Thursday, April 14, 2011

UPDATE: Nic Cage

Earlier today an east coast informant with a distinguished-sounding surname directed Your Mama to an earlier report that announced that fat-living, Academy Award-winning and financially-embattled actor Nic Cage has finally, at long last, sold another of his real estate white elephants at a bone-chilling financial loss.

In July of 2007, when Mister Cage thought his bank accounts were still coming up roses, he shelled out $15,700,000 for Gray Craig, a 26.77 acre estate in Middletown, RI near the opulent Golden Age sea side enclave of Newport. It wasn't long before the hair-challenged actor's financial fish went rotten and just over a year later he flipped the staid 24,664 square foot brick and stone manor house back on the market with an asking price of $15,900,000.

As time passed Mister Cage lost several of his many properties to foreclosure, sold others at terrifying financial losses and steadily slashed the price tag of the colossal 10 bedroom Gray Craig that includes a dozen bedrooms and 10 full and 3 half bathrooms.

Now brace yourselves butter beans and open your ears for all the Real Estate Chicken Littles out there who will bang pots and cheer with vindication when they learn that after two and a half long years on (and off) the market Mister Cage's baronial estate was finally sold for just $6,200,000. A few flicks of the beads of Your Mama's long-suffering abacus shows that's a pocketbook-punishing and stomach-churning $9,700,000 loss. If we run the beads on our abacus another way, we determine that Mister Cage took in less than 40 cents for every dollar he paid for the posh property almost four years earlier. Ouch!

The buyers, according to property records and a previous report in the Providence Business News, are Pamela and Andrew Constantine of Forestdale, MA who plan to rent the property as a vacation home when they are not using the 1924 brick and stone manor house.

Mister Cage has owned and sold (or lost) homes in various parts of the globe including (but not limited to) San Francisco, Las Vegas, Malibu, New Orleans, Bel Air (Los Angeles), Hancock Park (also Los Angeles), New York City, the U.K., Germany and the Caribbean where he owned–and may still own–a private island.

listing photo: Lila Delman Real Estate

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mama, you can have no idea how much it warms my heart to hear of the financial misfortunes of once super-rich celebrities. Not that they don't deserve them; they do. And letting the world know is simply manna from heaven. I really think you should compile a book of these disasters. I think it would sell very well indeed. Schadenfreude and all that, you know.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm.... still a depressing story.
The Aussie

Anonymous said...

It's really, really sad that anyone would be happy
about anyone's misfortune. All I can say to you is
"Karma" baby.

Anonymous said...

40 cents on the dollar....Cage should have asked Tim Geithner to sell that shack for him. Lil' Tim is an expert at getting 100 cents on the dollar (for the Super Rich).

Lady J

Jeannified said...

I second that!

StPaulSnowman said...

Those buyers got a really good deal on this great old house. The design is stunning and the grounds immaculate. The high roof makes me wonder what wonderful spaces must be up there. The interiors were magnificent in the photos I saw B.C., but who knows what atrocities he hath wrought. I would definitely consider collecting empty bottle deposits to pay for a summer rental. I suspect LGB has rented it for the entire upcoming season.

stPaulSnowman said...

After looking at multiple interior photos on the Pricey Pads website.........I am cancelling my rental plans. The acres of sponging and scumble wall finishes and the attic wreck room would be intolerable.

Anonymous said...

i think that anyone who enjoys other people misfortunes is sick. Even though Nic Cage had multiple homes, there are tons of people facing the loss of their only homes. At a certain age, getting another home becomes more and more difficult. While I am sure that he will recover, he wasn't snorting his fortune up his nose or paying for armloads of "goddesses". People must be forgetting the profits that others were making buying and selling homes, crazy amounts of money. For the most part he really only purchased amazingly beautiful properties, maybe he overpaid, who knows. I am sorry that he continues to lose money hand over fist. Nic Cage is/was paid a lot of money because his films earn a lot of money. There are a ton of people that are actors that make no money, it's a huge risk just to be in that industry. I find it horrific that the only people bailed out by the tarp money were the people on wall street, who created this mess. They are the one's who do not create anything themselves but find it necessary to bonus themselves highly, betting on other people who create businesses. This economy has paralyzed business everywhere and things are tight, I do not care what the news says. I do not see how laughing at Nic Cage makes anyone feel better. Rip on bad architecture and decor, bad taste even! I wish I could have seen photos of the inside of Gray Craig... my word verification is "skiessem": What you get after hearing about Wall Street raping of America

Anonymous said...

Video of interior..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toq3oP3HtwY

Anonymous said...

^^^

WALL STREET RULES

DON'T HATE! CONGRATULATE!

Anonymous said...

4:24 and 5:07. I am delighted to discover that you are holier than thou. Much nicer too, I suspect, but not nearly so human.
PS to 5:07. I have every sympathy for hard working, ordinary decent Americans who lose their homes due to the disaster brought on by greedy people on Wall Street. I don't have much sympathy for Nicky boy who made lots of money in an very easy job (according to Katherine Hepburn and others) and then stupidly splashed it all out of a dizzying number of homes he didn't need at all. I contrast this with Elizabeth Taylor who apparently was content with what by Tinseltown standards was a rather modest home. As far as I know she had just the one.

nursedeb said...

went and looked at the listing pics...
love the kitchen here, the pool is lovely, and the view!!!
but who needs two dining rooms that sit 20 people in a rental??????

Carla In California said...

I believe Nic Cage claimed it was his business manager who was at fault for the financial downfall. In reply, the manager claimed Nic went on a spending spree foolishly, buying cars, antiques, homes, etc..

I sincerely do hope Nic gets himself out of this mess. Maybe he should follow Jay Leno's habits: pay cash for everything. According to Jay, he saves his "Tonight Show" paychecks and only lives off of his comedy show income. Wow!

Suzy said...

It's a wonderful place. Newport is a world of its own, even today.

Anonymous said...

Love the exterior, the interior is waay too fussy, stuffy and classic!! Hmmm sounds like Nic Cage had some sort of shopping addiction to Real Estate, buying such a pricey 2nd or 3rd or 4th home in RI does not seem like a wise investment for anyone.

Anonymous said...

Carla:
It doesn't flatter Nic to blame his business manager since obviously if Nic had the sense he should have been born with he would know his wild spree of house buying was silly and stupid. His business manager could not have done it without his consent.

Anonymous said...

Back when Nic Cage bought this house, he also tried to buy an SUV in Rhode Island, presumably to keep at this house. Well, my husband works for an auto finance company and they declined his application for the car. Against the rules he showed me Nic's credit report and info. He stated that he earned $2 million a month, but he had TONS of current and active loans and credit, as well as a 519 credit score. Many of his loans were past due and some were chargeoffs. I have no idea how he secured a mortgage for this or any property. I mean, he was turned down by a prime/subprime auto lender than trust me, loans to almost everyone.

The Devoted Classicist said...

This fabulous estate was designed by architect Harrie T. Lindeberg to the highest standards. With just some redecorating, it could once again be one of the nation's finest residences. Although Nicolas Cage might have indeed sold at a loss, it should be noted that the exceptional Kennel House and Gate House Lodge were each being offered for sale separately; I am not sure that those buildings were included in this last reported sale.

Anonymous said...

It sucks... He earned his big bucks to lose it so helplessly

nursedeb said...

and I see that mr cage has been arrested in the big easy for domestic abuse....how classy

Steve Mawson said...

One can only say that Mr Cage's investment nous can only be bettered by his interior decorating sense !

lil' gay boy said...

That price chop is dangerously close to teardown territory.

Let us hope this is not a foreboding of a tragedy such as the one Mr. Brodsky (may he burn in hell) perpetrated upon the citizens of Sands Point, NY when he razed Lands End, the former Bayard Swope home this weekend, long believed to be F. Scott Fitzgerald's inspiration for Daisy Buchanan's house in The Great Gatsby.