOOD LUCK SLASH..HAD YOU PUT MORE MORAL STANDING OR VALUES INTO YOUR MARRIAGE THEN YOU WOULDN'T NEED A SCAPE GOAT FOR THE DOWNTURN IN THE ECONOMIC SITUATION..YOU AND YOUR WIFE WOULD BE LIVING HAPPILY EVER AFTER IN THE HOME YOU OWNED FOR OVER 2 YRS. IF YOU TRIED TO SELL IT IN 06 BEFORE YOU GOT DIVORCED..YOU'D BE BITCHING ABOUT YOUR WIFE GETTING HALF OF THE OVERINFLATED PROFIT YOU WOULD HAVE MADE DUE TO THE "GOOD MARKET" NOW YOU WANT TO BLAME A REALTOR FOR THE BAD...AND BY THE WAY...YOU BOUGHT TITLE INSURANCE RIGHT....GO AFTER THE TITLE CLAIM...THAT'S WHAT COVERS ANY DISCREPANCY'S IN TITLE ISSUES..NOT REALTORS. WE HAVE DISCLOSURE LAWS..AND IF THE SELLER DIDN'T DISCLOSE WE CAN'T BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR IT UNLESS IT'S BEEN DISCLOSED TO US. OR OUT IN THE OPEN FOR US TO KNOW. EVERY HEARD OF THE TERM DUE DILLEGENCE?