Monday, November 17, 2008

Paul Haggis Goes Modest in Santa Monica

BUYER: Paul Haggis
LOCATION: 15th Street, Santa Monica, CA
PRICE: $2,365,000
SIZE: 2,262 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 1.75 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: ...Trad. style w/ modern amenities. Living rm w/ wd burn fl & light oak hdwd flrs, Formal dining rm. Sleek kitchen w/ Carrera marble counters & back splash, stainless cabinets, sub zero fridge & drawers, pro stainless range. Kitchen w/ brkfast bar opens to family room w/ built in cabinets. Master bath w/ beautiful finishes. Private backyard w/ outside bar, Viking pro bbq & fridge. Low maintenance yrd w/ huge deck for entertaining.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Every now and then we hear of a celebrity real estate transaction that comes completely out of the blue and from someone we've never heard of nor spoken to before. We love when that happens. Nuthin' gets our juices flowing better than a new tipster who enjoys transmitting Your Mama all the good real estate 411.

Anyhoo, over the weekend, while riveted to the boob-toob watching the frightening fires bob and weave through southern California, we heard word from a lad we'll call Stewart Slyasafox who whispered in Your Mama's big ear that two-time Oscar winning writer/producer Paul Haggis recently bought a new house in Santa Monica, CA.

Upon receiving the electronic communique, we immediately ripped our beady little eyes away from the tee-vee and took to the internets where, sho enuf, property records do indeed reveal that the much ballyhooed Canadian born filmmaker (Quantum of Solace, Flags of Our Fathers, Million Dollar Baby, Crash) forked over $2,365,000 to purchase a discreet residence on a desirable tree-lined Santa Monica street.

Now children, surely Mister Haggis and is lovely wifey Debbie could afford a much more expensive and a much more estate-like abode. However, living large does not seem to be their real estate cup of tea. According to listing information we dug up, the new Haggis house, a brick fronted, architecturally insignificant and fully rehabbed ranch, measures in at a modest 2,262 square feet with just three bedrooms and 1.75 bathrooms.

Your Mama realizes it's quite a stretch to apply the adjective "modest" to a house that cost nearly 2.5 million clams and certainly some of you children are going to get your panties all in a bunch about someone spending that amount of money to purchase a property that would cost one-tenth of what Mister Haggis paid if he lived in Omaha, Topeka or Tallahassee. However, apparently Mister and Missus Haggis want to live in Santa Monica and, whether any of you people like it or not, in this neck of the north of Montana Avenue woods, two-and-a-half million big ones is about what an average sized house costs...even in a real estate market that appears to be headed down the crapper.

Children, when viewing the photographs, please keep in mind that the day-core is NOT that of Mister and Missus Haggis, but rather that of the previous owner. So, even though we do appreciate the large B&B Italia sectional sofa in the family room and we can always get behind pulling six or eight Panton chairs up to a rustic wood dining room, these things no longer live in this house.

None the less, listing information does indicate that the house features lovely light oak floors that look like they've had a mild bleaching, a living room with a brick faced fireplace surround, a decent sized dining room, a commodious family room with built in cabinetry for the flat screen tee-vee, and a galley style kitchen with high grade appliances, stunning Carrara marble counter tops and stainless steel cabinetry. Lawhd have mercy on our snarky soul, our bossy bleach blond housegurl Svetlana would scratch out our eyeballs iffin Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter ever bought a house with stainless steel cabinetry like this. That woman would quite literally go ballistic if she was asked to keep all that stainless steel fingerpring and dog nose smear free.

The backyard, while unfortunately criss-crossed by power lines, is well set up for entertaining family, friends and all those people you don't like but have to invite over to your house for a bbq once in while anyway. The leviathan deck can double as a dance floor and that small patch of grass is just enough green space for our long bodied bitches Linda and Beverly to stretch out in the shade. Behind the two car garage that is accessed by an alley at the rear of the property, a well equipped barbecue station has been built in with Viking appliances and plenty of counter space for laying out the hot dogs.

We're not sure if it's the stark white walls perfect for hanging art, or if it's the pared down modern day-core of the previous owner, or if it's the idea of being just 15 blocks from the Pacific Ocean, but both Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter like this house very much. There is something very appealing about an modestly sized house with an unassuming (and even slightly unattractive) exterior that hides an updated and upgraded interior that has been fitted and kitted with all the modrun conveniences for comfortable contemporary living. We only wish there was better access to the outdoors from the living, dining, and family rooms because, after all, isn't being able breeze in and out of open doors in December one of the benefits of living in southern Caleefornya?

Given that records reveal that Mister and Missus Haggis currently own a much larger 5 bedroom and 8 bathroom house a few blocks away on 10th Street, it's unclear whether the high-powered pair intend to use this newly purchased house as a personal residence, an investment or for some other reason unfathomable to us.

Records also show that Mister and Missus Haggis own several additional pieces of property including (but not limited to) a vacant ocean view lot in Pacific Palisades (that appears to have some potential geologic issues) as well as a 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom penthouse apartment on Mercer Street in New York City which records show was purchased in October of 2006 for $2,900,000.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a surname...........I would change it.

Anonymous said...

Why would you pay over $2m for a modest house with no pool in an area with no parking and lots of traffic?

Anonymous said...

11:19 - Surname doesn't mean anything in the US so why bother.

11:33 - As Mama pointed out, Yes - A lot of people pay over 2m to live in Santa Monica north of Montana. Parking and traffic aren't that big a deal north of Montana. You may be confused with the neighborhoods further south.

Anonymous said...

Will this house one day burn down?

LA houses should be discounted 20% immediately for having to deal with shit of smoke and fire embers

pch said...

Great location. Appreciation seems reasonable when you compare current prices to those in the early nineties, when I lived a few blocks away. I've never had problems with traffic or parking around here. Also, it should be especially quiet since 15th ends at Georgina, not San Vicente, and the main intersections at Montana are 14th and 20th.

Not a fan of the brick wainscot, whatever you want to call it, on the facade, but it seems to be a fairly inoffensive example of nondescript fifties ranch house architecture. You could do something with this.

Anonymous said...

this house would work perfectly in my master plan to pick up a property and plop it right in the middle of the art hijinks going on in marfa texas!

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:54

Should the houses in the north be discounted 20% immediately if they have had the first snow? And houses where it is raining..should they be discounted 20% because they are wet? Houses in areas prone to hurricanes discounted 20% because they might blow away? Do you accumulate the discounts if the house has multiple natural disasters that can occur? So 20% for hurricane, 20% for flooding, 20% for tornados, 20% for snow, 20% for ice, and 20% for having to live near republicans....that house would be FREE!! Woo Hoo!!!

Anonymous said...

Standard lot (7500 sq ft) teardowns N of Montana generally go for 2 million so if they got a useable house with the purchase this ain't a bad deal. This area has very limited supply and high demand. Traffic is not at all bad in this hood, parking is a cinch and the location, weather and schools are the best in LA.

Anonymous said...

The kitchens are nice, but otherwise this house is dead boring and tractlike. Maybe the location will get him the money.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Haggis bought it. Nevermind. Hope the location makes him happy.

Anonymous said...

I really like that California Flag over the mantle. It looks like that artist Jillian Kogan.

Anonymous said...

For 2 million, that's an ugly house, location be damned.

Anonymous said...

How many blocks from the water is it?

Anonymous said...

ugly house or not, viva, it's all about location and the value of the land. 90402 is one of the most desirable ZIP codes in the country. btw 15 blocks to the bluffs and then down the big staircase gets you to the beach; not a quick walk but still gets the benefits of being close to the ocean.

Anonymous said...

anonymous 4:31,

I know, I know, I know...the location IS good, the land IS good, the ZIP code IS good...but damn if I don't despise that house.

Give me a house in Pacific Palisades or a condo in Beverly Hill over this place any day!

Anonymous said...

the pictures at the top of the post are so insipid, i had no desire to enlarge and examine more closely. i mean, my eye sight is such at this point in my life that i can't see the specifics in those small shots, but if there is something that looks like it might be mildly interesting, i'll click on it. now that i've written this i think i'll click on some of the shots and see if it's as boring as i think it is. lol.
however, i am beginning to wonder what i am doing here on this blog. i have looked at enough posts to conclusively determine that there is absolutely no correlation between inspired design, or even the dreaded designation 'good taste', and what this site determines to be celebrities. when was the last time i saw something truly exquisite ???? i don't remember!!!! how much of looking at the stuff here is feeling slightly superior that most of these people are absolutely clueless when it comes to architecture and interior design?

Anonymous said...

just looked more closely at the pictures (see above) and realized what is going on here. you take an absolutely banal tract house and you deftly apply some very nice finishes, then move in the expensive modern furniture, furniture that you would never expect to see in a house like this, and suddenly you've got some tension, some excitement. you've got something that is going to send a little tingle up the spine of a certain slice of la la land buyers.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. These interiors pretty much sum up the soul less ness of Los Angeles. Does a real person live in this place, a person with a life, a unique personality? This is pure nothingness.

Anonymous said...

where's all their stuff? no color, no photos & zero personality. I mean this is taking minimalist to the extreme. like living in a loaf of white bread.

the back yard is definitely the best feature of the place - but I'd try & convince the city council to put the power underground.

Anonymous said...

"This is pure nothingness."

Pretty well sums up the past three comments.

Anonymous said...

Make that the three posts between 6:51 & 7:32. Not the one that sneaked in 3 minutes before mine showed up.

Anonymous said...

hey anon 7:07 - you must get some pretty good medical pakalolo smoke in your neighborhood. are we looking at the same house???

Anonymous said...

I thought the crap in Manhattan Beach was crap at this price, but this crap takes the cake (of crap).

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone who posts a comment here, you just may want to consider that even though you click anonymous as the way you would like to be identified, it may be anonymous to the other readers of the comments, but I strongly suspect it is not anonymous to Mama. There is a post here that reveals that someone has more information than it would appear they have, though I guess it could be a coincidence. Maybe everyone else already knows this. Now I do too.

Anonymous said...

10:12 -

a) The older children all know that Mama has made it clear from the start that she has no desire or interest in monitoring the children in the comments section.

b) The most she would know is your IP address and that is only if she were to use an add-in to track such trivial details. For the majority of the children, that IP address will change as most are connecting via dynamic IP addresses. That means that if two children in Santa Monica who both have Verizon DSL are posting, they could feasibly post from the same IP address at different times of the day or different days.

c) Larger businesses may have static IP addresses where your IP address is the same all the time but then your employer is likely more concerned about what you are doing on their clock than Mama.

d) It would take a court order to your ISP for Mama to find out which customer was assigned to which IP on a given date/time.

e) Mama don't care!

f) Don't be so paranoid, relax, have a G&T and look at the Real Estate porn.

lil' gay boy said...

" …like living in a loaf of white bread… "

Yup, pretty much.

I'll have to take the word of the locals on location, but it is truly one nasty abode. But at that close to the ocean, $2mm is not too bad for a tear-down.

Anonymous said...

Thanks 3:42. Sounds like you know what you're talking about. Certainly far more than I do, which is next to nothing in this regard. But, if someone posts several comments within a fairly close period of time, would they more than likely come from the same ip? In other words, you post something anonymously, and then ten minutes later you think of some other smart ass comment you want to make, and so write another anonymous post. Is it likely that the ten minute later post is going to come from the same ip, or some ip that at least identifies you as being in the same general area? I mean on a given night, how many people are posting from a particular neighborhood in Manhattan?

My guess is that Mama has the add-in track you mentioned. Look, I am not the slightest bit concerned that any thing I say here is going to ruin my life, but I think that a lot of the time we are under the illusion that we are doing something anonymously online, and we are not. I think it is just good to remind ourselves of that every now and then.

Anonymous said...

In fact, if Mama doesn't deny that she has an add-in that tracks this sort of stuff, I will assume that she does. I am not criticizing her for doing so. If I was in her position, I would want to know this information. You know, if it doesn't cost me that much more per month, etc.

Anonymous said...

6:01 -

Yes, it is true that using the IP address tool would allow one to track multiple comments written in quick order. That could be interesting on some of the topics where it seems like a person is having a conversation with themselves. But truthfully, what would Mama do with that knowledge?

If she were to call out the person or delete the posts, it would be one thing but since she doesn't want to moderate, it is kind of useless.

In my opinion (which no one asked for), the comments are being targeted specifically because the trolls have been around long enough to know Mama isn't going to smack them down unless they get racial or antisemitic.

I'd like to see Mama limit the comments to registered users. She still wouldn't have to moderate anything but it would cut down on the trolls.

Anonymous said...

6:34 - The add in doesn't cost anything per month. But it is an added hassle. You sign up for a free ad driven account on their site, register your Blogger blog with them and they monitor the comments to grab the ip addresses. The blog owner then has to log in over there and review their logs to see if multiple comments are coming from one IP.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your responses (above). Listen, she may not want to moderate this silliness, but, come on, this is her creation. she puts her thoughts out there and, believe me, she is interested in what people think about what she is saying. I can not imagine anyone in her position not being interested, unless they were a complete narcissist. She's not writing this blog into emptiness. The only thing that could motivate someone to do what she is doing is because they believe they are connecting with someone out there. I would not be writing this if I didn't think someone might read it, much less respond!

Anonymous said...

I agree Mama reads the comments. That is clear from her remarks in posts about what the children are going to write about. Looking up IP addresses, comparing IP addresses of various comments to try and track which IP address may have said what on which day (remember..it is only an ip address like 69.108.10.5, not anything personally identifiable).. No, I can't see Mama being bothered. She does have a life outside of this blog.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. If you think Mama is tracking your comments, then keep behaving and she won't have to get out the spoon.

Anonymous said...

you are most likely right.

Anonymous said...

I'm not from California & don't know your native flora. Are those tumbleweeds in the front yard?

Anonymous said...

They aren't tumbling at the moment (sage brush), but no doubt there will be tumbleweeds in big wind. (Tumbleweeds always seemed cool to me when I was a kid.)

I don't get the issue about the anonymous comments. So what if someone "has more information than it might appear." Also, I don't know why people would care if IP addresses were tracked for most of the comments I see on here. The only thing that gets old are the real estate agent spammers. I think people realize that nothing is truly anonymous on the web. No need to remind everyone of that.

Anonymous said...

Paul bought this home for his father and still lives in his much bigger, less modest home.

Anonymous said...

That's very commendable. It has great potential and I wouldn't call that a modest house at all.

Anonymous said...

what a beautiful looking house. Why is it only 2.3m?

David
Santa Monica Apartments