Friday, January 20, 2012

Kobe Bryant Loses Three Mansions in Divorce

In 2003 L.A. Laker Kobe Bryant was accused of assaulting a 19-year old woman in a Colorado hotel room. Mister Bryant denied the charges and claimed the sexual relations were consensual. The salacious charges were dropped a year later after the woman declined to move forward with a trial but not before the professional dribbler apologized to his wife for his sexual indiscretion with a $4,000,000 eight-carat purple diamond ring. His impending divorce, however, will cost the well-compensated shooting forward and 5-time NBA champion far more than a four million dollar finger sparkler.

All the celebrity-based blogs and sports-oriented websites are abuzz today with the news that Bryant's soon-to-be ex-wife Vanessa will receive all three of the couple's luxurious Orange County cribs as part of her reported (and alleged) $75,000,000 divorce settlement.

Your Mama, as we are sometimes want to do, did a little digging around in the property records and determined that Mister and soon-to-be ex-Missus Bryant together owned a total three mansions of varying values, all within 5 minute drive of each other, nestled into upscale Newport Coast area in the mountains above the Pacific Ocean just below the hoity-toity beach community of Newport Beach.

The self-dubbed Black Mamba and his then teenage bride bought his first house near Newport Beach (shown above) in October 2001, according to property records, for $1,700,000. The Orange County Tax Man shows the gated, U-shaped two-story mansion, tucked into the tail end of a tiny cul-de-sac in a gated Pelican Ridge development. Records show the house was completed in 1997, sits a .47 acre hillside parcel with roof top and mountain views, measures around 6,500 square feet, and contains a total of 6 bedrooms. The palm tree-dotted back yard wraps around two sides of the house and includes various entertainment terraces, built-in barbecue center, small but lush lawns, and free-form swimming pool and spa.

Documents Your Mama had a long look at online show the property was transferred from Mister Bryant into soon-to-be ex-Missus Bryant's name in early January 2012.

In July 2003, the couple spent $2,650,000 to purchase another, smaller but still large home two short blocks away in the same upscale gated enclave of Pelican Ridge. Records indicate the house is slammed on to a tight .29 acre plot and a recent report in the New York Post indicates it's occupied by soon-to-be ex-Missus Bryant's momma.

Documents available online show this house was also transferred into soon-to-be ex-Missus Bryant's sole ownership on the very same day in early January (2012) as the above mentioned abode.

In June 2008, Mister and Missus Bryant purchased, through a trust, a not-yet completed mansion just 1.5 miles away in the much ritzier (and, natch, guard-gated) Pelican Crest planned development. Records show the house, listed at $10,900,000, was snatched up for $9,540,000.

Listing information from the the time of the sale that Your Mama managed to tease up out of the interweb shows the then (and still) under construction 4-floor ocean view mansion was designed with more than 14,000 square feet of "Santa Barbara style living" that includes and elevator, 6 bedrooms, 9 full and 3 half bathrooms, subterranean parking for six luxury whips, a basement level with media, game, wine and music rooms plus and office and staff suite, and a sub-basement level with exercise room, sauna and steam facilities, and a game court.

It's not clear to Your Mama if Mister and soon-to-be ex-Missus Bryant made any alterations to the plans for the Richard Krantz-designed domicile but a February 2011 article in the Orange County Register revealed that the home was then still under construction with a myriad of permits filed for various revisions.

Once again, online documents we perused show soon-to-be ex-Missus Bryant became the sole owner of this property on the same day in early January (2012) as did the other to previously mention properties.

What soon-to-be ex-Missus Bryant would want her trio of large and high-maintenance mansions and what she plans to do with them is, at this point, a mystery. However it certainly would not surprise Your Mama in the slightest if she eventually sold all three and moved her, her momma and kids into another pricey and posh pad in the area because, well, that's how the rich and famous often roll.

aerial photos (top and middle): Google
aerial and exterior photos (bottom): Orange County Register

26 comments:

Little Miss Smoke and Mirrors said...

Kobe Bryant is now wearing number 12.

Anonymous said...

Vanessa..Honey..that real estate is more worthless than that (I wont cheat again) rock he gave you. Take (ALL) of his cash dear.

Anonymous said...

Ms Bryant did quite well for herself I'd say. She has three very large and expensive homes and plenty of cash, too. Her options are endless. She can move, keep, buy, sell, whatever the heck she wants to do. Also, let's not forget Kobe will be paying very generous child support for their two small children and maintenance, too. She's going to be just fine. Good for her.

Anonymous said...

Boring houses for boring people.

Real Estate Park City UT said...

Soon to be ex-wife Mrs.Bryant is damn a lucky woman. She's indeed lucky to have more cash, mansions and most of all freedom.

Square One Condos said...

prenup anyone? Number one rule when big real estate is involved.

Anonymous said...

granted she's walking away with LOTS of money, but there's no way she'll be able to maintain those expensive houses for long with no other income coming in. will probably see her declaring bankruptcy in a few years after she loses all of kobe's money.

Aunt Gina said...

she was a 17 year old high school student and part time backup dancer when they married.

well played, Vanessa.

Rocco said...

Actually - they were married for more than 10 yrs - which means California will make him pay alimony until she remarries or is deceased - on top of child support!

Anonymous said...

Well he dribbled in the wrong court, but I suspect he still has quite a bit of money left. Or does he? Anyone really know?

Anonymous said...

I love that all the press is focused on how she is taking him to the cleaners, signing over all this property. He and his lawyers must be having a big laugh this weekend. Hopefully (at least for their sake), they can get the rest of the settlement signed, sealed and delivered before she realizes that the property is not actually worth what the appraised value is. But whatever the outcome, don't cry for this woman. She will end up with an enormous amount of money, mostly because she has children with this man. Their children must be raised in the style. . . Hence, child support. Huge. He will be signing over half his pay check for the next twenty years in addition to the fifty/fifty split of assets. She ends up with much more. Trust me, this is how it goes down with (the right) judges in California. The goal of a good divorce lawyer is to ensure the right judge signs off on the settlement.

angie said...

Since there is no prenup and they have been married for 10+ years, under California law Vanessa is entitled to half of everything, is allowed to maintain her standard of living after the split, may be entitled to permanent spousal support, and may even be part of Kobe Bryant's retirement plans.

Apparently Vanessa has agreed to accept a large chunk of her share of the assets in real estate. I can easily imagine her reasoning to be: keep the home her mother lives in, move into the new home that's under construction when it's finished, and then sell the home she's currently in and has shared with Kobe all these years.

Anonymous said...

Oh please. You better believe Ms. Bryant and her lawyers know the value of the three houses in today's market. Of course they do. He didn't short change her one dime on the value of these homes. As Angie said, Ms. Bryant will probably sell the house she is currently living in when the new house is completed and move into it, and her Mother will continue to live in the third house. Kobe has little choice. He was married to her for over ten years and has two children with her. He played, and he will continue to pay for a very long time. But........what's the big deal? He can afford it just like his friend Tiger.

Anonymous said...

Kobe was her lottery ticket. The Kids are insurance. It is the same with the albino Tiger married.

No sympathy for these gold digging women

Anonymous said...

I really do feel sorry for Mr. Bryant that he is not gay. He could have avoided all these headaches and kept mountains of HIS cash if he had only been blessed with a different orientation. Sometimes life is unfair.

The Bitch Next Door said...

I really do feel sorry for Mr. Bryant that he is not gay. He could have avoided all these headaches and kept mountains of $$$.

And he would've had better taste in homes.....

Aunt Gina said...

so if Mr. Kobe had been gay, he would never have married, or gone through a messy divorce?

That is an assumption people might want to stop making. Along with alot of other outdated thinking.

Also, anyone, straight or gay, can avoid this kind of situation by simply signing a pre-nup, particularly when one or both parties have considerable assets.

Anonymous said...

I live right by then ... er, now her. These are nice houses (yeah, giant tract.. but gated, and thats just the way it is here in OC). .. with amazing views ... ocean etc; They dont show well from the air and look like generic mc-mansions; They are both well liked here in the community, and they have what Ive heard are great kids; I see the ex - mrs. shopping at Pavilions all the time... The lawyers get involved, and all turns to hell; I just with them both the best.

Anonymous said...

Just because the Bryants are divorcing doesn't mean they aren't nice people. I suspect I would like both of them if I was around them. Kobe just didn't need to be married if he wanted to run around, and I guess Vanessa didn't want to be married to him if he ran around. It happens a lot more than not these days. Kobe has more than enough money to divorce and be very, very comfortable all his life. Vanessa will, too. Other than the kids not having a home with both parents living there, this divorce is probably best for both of them.

I think the area is just darn lovely where they live, and I found the new house that is at 3 Avalon Vista, Newport Beach, CA 92657. House across the street which is facing another street is for sale for $17.8M according to Zillow. Views have to be just fantastic. Very exclusive street and location no doubt.

Anonymous said...

As with any divorce...SETTLEMENT HAS TO OCCUR. This marriage may be over but not only should she as well as he,seriously look at their financial portfolio for the long haul.

Anonymous said...

No pre-nup agreement. She will be getting millions in support payments for many years to come. He might run out of money before she does. How long before he hooks up with his next ex-wife?

Luxury Log Homes said...

Oh! 3 mansions? That's not a joke anymore. Just a snap and it all will fade like a dust. I hope Vanessa would take care of these properties or might as well sell all the properties. She's lucky.We all hope that it'll all end up so well for both of them too.

midTN said...

***

Tsk tsk tsk....should have bought out a damn jewelry store this time Kobe, or kept it zipped....so sad.

***
lol

Mississauga Condos said...

This is going to probably end up in some sort of settlement. IMO, I do not think she will just be able to easily take 1.5 of the 3 mansions

Mississauga Condos for Sale said...

It is too bad that people with money develop these God complexes thinking they can do what ever they please. It's also too bad that there are people who are constantly chasing successful people who are well off, in attempt to live off their earnings. Either way, a married athlete should never find themselves in that sort of situation. Shame on you Kobe.

Mississauga Homes said...

Adultery is never justified, either for star-athlete or a commoner. But, I am happy to see that the divorce is called off.