Friday, February 10, 2012

The L.A. Home of Kristen Bell Falls into Foreclosure

It wasn't so long ago, the children may recall, all us real estate gossips regularly dissed and discussed celebrities (and "celebrities") whose homes had slipped and slid into the gaping maw of foreclosure. The frequent foreclosure of homes owned by famous (and "famous") folks has ebbed significantly over the last year or two so Your Mama was somewhat surprised when we received a covert communique yesterday from someone we'll call Wanda Giveyousomedirt who whispered in Your Mama's ear that a Los Angeles home owned by busy as a beaver actress Kristen Bell (House of Lies, Gossip Girl, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Veronica Mars) now appears in online records as a foreclosed property.

Our own perusal of the property records confirms Miz Giveyousomedirt's accounting of the ugly matter and reveals twenty-something year old Miss Bell's secluded residence nestled snugly into the thickly wooded hills above Studio City with an easterly view over the neon lights of CityWalk at Universal Studios was snatched back by the bank in late January of this year (2012).

Records show Miss Bell, formerly engaged to producer Kevin Mann and now engaged to actor Dax Shepard (Parenthood, Baby Mama, King of the Hill, Punk'd), picked up her Studio City spread in November 2006 when the then 22-year old coughed up a very grown up $3,100,000 for the 2.6 acre property situated at the tail end of an exceptionally long private drive shared with two other homes. 

The property in question was purchased through a trust but multiple online resources identify the property as owned by Miss Bell. Furthermore, the property in question is easily linked to Miss Bell as she had it photographed in all it's low-key glam glory in 2009 for InStyle magazine who described the the the house as a "seven bedroom, 5,500 square-foot, Spanish-style home...on 2.5 acres, dotted with lavender, bougainvillea and abundant jasmine."

The Los Angeles County Tax Man, for what it's worth, shows the two story Mediterranean-ish mini-manse was built in 1969, measures 3,867 square feet and includes just 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Make of those discrepancies what you will.

The InStyle article went on to reveal that Miss Bell hired L.A.-based lady-decorator Stacey Vuduris to give the interior spaces a face lift and that the house was a virtual dorm with a constantly rotating cast of house guests and roommates and at one time "shared her home with six roommates" and three impossibly cute canines.

Miz Giveyousomedirt told Your Mama that Miss Bell moved out not too long after the InStyle article came out at that for most of the last couple of years the house has been vacant. Recent aerial photos of the property shows the gardens and swimming pool areas aren't being taken care of in a particularly fastidious manner as they were when Miss Bell was in residence.

As far as we know and can tell buy a brief and entirely unscientific sweep through public property records, Miss Bell does not own any other property in Los Angeles but her fiancée Dax Shepard still owns the 3 bedroom and 4 bathroom high-hedged and double-gated ranch-style residence in the Los Feliz area records show he scooped up in December 2005 for $1,325,000. Perhaps it's there Miss Bell decamped or perhaps not, we don't know.

photos: Francois Halard for InStyle via Stacey Veduris Design

47 comments:

Rosco Mare said...

Disappointed to read about this foreclosure, as I am in general about the topic as a sign of the time we live in. Kind of a bummer this Friday mornimg.
She is so cute, and the house looks nicely day-corated.

Anonymous said...

Strange.. it certainly isn't because she can't afford the payments. Could she be upside down so much that she's just walking away? Still doesn't make much sense.

Anonymous said...

Pay your bills...

Anonymous said...

I dont want to laugh anyone misfortune but I find these things amazing. These Celebs make millions of dollars. They make in one year what 99% of the rest of us make in 30 years. And they cant even pay for their house?

And they spend all that time lecturing the public on how we should spend our money and tax ect...and they cant even keep their own house in order.

Anonymous said...

Seems like she has had a good run and is now in the Showtime series with Don Cheadle.

Would really like to know the true scoop on this!

You would think banks, not saying they did not, would try to work out something to keep people in the house so it would be kept up to speed. The banks just do not get it.

Anonymous said...

That Dax is a real talent. I'm sure he'll help right ship.

Gossip Realty Girl said...
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h'wood insider said...

frankly, gossip realty girl, if Ms. Bell had made $10MM in the last 10 years she could've paid the house off and just have to carry the taxes and insurance. It's probably more the case of mismanagement by her management, a common (unfortunately) occurrence in this industry.

Anonymous said...

well, i think we just found the most obnoxious message ever left here on the blog of our dear Mama. thank you GRG 4:40! you win!

James said...

Great comment Gossip Realty Girl! I completely agree! So informative also!!

Gossip Realty Girl said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

she owed more than it was worth. Why not just walk away and hand it back to the bank. Its not like she cares about her credit. I seriously doubt this happened because shes broke.

Anonymous said...

Who knows why and who cares. She is living in another house with Dax Shepard right now and they are both getting a lot of steady work. Who needs the other house and the career looks good.

Anonymous said...

4:40, Dairy State? Excited?
She grew up in Rochester Hills and Royal Oak, some of the most expensive parts of Michigan. There are tons of huge multi-million dollar mansions all over there and billionaires that live out there too including Eminem's massive 14,000 plus sq.ft mansion.

She is not some milkmaid from off the farm in the middle of nowhere.

MamasBoy said...

GRG:
YOU GETS NO LOVE FROM ME.

Anonymous said...

I rather enjoyed the post by GRG and found it quite insightful and informative. I am, however, reading a blog on a Friday night so that should tell people something...

I really hadn't heard of Kristen Bell, but Celebrity Net Worth (who knows how reliable they are) says she's got a net worth of $8mil. I also read that she is 5'1". My conclusion? she's kinda short and got in over her head.

Gossip Realty Girl said...
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Anonymous said...

Is California a "no-recourse" state? That is, can you walk away from an underwater house and not be hounded for the debt by the bank? If so, I suspect that is what she decided to do.

Anonymous said...

It's not wise to laugh at another's misfortune. However, I do suspect that some entertainers live above their means.

It's not how much you make, but what you keep. If you owe more than you make in income, you are broke, busted and disgusted!

Anonymous said...

The annoying, lecturing kaaaweeen aka "Gossip Realty Girl" needs to get laid. God, what a nag!

Anonymous said...

GRG,

Who you are nobody cares to be honest. Huntington Woods is nowhere near as affluent as Royal Oak, Birmingham and Rochester Hills. You might be thinking of St. Claire Shores and Grosse Pointe, but not Huntington Woods.

And Michigan is far from being a Dairy State.

Anonymous said...

"Gossip Realty Girl" if you're going to come across as a pompous ass at least get your spelling and punctuation in order.

Anonymous said...

8:15. Yes indeed, if someone is going to diss others that person ought to make sure she is beyond fault. GRG seems semi-illiterate: writing "know" for no and "there" for their, etc. Careless perhaps, or simply uneducated?

Anonymous said...

Not sure how reliable that celebrity net worth website is. Kristen bell might be worth 8 million like it says. But it also claims her fiancé Dax Shepard is worth 10 million which is a joke lol

Anonymous said...

Maybe she will qualify for some bailout "Obama bucks"? do you know someone who has? did'nt think so

Gossip Realty Girl said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

GRG, I really hope you start your own blog, so I never have to read a thing you write again.
You are no Mama.

Anonymous said...

She basically abandoned the place. Clearly she has enough money to pay her bills if she wanted, but she's young and fickle and more than likely just didn't care. Wonder why she didn't at least make an attempt to sell it?

Steve Mawson said...

GRG, go start your own blog...we won't flock there to read it, but it will save us having to scroll through your endless and mundane comments dearie.

As for the matter in hand, if this really is a 2.6 acre property, why is the swimming pool the size of a bath and squeezed against what appears to be a dividing wall between neighbours ?

Gossip Realty Girl said...
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Anonymous said...

The attitude..Just walk away...is the saddest part of this story. We've become a society of I don't want to play this game anymore so you pick up the tab. I know and can relate to being hit with devastating financial ruin however i didn't blame it on others therefor I learned from going through and dealing with very difficult time. For some people there will never be enough money. There will always be something that will make their life perfect if they buy it...until the next day then. Then on to the next fix.

Kathy

CeceliaMc said...

The decorator did a good job here.

Kept the place light, fresh and youth for a youthful client.

Justin said...

Ok you're right it doesn't have to be 100% perfect but dear gaud let me give you just a brief lesson.

pheasant = bird.
peasant = low class.

You're welcome.

lil' gay boy said...

"...her daughter, Gossip Realty Girl..."

Oh dear; time to get out the wooden spoon, as well as do a DNA test. Talk about wannabes...honey, you may be the one person who thinks most highly of herself, but you certainly are NOT one of Mama's chillruns, no how.

With so little info to go on, I'm amazed how easy it is for some to jump on the hater wagon; with an unknown number of tenants/houseguests/hangers-on who can tell what the living/financial arrangements were/are? Perhaps the people living at the house were supposed to, but failed, to keep up the mortgage payments as per an informal agreement? Or perhaps she abandoned it for some reason, or upon the good or bad advice of someone she trusted?

Perhaps she is naive/irresponsible/lazy or just plain dumb ––– who's to say? Until all the facts are known, it seems prudent to dial it back a bit on speculation masquerading as fact.

Yak said...

GRG seems an ignorant, ill-informed, mamma-wannabe, troll. Two words - Go Away.

In regard to Kristen Bell, me thinks there must be a financial "miscommunication" with her business manager or some such nonsense.

Aside from fraud or a gambling problem, it makes no sense that a mortgage on a house of that value would be in arrears considering her salary.

midTN said...

***

4:59 PM

........have another drink fatso.

***

Anonymous said...

it's quirky.

I am like so bummed.
Let's do some yoga and play Bon Iver.

is Sofia in foreclosure, too? Oh, wow, that is so...like...vintage
poor. Like Great Depression.

Really 30's, man.

Anonymous said...

Let's give credit where credit is due... even though GRG is a troll, at least she's an (unintentionally) amusing one. "Pheasants" had me rolling on the floor!

REITII said...

Gorgeous home, I am sure it won't take too long to sell.

Anonymous said...

if GRG's brain was as big as her bum, maybe her comments might be poignant

Anonymous said...

Mama,

I'm so upset about the premature passing of Ms. Whitney Houston. So very, very sad - a tragic loss.

I would love to hear your thoughts on her incredible career and to learn something about her real estate acquisitions over the years.

Anonymous said...

@2:54

This is a moderated board so Mama has to approve GRG's comments. What amazes me is that GRG's profile always links to an ad so perhaps this is the latest twist on spamvertising.

GRG did make some sound financial observations that I enjoyed, the insults I could live without.

Steve Mawson said...

she flashed, she panned,

TA TA Gossip Girl. Mama hath sthpoken.

Carmen Anderson said...

Not sure how reliable that celebrity net worth website is. Kristen bell might be worth 8 million like it says. But it also claims her fiancé Dax Shepard is worth 10 million which is a joke lol

Mattzqcy said...
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Ellis said...

Pay your bills...

care4home said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.