Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan were divorced before the Hollywood actor known as “Dutch” was cast as president of the United States, but during their seven-year marriage, the couple lived in a custom-built Hollywood Hills home with views of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.

Now Wyman and Reagan’s former home is on the Los Angeles real estate market for a cool $10 million. And with the 2012 presidential election fast approaching, it looks like someone thought it was a good year to buy the former home of U.S. Commander in Chief No, 40; a sale is pending on the property after a more than $2 million price drop.

The 5-bedroom, 7-bathroom home at 9137 Cordell Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90069 is one thing, but it’s the luxe amenities that push the price up for this .72-acre property. The estate comes with a tennis court, pool, Balinese pool house and, most important, a 340-degree view of Los Angeles from the property’s private knoll that sits behind gates up a long driveway. There’s also a media room, library, indoor/outdoor spa and a large wine cellar.

Wyman died in 2007 at age 93, having gone on to many movie and television roles after her divorce from Reagan in 1948. In the Associated Press obituary, the Academy Award-winning actress was quoted about the role politics played in the dissolution of the marriage.

When she divorced him, she testified: ‘Politics built a barrier between us. I tried to make his interests mine, but finally there was nothing to sustain our marriage.’

Wyman was famously decorous about her marriage when Reagan became governor of California and later president.

‘It’s not because I’m bitter or because I don’t agree with him politically,’ Wyman said in a 1968 interview.

‘I’ve always been a registered Republican. But it’s bad taste to talk about ex-husbands and ex-wives, that’s all. Also, I don’t know a damn thing about politics.’

It was a subject of interest because Reagan was the only divorced president, making Wyman the only ex-wife of a president. Reagan died at age 93 in 2004, after suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Boxing great Muhammad Ali started life as Cassius Clay Jr. in a small, 1-bedroom, 1-bath home in Louisville, KY. Located at 3302 Grand Ave, Louisville KY 40211, the home was recently registered as a historic landmark in the city, complete with a signpost out front.

Another signpost recently joined the historic marker — a sign marking Ali’s childhood home for sale. Owner Steve Stephenson told the Associated Press he’s priced the home at $50,000. Built in 1920, the home measures 1,128 square feet.

Apparently the price was right. According to local Louisville news station WHAS11, the for sale sign was only up for a month before negotiations to buy the home reportedly were under way.

“The sale could be completed in a week, and the plan is to restore the home, so people can enjoy its historical significance,” reported the site.

After Ali’s family moved out, the home passed through a number of hands, most recently selling in 1998. The news station reports that the home has fallen into disrepair.

Ali began his boxing career in the home, first taking up the sport to get back at the thieves who stole his bike as a child.

Despite the boxer’s fame, he returns to his hometown often and celebrated his 70th birthday at the Muhammad Ali Center, a museum and education center in downtown Louisville

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Date:August 27, 2012 | Author:Erika Riggs | Category:Eye Candy

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Kelsey and Camille Grammer’s divorce was finalized in 2011. Source: People.com

If you’re up on celebrity real estate, you may know that Kelsey Grammer and his ex-wife, Camille Grammer, top the list for owning the most properties.

Or at least they used to.

Since the pair’s divorce was finalized in January 2011, the Grammers have slowly been trying to dump their properties, starting with a Beaver Creek, CO ski home and their Beverly Hills home. The latest Grammer home to hit the market is their once-primary residence in Serra Retreat, Malibu.

Listed for $17.5 million, the 4.75-acre home has bounced off and on the market over the past few years as an undisclosed address. Located at 3250 Serra Rd, Malibu, CA 90265, the private and gated home was purchased by the Grammers in 1998 for $4.5 million. A few upgrades (and years later), the home has more than doubled in price.

Like most of the Grammers’ former places, the Malibu home is deluxe. The grounds feature “towering trees, flowering gardens,” as well as a lighted tennis court, large pool, nine-stall barn and access to riding trails. Inside, the 4-bed, 6-bath home measures 6,645 square feet with a “gourmet kitchen designed by Wolfgang Puck,” master suite with ocean views and a home theater. A guest house on the property has an additional few bedrooms, large kitchen and rooftop deck.

In addition to this Malibu home, as well as the Colorado ski estate and Beverly Hills property, the Grammers also own:

• A 1.88-acre parcel on Weave Hollow in Andes, NY (Delaware County). Reports show that Kelsey Grammer owns a 2,800-square-foot farmhouse that was built in 1900.

• Two properties in Hawaii — one which was purchased for $6 million in 2003, and the other for $1.75 million in May 2006.

• Multiple million-dollar apartments in New York City.

The Malibu property is listed by Chris Cortazzo of Coldwell Banker.

According to Zillow’s mortgage calculator, a monthly payment on the home would be $62,414, assuming a 20 percent down payment on a 30-year mortgage.

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Date:August 28, 2012 | Author:Erika Riggs | Category:Eye Candy

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3204 W Highway 80, Bisbee AZ
For sale: $1.5 million

When Randy and Cathy Clark were first touring their new 37-acre parcel in Bisbee, AZ, they heard a blasting sound. Curious, they went up the road to investigate.

“We met our neighbor, a Swedish mining engineer, who was blasting into the side of the mountain,” explained Cathy Clark.”It was a happy accident that he happened to be building a cave at the same time that we were moving in.”

The neighbor took a look at the rock formation on the Clarks’ property and determined that it would work for a cave home.

“The blasting took a year and half,” Clark said. “And the finishes took 15 years, so we built a guest house in the meantime.”

The years of carving and building gave way to a cave home that is filled with custom finishes and touches. But this isn’t rustic living, notes Clark.

“It’s very comfortable, and it feels very normal [to live in a cave],” she said. “I don’t know if that goes back to some ancestral DNA.”

One of the best features of the property, says listing agent Jean Noreen, is the oasis-like quality of the land.

Not only does the property have a spring, but it naturally fills several pools and the Clarks have built patios and stairs throughout to provide access. A hot tub is even built into the stone to mimic the natural pools.

“It’s like your own national park,” Noreen said.

The cave home measures 2,980 square feet with 3 bedrooms — one of which is a loft — and 3 baths. High ceilings, a gourmet kitchen and natural light at the front and back of the cave keep the home from ever feeling dank or prehistoric.

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Date:August 28, 2012 | Author:Laura Vecsey | Category:Eye Candy

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Cary Grant. Source: IMDb

Zsa Zsa Gabor Source: Biography.com

Try to imagine a dinner party at this house that puts Cary Grant, Zsa Zsa Gabor, the Rolling Stones, Peter Fonda and the Beatles around the tiki bar.

It might be just our imagination, but the cocktail-hour conversation might be just a little bit wild and loopy — even by Los Angeles standards.

In the hills overlooking Hollywood, anything can happen, and often does … although in this Beverly Glen home at 2850 Benedict Canyon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, that mix of A-list movies stars and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musicians weren’t all gathered at the property at the same time.

Peter Fonda. Source: allynscura.com

The Beatles. Source: Apple Corps. ltd

According to listing agent Stephanie Nahai of Westside Estate Agency, who listed the home for $3.1 million on Aug. 24, these cultural icons did, over the years, spend a little time living or relaxing there. And thanks to our friends at Curbed LA, we know that at least some of the celebrities partied together at the house at least once — not that a great time was had by all.

A quick check with The Beatles Bible reveals that the Fab Four rented the 4-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom property from Gabor for five days in August 1965. They were taking a break from their North American tour, and the gated estate on 2.53 acres was the perfect place to relax — if you can call dropping acid amidst a carnival of reporters, groupies and visitors “relaxing.”

Imagine all the people … who partied here.

While everyone except Paul McCartney did take LSD, the party hit a snag when Fonda showed up. John Lennon recalled the day this way:

And Peter Fonda came, that was another thing, and he kept on saying, ‘I know what it’s like to be dead.’ We said, ‘What?’ And he kept saying it, and we were saying, ‘For chrissake, shut up, we don’t care. We don’t want to know.’ But he kept going on about it. That’s how I wrote ‘She Said She Said…’“

While Lennon got a good song out of the stay at Benedict Canyon Dr. home, George Harrison and Ringo Starr said some of their most vivid memories of that day came from swimming in the pool. Starr described it as “swimming in jelly,” while Harrison said:

I had a concept of what had happened the first time I took LSD, but the concept is nowhere near as big as the reality, when it actually happens. So as it kicked in again, I thought, ‘Jesus, I remember!’ I was trying to play the guitar, and then I got in the swimming pool and it was a great feeling; the water felt good.”

Built in 1949, the home was subsequently owned by a Los Angeles business owner but over the years, the place has retained the aura of a country estate with two wet bars, peg-and-groove floors, patios off all the bedrooms, fireplace in the kitchen, guest house, six-car garage and views of the canyon

Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages fell this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 3.39 percent, down from 3.5 percent at this same time last week.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovered between 3.4 and 3.5 percent for the majority of the week, dropping to the current rate this morning.

“This past week, rates fell back down close to the historic low level we’ve enjoyed since June following the release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes, which suggested the Federal Reserve was more supportive of additional stimulus in the form of quantitative easing (QE3) than the market had expected,” said Erin Lantz, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.

“Now that rates have returned to the low plateau where they’ve spent most of the summer, we expect rates to remain close to this equilibrium this coming week as the market awaits more significant events in the first half of September,” added Lantz.

Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate this morning was 2.76 percent, and for 5/1 ARMs, the rate was 2.38 percent.

Jennifer Lopez hasn’t lived in this enormous Miami Beach estate in seven years, but that doesn’t mean the home is any less fabulous.

J.Lo sold the home at 5800 N Bay Rd, Miami Beach FL 33140 in 2005 to health care entrepreneur Mark Gainor and his wife, Elyse Gainor, for $13.9 million. The Gainors took it upon themselves to completely renovate the Miami Beach residence.

Looking at the property history, it appears this isn’t the first time J.Lo’s former home has been on the market. In 2010, the home was listed for $29 million, (perhaps prior renovation) and then briefly listed for a whopping $42.5 million in 2011. In early 2012, the price was slashed to $34.5 million before it was re-upped to its current price tag of $40 million.

The home certainly matches its hefty price tag. Measuring over 12,000 square feet, the home has 7 bedrooms and 9.5 baths on a 1.21-acre lot bordering the bay. In addition to waterfront and skyline views, the grounds feature koi ponds, gardens and a large pool.

Inside, the home opens up with a two-story rotunda foyer, leading to living spaces with vaulted, beamed ceilings and hardwood floors.

Of course, the home also includes the usual celebrity amenities: wine cellar, home theater, enormous master suite with private terrace and a gourmet kitchen.

The home is listed with Nelson Gonzalez of EWM Realtors, Inc.

According to Zillow’s mortgage calculator, a monthly payment on the J.Lo’s former house would be $141,825, assuming a 20 percent down payment on a 30-year mortgage.