Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Turns Out Toni Braxton Ain't Broke, Buys $3M House

BUYER: Toni Braxton
LOCATION: Calabasas, CA
PRICE: around $3,000,000
SIZE: 5,323 square feet, 4-5 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Just because R&B singer/songwriter turned reality t.v. denizen Toni Braxton has filed for bankruptcy twice—first in 1998 and again in 2011—does not, apparently, mean the six time Grammy-winning lady does not still have the dough-re-mi to spend, as was reported by TMZ, somewhere around three million clams for a spacious and luxuriously appointed if perfectly ordinary semi-custom tract house in suburban Los Angeles.*

Listing details that Your Mama dug up on the internets described Miz Braxton's new digs in the upscale, guard-gated, and celeb-friendly Oaks development in Calabasas, CA, as a "French Country Inspired single story" residence with four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms in 5,323 square feet.

A gated and enclosed entry courtyard with fireplace leads to an entrance hall that appears (to Your Mama in listing photographs) to be flanked by a formal dining room and a formal living room, the latter with inlaid wood floors, built-in bookcases on either side of a fireplace, a vaulted and beamed wood ceiling, and four sets of wood-framed glass doors the open to a loggia that overlooks the swimming pool.

Less formal family quarters include well-equipped if rigorously beige and tan center island kitchen with side-by-side fridge and freezer plus additional refrigerated drawers, a heavy-duty wood-beamed ceiling treatment, granite counter tops, an apron-style porcelain sink, a walk-in pantry, and a separate butler's pantry with wine fridge. The adjoining informal eating area opens to a slender side yard and the adjacent family room has parquet wood floors, a built-in entertainment unit, a yawn-worthy curved corner fireplace, and a row of wood-framed glass doors that connect to the backyard recreation and entertainment areas.

The fully-carpeted master suite features a bedroom with t.v. surmounted (gas) fireplace, a separate sitting room/boudoir with direct backyard access, dual walk-in closets, and a bathroom fitted and kitted with twin sinks, separate make-up vanity, limestone floors, a garden spa tub, a separate shower, and a private cubby for the crapper. Each of the three additional guest/family bedrooms have en-suite facilities and, as per marketing materials, a bonus room can be pressed into use as a fifth bedroom if desired or required.

Backyard amenities include the aforementioned loggia, a pergola pavilion near a salt water swimming pool and spa, several fountains, a roomy terrace, a wee patch o' grass, and a second, free-standing outdoor fireplace next to the swimming pool.

Miz Braxton, a newly divorced mother of two, has owned at least two previous residences in the Los Angeles area including a house in Tarzana and a condo in Century City she sold in 2009 for $1.2 million. She's also owned at least two houses in suburban Atlanta, including a six bedroom and eight bathroom mini-mansion in Duluth that she lost to foreclosure in 2011. She also previously owned a five bedroom and 4.5 bathroom residence in an affluent gated enclave in Henderson, NV, that she also lost to foreclosure in 2010.

The Oaks, arguably Calabasas's premier gated community, has seen a spate of celebrity related real estate stories of late. First came word that reality t.v. star and boutique owner Kourtney Kardashian and her baby daddy man-friend, "Lord" Scott Disick, planned to list their extravagantly decorated house—it's now officially listed on the open market for $3,499,000—and spent an as yet unknown amount of reality t.v. money to buy retired professional footballer Keyshawn Johnson's nearly 12,000 square foot custom-built behemoth. Today, after the much publicized face-spitting fracas, a bizarre egg-throwing brouhaha, and a subsequent police search during which lots of illicit substances were found throughout the house came not exactly surprising, if unsubstantiated reports that misbehaving teen-aged pop phenom Justin Bieber may finally be ready to sell his approximately 9,000 square foot Spanish-stye residence in The Oaks. Somehow we doubt his neighbors, who now count a Kardashian and Toni Braxton among them, will waste much time waving goodbye.

*The house in question last sold, according to property records, in March 2008 for $3.6 million and it was last listed on the open market in early January 2014 for $2,975,000. The sale price has yet to be recorded or revealed as far as this property gossip knows.

listing photos: Ewing and Associates / Sotheby's International Realty

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice digs, but where are they all getting this money from to buy these homes? Makes you wonder if you're in the wrong profession?!

Anonymous said...

Mama, how could you not mention that Toni Braxton's sister also lives in the Oaks?

Anonymous said...

8:18, doesnt she have her own reality show braxton family values which already started 3rd season. i guess she might have purchased the house on loan against this income

Coulda shoulda woulda said...

Am I being an overprotective fan bc I am worried she might have extended herself? She already was bankrupt once. It is a nice house though the price seems a bit steep.

Anonymous said...

2:57, actually as they say, she was bankrupt twice ...

anyway how can she get a loan only 2-3 years after last bankruptcy?

Anonymous said...

only in america

Anonymous said...

California is entering its potentially driest year in four centuries. The lush front lawn contrasts greatly with the arid rear hill, which in a conventional January would be green from winter storms. A drought-tolerant garden would visually relate the home to its surrounding landscape and conserve water as well. In the meantime, the Rabbi is praying for rain.

Rabbi Hedda LaCasa

lil' gay boy said...

Dearest Rebbe,

Although I wish no one ill, I could get on board with praying for rain if it ran down the mountainside (at the top of which are some ugly storage tanks) & washed this hot mess away; the lot is significantly smaller than most of its neighbors.

It is such an oddly constructed house, and (regardless of the "decor") the interiors seem much more dated than its supposed 2005 construction date.

The cramped lot is weirdly surrounded on two sides by roads and two sides by service drives; the entry courtyard, although kinda nice (even though two sides are garages at 90 degrees to each other), seems to be the only private outdoor space.

I know that one can quickly recover from a bankruptcy as many creditors are willing to believe in a lesson learned and extend credit again; however a lot of folks find themselves back in the same bind within a short time-span, which would explain the second bankruptcy.

If she truly paid more than asking for this oddity, I will not be at all surprised when round three occurs.

Anonymous said...

Dearest Rabbi, do you know who was the first urban planner who proposed this now ubiquitous shape of streets around California's gated communities consisting of picturesque curvilinear streets with lots of cul-de-sacs, the so-called lollipops on a stick?

Perhaps Lil knows it too?

Dearest Rabbi is also encouraged to visit the website of Gabriela Yariv, who specializes in Californian xerophytic gardens.

Sandpiper said...

The house appears nicely maintained -- sans claiming French inspired. It's certainly not a bad re-launch. Good for her.

The other shoe now sort'a drops. Interiors beg anti-chromatic personality via a known and respected ID.

Ouch on case goods, millwork and stain finish decisions. Needed are woodworkers, wood finishing experts to the rescue; or, and hopefully not, let it be.

I do wonder. Ms. Braxton didn't seem to luck out on downward negotiations via Beeber obliterating property values and quality of life in the neighborhood.

Earth, wind and fire -- please stay away.

Anonymous said...

He wasn't man enough for me!

lil' gay boy said...

Apparently the cul-de-sac dates back to almost 2000 BC, at least according to this Wiki entry on culs-de-sac.

Seems modern day development came about in order for developers to make the most of irregular land parcels; coupled with winding streets that follow the contours of the land, more lots can be carved out of such parcels.

Starting in the early 20th century, some culs-de-sac appear to have been purpose-built to reduce vehicular traffic; some urban planners dislike this "disconnected" type of planning, and the statistics of such planning do not support their purported safety as they have a higher rate of traffic accidents involving young children.

Anonymous said...

This house is a HOT MESS! For $3 million she could have gotten something much nicer in Calabasas. I have seen huge estates, around 10,000 square feet with tennis court for around the same price in Calabasas. Now you may not get all that in The Oaks for that price cause The Oaks is the most prestigious part of Calabasas but you could definitely get something better than this even within The Oaks for around the same price. This looks like it is one story. I'm not sure if this house actually is one story or if its one of those houses with low ceilings that looks like it is one story from the outside. But I believe you can get something in The Oaks for around this same price that actually looks two story and looks much nicer and more impressive. This looks like a MANUFACTURED home.

Anonymous said...

By the way. To the people that say she can't afford it. She can definitely afford it. I saw an interview with Toni Braxton and she said she started doing private concert gigs for money. These gigs pay something like $150,000 to $250,000 per gig. She never said exactly what she was getting paid but I think I read on a gossip site or something that it was around in that range. Remember big stars like Celine Dion get like $2 million to $6 million for one performance when they perform for royalty or some dictator or some tech billionaire or whatever. So Toni could easily get up to $250,000 per performance. Toni said in the interview that she does 3 of these gigs per year for like Russian billionaires or whatever. Lets say she just ups it to 5 gigs per year at around $250,000 a pop. That's about $1.25 million per year. Plus don't forget Toni Braxton's sister Tamar is loaded and she owes all her success to Toni so I am sure Toni can borrow a buck or two from her. Plus from the way I hear Toni Braxton talking in interviews it seems like she has a bunch of rich dudes and sugar daddy types or whatever that she can call on when she needs a couple bucks. On top of that she has her reality show and whatever crappy albums and minor endorsement deals she currently has. Plus residuals from past hits. Plus I am sure she can get appearance fees just to show up at an event or get paid for tweeting or whatever the heck it is that Lindsay Lohan makes a living doing. So I think she can afford a little $3 million home. Plus all of her upwards of $50 million debt was wiped clean. She doesn't owe her creditors anymore.

Anonymous said...

12:20 you cant wipe your debt so easily. she must have repayed some of it. and if she suddenly mades a lot of money the old creditors can sue her for fraud. when she had to repay money, she was ill and could not work and suddenly after her debt was wiped out she can work and she earns millions. come on, noone is so stupid

Anonymous said...

Maybe Tamar bought her the house?

Anonymous said...

Lil, thank you, that's so interesting!

Anonymous said...

Why would anyone want to live next to or anywhere near a Kardashian or a Bieber? I would think they would be dragging property prices down. I pity the neighbors of Kanye/Kim if they ever move into that house they've been remodeling for a year now. (What's up with that?) Anyway, why pay all that money and still have to deal with noisy/inconsiderate neighbors from hell?

Anonymous said...

Todah, thanks, Anonymous 8:22 a.m. and LGB:

I know nothing of contemporary cul-de-sac planners and knew nothing of historical lollipops and sticks, except that my family called these streets dead ends as English was not our first language! I appreciate your Gabriela Yariv referral, enjoyed her handsome and hardy gardens, and misassumed she was from Israel and not equally dry Los Angeles County. And months ago I chanced upon my first xerophytic-related word on Mama's site and had to look it up, as only a few Tamuldic Greek words written in Hebrew were permitted during my childhood.

Yours,
Hedda

Anonymous said...

@12:37 PM Toni Braxton's debts are wiped clean. That's how bankruptcy works dumb ass. Celebrities and regular folk do this all the time. Cher and a long list of celebs have filed for bankruptcy and then went on to be way richer and more fabulous down the road and no one comes after them for their money. Donald Trump was famously worth -700 million in the early 90's. That's NEGATIVE 700 million. Meaning in the red by 700 million dollars. And now Donald Trump is worth over $3 BILLION and no creditor can touch it. Donald settled those debts and completed his bankruptcy and once that bankruptcy is completed those creditors can't later come after him cause he is rich and fabulous again and they can't come for Toni Braxton either. Toni is not stupid. She is all over the tv bragging about her money and flaunting. I am sure she has lawyers and she would be advised not to do that if there was any chance they can come for her and take her money. Go read up on bankruptcy law and learn the facts. That's why people and especially celebs file for bankruptcy. I am sure she paid something and she settled those debts and now the bankruptcy is over and it is illegal for anyone to come after her now.

Anonymous said...

This washed up hooker files for a massive bankruptcy then casually buys a 3 million home. Gotta love America.

Anonymous said...

If she pulls $150 or $250 for a few venues per year it just luck. I know for a fact that other celebrities that once filled arenas now take corporate gigs as often as they please. She'd do herself a big favor by humbling down.

Anonymous said...

@7:40 Its not luck. You have no idea what you are talking about. She has a rate. See sets the rate at $150,000 to $250,000 for a performance fee and these billionaires (and millionaires) pay that rate. This isn't like she has to fill seats and if she doesn't fill enough seats or sell enough tickets that she isn't gonna make the money. Toni Braxton is one of the most successful female artists of all time. The top acts like Celine Dion or Madonna or Mariah and even Jlo who isn't a big icon. I'm sorry but Jlo came out in late 90's with Britney Spears so she's not as iconic as Madonna or Celine or people that have been around since the 80's or early 90's or earlier. Anyway Celine and Jlo have been known to get paid from $2 million to $6 million a pop for private performances. So Toni Braxton can charge $250,000 all day long and get it cause it is so much cheaper than most other female stars of her caliber. These other stars are making way way more. Michael Jackson would get $5 million just to appear at an event and upwards of $10 million to perform one private performance. $250,000 is nothing. Toni can charge $250,000 as many times as she wants and get that amount easily.

Anonymous said...

Despite the fact that WeTv uses the exterior shots from the Malibu Rocky Oaks Estate (which was also the Mexian drug dealer's house in The Hangover 3) on their TV shows, Tamar and Vince bought the house (with the huge underground garage) all the way at the other end of the upper part of the Oaks on the cul-de-sac of Prado De La Felicidad passed Kourtney Kardashian's new place and Britney Spears' old rental on Prado De Los Suenos.

Mr DHH said...

Mama-

We got to get in touch with Toni and tell her to redo the deal.Here is why.The Bebes (Justin) lives 7 houses down and across the street-this place is at the end going into the bend.Hello,all his little friends are going to be racing or egg tossing and or whatever we do not need in our neck of the woods.So sale pending subject to him getting the hell out and growing up.

Brandon said...

So nice to see the Bluths finally found a buyer for their model home.

Little Miss Smoke and Mirrors said...

Brandon wins the internet.