Thursday, October 14, 2010

Hooray for Jeff Lewis!

Hallelujah, children! We can all breathe a deep sigh of real estate relief. It only took 2.5 years, two seasons of Flipping Out, and more price chopping than goes on at Benihana's on a bizzy Saturday night, but reality tee-vee's favorite obsessive-compulsive house flipper Jeff Lewis has finally–finally!–unloaded his personal residence in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles for $2,325,000.

The two-story 3,024 square foot hillside house located at the tail end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the star studded Oaks neighborhood served as the home of Mister Lewis and his sassy housekeeper Zoila as well as his office where he teased, berated, and sometimes humiliated his staff while the Flipping Out cameras rolled.

Property records reveal that the gated 1960s post and beam contemporary was purchased in March of 2007 for $1,710,000. The plan then was for him and his then b.f.f. and bizness partner–that would be nice gay interior decorator Ryan Brown–to give the place the ol' Jeff Lewis stamp and flip it back on the market with a huge mark up. It sounds sort of silly now, this huge mark up thing, but back in the mid-2000s flipping houses at huge profits was easy money, particularly in LaLa Land where home buyers were foaming at the mouth with fear that if they didn't act fast–and pay a premium–they would soon be priced out of the market and unable to buy a house.

Anyhoo, Misters Lewis and Brown first listed the 3 bedroom and 3.5 pooper property–which has what listing information once called a "diva walk-in closet–back in April of 2008 with an obviously optimistic asking price of $3,195,000. Your Mama dissed and discussed the rehabbed residence when it was listed at $2,995,000.

Sometime in late 2008 or early 2009, the two men publicly parted ways under less than amicable terms–while the Flipping Out cameras rolled–and shortly after their professional dee-vorce sole ownership of the property was shifted over to Mister Lewis. Many more price reductions–and even a price increase–followed and at least two deals swirled down the real estate terlit until September of 2009 when the asking price bottomed out at $2,295,000. By June of 2010 the asking price had, somewhat inexplicably crept back up to $2,495,000.

One wonder if in this still sagging real estate climate if Mister Lewis will settle into one of the apartments in one of his investment properties in order to save to dough, buy a permanent home for him and his housekeeper, or if he'll buy and live temporarily in a house he intends to flip. Whatever he chooses to do, chances are we'll see it played out on the next season of Flipping Out.

17 comments:

Elaine Benes said...

Mama, I've never commented before but my excitement over Jeff Lewis and his residence brought me out of hiding. Please, oh please, tell me you watch Flipping Out? I'm completely addicted. It combines my greatest loves, real estate and reality TV, into one!

Keep up the good work around here. The children rely on you!

Anonymous said...

You've GOT to love Jeff! He's absolutely nuts and so much fun to watch. I have to agree though Mama, he does need some color. You would think as dramatic as he is that would translate, at least partially to the decor. Much love Mama - keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

1. I wonder when it will be MORE de rigueur in Tinseltown to be gay than to be straight. So far it isn't better to be gay but it looks as if it may be trending in that direction. Think how many people will be able to relax and be themselves when that comes about.

2. Mama, your writing is so wunnerful it seems very mean to correct your grammar, but...well, I just must. You need to use the objective HIM after the preposition FOR in the following cases, which are too complex grammatically to bother to explain.

"for HIM and his b.f.f."

"for HIM and his housekeeper"

Unknown said...

Thanks MAMA! You'll have to keep us updated if he ends up buying another property.

StPaulSnowman said...

If you look very closely........you can see the whitefly.

miss margo said...

I bitched out my teenage granddaughter last week with profuse use of the word moron...she looked at me and said "You are just like Jeff Lewis Grammy..." Best compliment I ever had...

Anonymous said...

Not a bad price for LA and that house.

Anonymous said...

There is nothing to love about Jeff Lewis. There is not one honest word out of his mouth. Everything is a calculated move, word, twitch. He is an embarrasment to Television, The Flipper community, he clearly doesn't belong in the design community so we won't list him in that area. He is beyond help. Thankfully, we will soon be rid of him. The train wreck has to be coming to an end.

StPaulSnowman said...

It's 10:57PM and Ryan really should be in bed! The niggling, imperfect, mean-spirited Jeff Lewis is simply delightful and many of us revel in his dysfunction. Compared to the grotesque, bleached harpies who premiered last night on Bravo, Jeff gets the Self-realization Fellowship award. I just wish he would show up on the HBO series, "In Treatment". That would be a show to watch.

Babe Parish said...

LET'S GET WITH THE PATOIS HERE!

re: "He is an embarrasment to Television"

HAA! That is funny. Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Bill O'Reilly make Mr. Lewis look like JFK, Jr..

"Ryan 10:57", we're really sorry for still liking Jeff. We like you, too!

(Anon 12:18, feel free to correct my grammar and punctuation- I could use a good lashing with your red pen. ;) )

Babe "Botwin me on the bar" Parish

lil' gay boy said...

Even those of the highest aspirations cannot resist a gruesome tableau.

It's one thing to slow down on the freeway to eyeball a hideous car crash, but to follow slavishly, season after season, the Jeff Lewis train wreck strikes me as a tad prurient.

Always with the pendulum at either extreme, he's sure to entertain; but more than an episode here & there leaves me with the same queasiness I felt when I first discovered my parents still had sex.

Ew.

I must say I got more than the giggles at picturing Snowman's crossover concept, Jeff Lewis: In Treatment.

Anonymous said...

Good for Mr. Lewis! He's such a nasty b**ch but so much fun to watch...Like many viewers, I sometimes have to ask "what the hell does he do? Is he a designer, a general contractor, a real estate investor? He seems to be all three but he does such little jobs that I can't believe he's all that rich. Hence why he had to sell this house and not keep it long term? Even if only for modestly more than he paid for it -and probably at a lost, once you factor in his own improvements.

Lastly, not sure how many of the fans/childrend would know this -Mr. Lewis wears a toupee. That's right -that beautiful thick hair on top of his head is a piece, or a 'hair system' rather -once you spend what he spent, that's what you have to call it.

Needsum Mirkinglue said...

That could not possibly be a hairpiece. With that much botox in the region there wouldn't be enough muscle tone to hold it in place.

SFgayboy said...

I used to like Jeff Lewis in maybe the first season. But each year he became meaner and more abusive and childish to his staff and others. He's not funny at all. He's boring, and way to full of himself.

I can't stand his puffed up lips either.

Trace is a little doll. I wonder why he puts up with Jeff.

Jeff is the kind of queen who really believes his s**t doesnt stink.

Anonymous said...

While I couldn't work for Jeff Lewis, I sure love his show!

Beautiful house!

Anonymous said...

It has become increasingly clear to me that those that don't like Jeff Lewis are either: A) Ryan (or those connected to him) or B) those who just don't get his sense of humor.

Anonymous said...

anon 12:57 -i think you're right about the hairpiece...in one episode where they were talking about Jeff having a bioligical child, I think Ryan suggested if it were Jeff's son, he would have to 'wear a wig' too.