People are talking about the real estate investor who made an offer of $30 million for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s now-famous “freak off” home. He has explained why he made the offer and why he thinks the house needs “painful” work to make it liveable.
Bo Belmont, CEO of the real estate crowdfunding company Belwood Investments in California, made news around the world on November 21 when he said he had made an offer of $30 million on Diddy’s Holmby Hills home, which is less than half of the $61.5 million asking price.
Now, in an exclusive interview with Realtor.com, Belmont talks about the fuss over his “lowball” offer and explains why he thinks his price is more than fair, even though the home is being sold for an absurdly high amount of money.
One main reason he made a smaller offer? The bad reputation that the home in the Los Angeles area now has after it was searched by Homeland Security officials and found to have been the site of several of Diddy’s “freak off” parties, which are now the focus of prosecutors’ sex-trafficking case against him.
As he puts it, “it has a stigma attached to it.” “I need to delete it.” I have to change the Diddy vibe in every way. “We’re here with sage.”
Having been given the chance to look around the 10-bedroom, 13-bathroom house, Belmont says that what he saw inside didn’t really impress him.
He says that even though the outside of the house looks very luxurious, the inside is very “plain.”
His first thought about the land was that it was very plain. “The house has been well taken care of, but it’s not worth the $61.5 million price tag.” Between people in Bel-Air and Beverly Hills is very tough right now.
“It is a typical Colonial-style home in Bel-Air.” That’s not what people want to buy. “Buyers want trendy and modern items that they can show off when they have people over,” he says.
He says that even the 1.3-acre plot of land needs work. The backyard has a waterslide, a pool, and statues, which make it “amazing,” but it doesn’t have any “entertainment aspects,” which makes it seem much less “amazing” to potential buyers.
As he puts it, “it has a stigma attached to it.” “I need to delete it.” I have to change the Diddy vibe in every way. “We’re here with sage.”
Having been given the chance to look around the 10-bedroom, 13-bathroom house, Belmont says that what he saw inside didn’t really impress him.
He says that even though the outside of the house looks very luxurious, the inside is very “plain.”
His first thought about the land was that it was very plain. “The house has been well taken care of, but it’s not worth the $61.5 million price tag.” Between people in Bel-Air and Beverly Hills is very tough right now.
“It is a typical Colonial-style home in Bel-Air.” That’s not what people want to buy. “Buyers want trendy and modern items that they can show off when they have people over,” he says.
He says that even the 1.3-acre plot of land needs work. The backyard has a waterslide, a pool, and statues, which make it “amazing,” but it doesn’t have any “entertainment aspects,” which makes it seem much less “amazing” to potential buyers.
Belmont says he had to think about how much he would have to spend on the house in order for it to meet his very high standards for any home he plans to sell when he made his offer, which he thinks is fair.
He says that number is very high in this case because he wants to rip out all the ends.
“We have to go in and tear out the beautifully kept finishes,” he says. “That’s one of the worst things we have to do.” “Not down to the studs.” The old finishes would have to go, and the whole thing would have to be streamlined and brought up to date.
“I think the renovations will cost us between $8 million and $12 million.” “I’ll likely put in two million dollars just for the guesthouse,” he says. “We might need to add space.” A second $2 million is spent on the backyard itself.
Kanye West’s torn-down Malibu beach house was another well-known property purchase that Belmont used to get an idea of how much he’d have to pay for Diddy’s house.
“Just the light fixtures I bought for [West’s] old Malibu home are worth more than $450,000, and Diddy’s house is three times that size.” “The lights alone will cost almost $1 million,” says Belmont.Still, Belmont hasn’t said that he won’t make a higher offer. He said that he is willing to “negotiate” with Diddy’s selling agent, Kurt Rappaport, because he thinks that Rappaport should never have let the house be listed for such a ridiculously high price.
“That number was too high.” “That price won’t be reached,” Belmont warns. “I don’t understand why it costs $61.5 million, but $29.5 million is a fair price.”
Belmont would also update the guesthouse and replace the old finishes in the bathrooms as part of the home’s changes. In the years since Diddy bought the house, the second one had been turned into a recording studio.
He says, “The guesthouse isn’t set up like a normal guesthouse.” “From what I’ve seen, when you’re in Bel-Air, your guests may have their own staff.” Also, they need a place to stay.
“They wouldn’t stay in the main house, but in the guesthouse instead.” D.I. and his team made it all public, though. It’s a place to make music. He made it his own. But it’s not convenient for someone who has friends with staff.
Belmont says that the garage also needs a lot of work because it was turned into guest rooms while Diddy owned the house.
“They turned the garage space into offices for staff.” You can’t park your cars anywhere. It only has room for four cars, he says. “You should think, ‘I can fit a Bugatti or a Ferrari in there.'” They need to picture that.
Belmont tells Rappaport that he is ready to talk and that he has been in touch with him. He also tells Diddy that his offer of $30 million is real.
He also says, “Diddy may not need the money right now, but he will: $30 million is better than no million.”
