Wednesday, September 9, 2009

UPDATE: Nic Cage

Hold on to your hats hunnies because Oscar winning actor and prolific property collector Nic Cage's real estate nightmare just got a little big worse. Just moments ago Your Mama received an unexpected missive from our trusted informant Junebug that Mister Cage and his financial peeps have decided to make one last ditch effort to sell his real estate white elephant in Bel Air, CA with a sealed bid sale.

Mister Cage first put his 11,817 square foot ivy covered residence on the market back in 2007 with an knee buckling and overly optimistic asking price of $35,000,000. Over the years the asking price has been reduced, sliced, diced and chopped until last week when it stood at $17,500,000, exactly half the original asking price but still nearly three times the $6,469,000 property records show he paid for the place back in 1998.

But alas, the lower (but still spine tinglingly high) asking price did not, apparently, encourage any deep pocketed buyers to open up their wallets and step up to the closing table to buy the legendary estate formerly owned by crooners Tom Jones and Dean Martin. According to information generously forwarded by Junebug, any and all sealed bids are scheduled to be reviewed on September 24, 2009 with the minimum bid for the 7 bedroom and 9 pooper property on Copa de Oro Road set at just $9,950,000. No babies, Your Mama's nubbins did not flub it while typing that figure, the minimum bid is indeed set at $9,950,000 or, looking at it from another angle, roughly 28% of the original asking price.

Dayum. No matter how you slice that real estate pie, chickens, that hurts.

Mister Cage has recently sold off a few pieces of his real estate empire including a schloss in Bavaria, an historic townhouse in Bath, England and although it is not reflecting on listing information, there are rumors floating around the New York City real estate world that he's negotiating a possible deal on his two unit pied a terre in New York City last listed at $9,750,000.

19 comments:

StPaulSnowman said...

Well now..........this one does look English........the house anyway........the landscaping, however, does not. The overly manicured plantings are a far cry from the romantic plantings of Gertie Jekyll. I hope this house finds someone to love it and nurture the grounds.

Anonymous said...

Shouldn't something like this give Candy and Suzanne cause for pause?

I'll bet Missy Gallin will also re-access his pricing structure as well.

I often wonder if these folks are really serious about selling. Looks like Comb Over Cage might be.

Anonymous said...

I almost choked when I saw it re-listed on the MLS for $9.95-million tonight...he may single-handedly bring down the entire LA Real Estate market by letting such a prime lower Bel-Air estate go for such a low price...that is, unless there's something wrong with the place? Anyone know if there's rumors to that affect? I took the virtual tour, and definitely did not think the place looked all that updated, at least not in a comprehensive, whole-house overhaul sense...could there be a problem with Mold? The mechanicals? Or are we about to hear about Mr. Cage filing for bankruptcy...Hmmm, I wonder...

Anonymous said...

What if nobody is willing to pay 10 million for it? Then what?

Anonymous said...

Some background:

Nicolas Cage is facing a tax lien of $6,257,005 for unpaid taxes in 2007, according to filings submitted by the Internal Revenue Service in a New Orleans district court on July 14.

The sum is the amount the IRS is seeking for unpaid taxes in 2007, when Cage -- who reportedly garners $12 million a film -- starred in "Ghost Rider" and had a cameo in "Grindhouse."

The actor is currently trying to sell his $3.5 million home in Louisiana and $35 million Hollywood mansion to recoup some of the money.

Last September, Cage was forced to pay $666,000 plus interest to the IRS after it said he and his company had incorrectly deducted $3.4 million in luxurious personal expenses like limousines and a Gulfstream jet between 2002 an 2004.

ms_wonderland said...

The Bath (UK) townhouse is reported to have sold for GBP4 million, which is the same price it was bought for. I'm taking that with whole heap of salt. Bath is one of the most expensive places in the UK, and the house is set in a perfect example of Georgian architecture, but house prices are still down, and Nic Cage will have taken a loss on the sale.

It was a private sale (i.e. not advertised) so no photos. That is one house I'd love to see.The sale price wont be known for a few months unless someone blabs. Nic Cage is said to be concentrating on doing up his castle. I think the guy has justabout bankrupted himself with his houses.

Anonymous said...

Aaaaaaand what if he gets no bids?

We heard that he owes the IRS some moolah.

What kinds of motgages does a high falutin A-list actor carry?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 10:02 the home isn't listed for a low price. Do the research. It is finally listed for approximately what it's worth, and is in fact entirely surrounded by homes currently valued in the $7MM+ to $9MM+ range. That's it's 2009 real market value, not a 2007 inflated value.

Anonymous said...

This upsets me only because I wish I had the money to scoop this place up! Doesn't he also still have a mansion in Las Vegas for sale and an island in the Bahamas for sale? Seriously, what was he thinking??

Anonymous said...

would not be surprised if cage has had offers for far more than 9.750m over the years that he has had it listed at 35m. and then on down. in 2007, when he apparently put it on the market in the first place, the market was already tanking, i believe, in la. so he was behind the curve, but probably refused to accept that or see it, like just about everyone else. now he's desperate and must take desperate measures. however, if he were to get the minimum, that would still represent about a 25 percent increase in value over the life of the investment before taxes and other fees, and you know that's better than losing money!

sirvan said...

Wow! a nice place, hope to be there someday.

Unknown said...

Does it make me a bad person to be secertly pleased at he's desperate and being forced to sell his many homes to pay off debt.

Sorry, I don't at all feel bad for him.

I'm thinking I just might have to skip all of his next movies.

outsmoker said...

I wonder if all the stress of losing these houses has made him go back to his old friends.....Camel Wides.

Prince of Bel-Air said...

I've been in that house, and it is going to need to be re-painted inside as well as the floors re-finished just to get rid of the cigarette smoke stench. It is atrocious!

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:39, the house directly next door sold earlier this year for $18+ million I believe, so I'd have to take anon 10:02's side over yours, this is a fire sale for the neighborhood...

Anonymous said...

Anon 7:26 I know the house you're talking about, a large white new build tradtional. The buyer wanted it bad enough that he paid a price is no object price for it, but it's not valued at anywhere near that. Cage has had 2 years and numerous price drops to sell his house. It's no fire sale. I'd call it a semi desperate bid to clear $10MM while he still can.

Anonymous said...

The house has been seriously neglected since Tom Jones sold it, and needs loving restoration. It is worth far more than its selling price and deserves someone who can give it the attention it deserves. The neighborhood is not the issue. The house is in serious disrepair.

Anonymous said...

This proves that no matter if you make 20K a year or 20M a year if you spend more than you make you will go broke.

Why would he buy all these houses on mortgage? Why would he hire a CPA that gets him into trouble with the IRS?

Anonymous said...

7:26, if it were worth 9M, it would have sold. It's not worth 9M and nearly ALL houses in the neighborhood aren't worth 9M either.