Sunday, December 16, 2007

Frankie Muniz Selling Again

SELLER: Frankie Muniz
LOCATION: N. Wetherly Drive, Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $3,875,000
SIZE: 4,200-ish square feet, 5 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Secluded & gated gorgeous trad'l 5 bd & 4 ba family hm located off the prestigious lower Doheny Drive. A Stephen Moore design completely upgraded w/ the finest of materials. Open flr plan leads to pl & spa w/ outdr FP. Lrg master ste has pitched ceils, skylights, 2 large W/I closets & stunning bath w/ infinity tub. Full surround sound system. New fire sprinkler system. Beautiful landscaping thru-out and romantic viewing deck w/ striking city views.

YOUR MAMA NOTES: Child actor, race car driver and budding bad boy Frankie Muniz has once again listed a house in the Hollywood Hills for sale. Little Mister Muniz, who has grown to be a young man of 22 with a somewhat bulked up body dotted with tattoos, is of course best known for his role as the precocious and baby-faced kid on Malcolm in the Middle and then later as the lead in the Agent Cody Banks film franchise. The 22 year old young man has made many million of dollars in his few years on earth, and he's known for freely spending his wads of cash on rare automobiles and pricey real estate.

It was celebrity real estate doyenne Ruth Ryon in her Hot Properties column at the LA Times this week who announced that Mister Muniz (who prefers his name be pronounced me-YOO-nez, thank you very much) has listed his N. Wetherly Drive crib for $3,875,000. Property records indicate that Mister Muniz, who has been nominated for but not won an Emmy and two Golden Globes (always a bridesmaid never a bride, poor thing), purchased the 4,200-ish square foot, five bedroom and  4.5bathroom house in January of 2006 for $3,499,000.

It appears from the photos that in addition to race cars, real estate and tattoos, Mister Muniz also has an interest in art. While Your Mama would never want a cartoony portrait of Marilyn Monroe in the kitchen (unless it was a Warhol, bien sur) or have Mick Jagger's wizened visage stare down guests in the guest room, we would like to commend Mister Muniz for expanding his intellectual and decorating horizons to include actual "art" in his home, even if the majority of it is not work Your Mama can easily appreciate.

Out back, the petite but well appointed yard includes a plunge pool, in-ground spa and a lovely trellised patio area with an outdoor fireplace, which looks like the perfect spot to get slowly and comfortably drunk on a nippy December night with a roaring fire to keep the chill out of Your Mama's bones.

Listing information indicates there is also a "romantic viewing deck" which Your Mama presumes is up that wooden staircase that climbs the side of the steep hillside in the back yard. We can imagine being up there with a loved one and a bottle of very expensive champagne looking over the lights of the city laid out like a glittering carpet below could be very helpful for getting two people in the luvvin' mood. However, Your Mama would need a damn breathing apparatus and 40 minutes just to haul our fat ass up all those stairs, which would surely put a damper on the moment, wouldn't it?

Although he may be only 22 years old, this is hardly Mister Muniz's first time at the real estate fair. Oh no, children. Put on your thinking caps kids and see if you can follow. As a teenager, the well paid and hard working child actor reportedly owned a mansion in Brentwood, where it's probably safe to assume he lived with his parents. He reportedly then moved to a "more practical" home in Encino before he started buying up dee-luxe real estate in the Hollywood Hills. First there was a 4,500 square foot Spanish style villa on Doheny Drive that included a 10 car motor court and a 5 car garage. In mid-2004, while still in possession of the Doheny Drive house, he purchased a contemporary sci-fi confection up on Blue Jay Way with staggering views, sliding walls of glass and a front door operated with fingerprint recognition software. He quickly sold both of these houses in mid-2005 (the Doheny Drive house was famously sold to Miss Halle Berry) and, as we mentioned above, in June 2006 the mini mogul purchased his current residence on N. Wetherly Drive.

If Mister Muniz's real estate buying history tells us anything, it would be that he's likely already identified and perhaps even purchased his next home. Whatever the case, Your Mama looks forward to seeing where the child actor who seems to be successfully making the transition to adult actor lands next.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

5 bdr, 4 bth, seperate living & family rm, dining rm & lg eat in kitchen, in 2k sq ft?
reminds me of the circus act where 25 clowns get out of the vw.

luke220 said...

I believe that this is West Hollywood, 90069. I think he'll be lucky to get his money out of it.

Anonymous said...

Some friends who live at the Eastern Columbia told me Muniz bought a loft in the building. I have no idea if it's true (and I can't understand why anyone would trade the Strip for Downtown) but it's what I heard.

Anonymous said...

Is the Sqft correct?

It doesn't look that small, check out the online tour ... For the area the price is about right, extremely good location & pretty good size for your hollywood single guy or gal ... Many people, especially the people drawn to this area tend to want homely over stately ...

Anonymous said...

Not to sound like the bitter old queen agents on this blog but if I believed every celebrity buying at EC story, they could rename it the SAG building.

I think it has become the tool of desperate EC agents to look over a potential buyer and come up with a celebrity name that they think the buyer would want to ride the elevator with. lol

Anonymous said...

The pool is lovely and the outdoor fireplace is charming - which is good because the interior decor - oh, my Gawd!

Big Gay Decorator took one look at those blue drum tables and had to retire to the back room with a damp cloth on his head.

Anonymous said...

No politics and religion today. I can't begin to tell you how many people I've shocked and offended over the years on these subjects. I think this actor was as cute as a bug on that tv show. I don't think I've seen him in anything else. So I see this house and there's a huge disconnect. Anyway my comment is about art and windows. I love the big art pieces, not my choice, but size and color is so good. Next I like the size of the uncovered windows in relation to the art pieces. They look like art pieces themselves, changing with the time and season. And last the walls, floor, and lighting are perfect for showcasing art and views. The furniture is beside the point.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Muniz has it going on! He’s growing into becoming a calculated, serious real estate investor. I’m sure he'll stay the course. Good for him. I’m also impressed by his appreciation of art – canvas, wood, and otherwise. This house gives his carefully chosen pieces room to breath. My best wishes for his continued success and prosperity. This is a nice story. Thanks Mama!

Anonymous said...

Re the sf: LA County parcel viewer site has it at 1972 sf with 2BR 2BA, which sounds right. So unless they subdivided all the BRs and BAs, the house has to be substantially larger now to have 5BR 4BA. Plus even on the Strip that would be a crazy price for only 2000sf!

Anonymous said...

I agree with anon 9:39...

I wish I had a nickel for everytime I've heard about a celeb buying in the EC building... those units have been for sale for the past 2 years or so!

Funny how every celebrity and their mom are jumping now...

Anonymous said...

5 bedrooms and 4 four bathrooms in 2,000 sq ft? Kudos to the architect! How did he/she ever manage to do it???? No living room? No dining room? I live in 3,100 sq ft and it barely fits 3 bed, 3 baths, 2 living rooms 1 kitchen, 1 breakfast nook, 1 dining room, 1 florida room!

Anonymous said...

One of my closer gossip mongers told me its not 5 bedrooms, its 3 plus an office that could serve as a bedroom. And apparentl its closer to 2700 SF. Why do some realtors list a home claiming more bedrooms than exist? The worst of the lot seems to be in Manhattan, where there is no shortage of brokers claiming a 2nd bedroom where anyone with two eyes would see a small dining alcove. Anway... this house has a lot of curb appeal (and so does Frankie!). Its also located on a very nice street, which, BTW, is in the city of Los Angeles, not WeHo as someone else guessed. Despite the very small back yard, and mudslide-waiting-to-happen hillside, I would love to call it home myself.

Anonymous said...

I've been through the house, and it has not held up well. It was a very half-assed flip when he bought it. This was not a smart investment like the properties on Doheny and Blue Jay. Great location and street, but not a great house.

Anonymous said...

You all are crazy. This house is fabulous! And just so all you know it alls are clear is about 4000 feet. Ive walked through it myself. The design is stunning. It had an amazing floor plan w/ four fireplaces including one outside and one in the master. the backyard was charming and no detail was spared on the inside. It had top of the line appliances and beautiful finishes.

If I could afford this house I would have bought it for sure.

Ill tell you - if anyone is in the market to be in the most coveted part of the Sunset Strip this is a house you definitely want to see.

Happy Holidays to all.

Anonymous said...

Are those bamboo floors? I must admit to being sick of them. This house is very suburban.

Anonymous said...

I heard he's moving to Arizona, but haven't seen any real evidence yet. Has anyone else heard this as well?

Anonymous said...

the house is 4000 sq ft. it was 2000 in it's original state, before the entire upstairs was added (this house was a single level when built). GORGEOUS home, i've toured it personally.