Latin singer Jenni Rivera buys Encino home for $3.3 million - Los Angeles Times
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Latin singer Jenni Rivera buys Encino home for $3.3 million

Latin pop star Jenni Rivera just bought an Encino home for $3.3 million. The 9,527-square-foot house she purchased is in a desirable neighborhood south of Ventura Boulevard. It has seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms and was recently remodeled top to bottom.
(Gabriel Bouys/ AFP/Getty Images)
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When Latin music superstar Jenni Rivera moves, she moves fast. Rivera recently closed escrow in seven days on an Encino home she bought for $3.3 million.

The 9,527-square-foot house she purchased is in a desirable neighborhood south of Ventura Boulevard. It has seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms and was recently remodeled top to bottom. It sits on 4 acres and has a large grassy lawn, pool and entertainment patio that includes a spa and waterfall. The home has marble and hardwood flooring, a gourmet kitchen, walls of windows and city lights views.

There is a grand two-story entry, and the property is gated and private.

Rivera, 39, has released more than a dozen albums and is considered one of the world’s bestselling Latin artists, having sold an estimated 20 million albums.

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Ben Lee of Coldwell Banker Beverly Hills East office was the listing agent. Faby Llerandi of Divina Realty represented the buyer.

A head-spinning playground area

Many a childhood was haunted by the images from “The Exorcist.” (Remember the little girl with the spinning head?) But even though William Peter Blatty -- the writer of that novel and movie screenplay -- once owned this place, there is not a shred of creepiness about it.

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The gated estate in Hidden Hills that Blatty called home for about a decade is now listed at $27 million. And what a playground it is. There’s a theater room with seating for 28, tennis court, sandy volleyball court, equestrian ring and state-of-the-art horse stables, spa with massage room and tanning booth, gym, wine cellar with tasting room and an outdoor chessboard with life-size pieces. And in what is likely a first for a home in this column, there is also a mechanical bull in its own sandy arena.

The free-form swimming pool features a large waterfall and a grotto with swim-up bar.

The home has six bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. One of the bathrooms has about 10 urinals. See for yourself at www.oldlionmanor.com.

Blatty, best known for writing “The Exorcist” novel in 1971 and screenplay in 1973, owned this property from 1990 to 2000, according to public records. The movie was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including best picture, and won the best picture award that year at the Golden Globes. It has grossed more than $400 million worldwide, including video rentals.

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Robert Kass, estate director for Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, and Logan Fenton of the same agency, share the listing.

Artfully placed in Holmby Hills

In the market for an art museum, of sorts, in Holmby Hills?

The home of philanthropist and major art collector Audrey Irmas is a one-of-a-kind residence designed by Santa Barbara-based architect Timothy Morgan Steele with art connoisseurs in mind: lots of linear wall space and flowing interiors with ceilings that are 15 to 22 feet tall. There is a state-of-the-art security system that includes video surveillance, an electric gate with a camera and indoor motion detectors. Move over, MOCA.

And the price of the 11,000-square-foot home just dropped to $16.9 million from $25 million. The home has three bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms and sits on an acre. The master bedroom suite has his-and-her walk-in closets -- but that’s about as ordinary as this place gets.

There is a reflecting pool that accentuates the home’s modern design. The house also has a gallery/study designed with a dome made of zinc.

Irmas, a life trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, collects Andy Warhols, Roy Lichtensteins, sculptures by Tony Smith. She frequently loans works from her collection to public exhibitions. Her philanthropy, besides MOCA and the art world, includes many Jewish causes. The Westside campus of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple is named for her and her late husband, Sydney.

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Coldwell Banker Beverly Hills agents Linda May and Matthew Irmas, son of the owner, have the listing.

One less spot to get your Ya-Yas

L.A. has gone ga-ga over Ya-Ya, and now the designer who created the sportswear line hopes to sell her Hollywood Hills home, just listed at $3,995,000.

Fashionista Yael Aflalo is selling a 1930s New England traditional, remodeled in 2007 by the Los Angeles-based design firm Commune. The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home is set back from the street by a large, gated motor court. The public rooms open to European gardens. There is a saltwater pool, marble statues and topiaries. The 5,889-square-foot home has hardwood floors, an art studio, gym and home theater.

Aflalo’s clothing line, Ya-Ya, is sold in boutiques and department stores in 10 countries. Aflalo, born in Los Angeles in 1977, has been designing apparel commercially since she was 20.

Her brother, Samuel Aflalo of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills South office, is the listing agent.

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Not quantum, but still a big leap

Deborah Pratt, who wrote, acted in and co-produced the TV series “Quantum Leap,” has listed her Holmby Hills-area home at $3,895,000.

The main house has five bedrooms and five bathrooms. There is a separate one-bedroom, one-bathroom guesthouse for a total of 4,555 square feet.

The traditional main house has a curved stairway off the grand entry, hardwood floors, high ceilings, a step-down living room and formal dining room with a butler’s pantry. The top floor is an unfinished attic that could be converted into living space. The home, built in 1936, has an elevator. There is a pool.

Pratt’s former husband, Donald Bellisario, created several TV series, including “Quantum Leap,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “JAG” and NCIS.”

Pratt was the executive producer on the TV series “The Net” in the 1990s. She’s been nominated for four Emmys.

Deborah Bremner of Coldwell Banker, Brentwood West office, is the listing agent.

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