Josh Altman tapped into his inner rockstar to sell a home reportedly owned by Howard Hughes on Tuesday’s episode of Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles.
As the episode opened, Altman, 41, met with a couple who wanted to put their 1960 Beverly Hills home, believed to have been owned by the eccentric business magnate, on the market.
The broker was excited to see the place because he’d heard that Hughes had not only thrown parties in the four-bedroom home, but let many of his girlfriends live there.
Rocking out: Josh Altman tapped into his inner rockstar to sell a home reportedly owned by Howard Hughes on Tuesday’s episode of Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles.
The home’s current owners, Scott and Debby, originally paid $7.5 million for its 4,602 square feet, which still retained many mid-century details.
Altman marveled at its sunken living room, square embedded hot tub, vintage furnishings, and the fabulous sight lines from its expansive roof—a rarity in the area.
‘Scott and Debby maintained the look of the house, but really spent the money behind the walls,’ the broker added, noting that they had updated the electric and plumbing.
Scott told Altman that he was a singer-songwriter, and described himself as working with ‘source’ music, which he said was ‘spiritual’ and had to do with energetic frequencies.
Center stage: The 41-year-old broker took center stage during an open house for brokers
The sellers: The home’s current owners, Scott and Debby, originally paid $7.5 million for its 4,602 square feet, which still retained many mid-century details
Big pool: The property featured a large backyard with a nice pool
Large windows: A bedroom featured a lot of light with large windows
Sunken room: Altman marveled at its sunken living room, square embedded hot tub, vintage furnishings, and the fabulous sight lines from its expansive roof—a rarity in the area
Nice views: The property had nice sight lines from multiple angles
When he played his stuff for Altman, the broker tuned out, noting in a confessional, ‘I was a New Kids on the Block fan, not a Grateful Dead fan.’
Things later took a turn when Scott said he wanted to play at the broker’s open, where Altman would be showcasing his home to buyer’s representatives.
‘It’s unusual to have a seller at the broker’s open,’ Altman said in a confessional. ‘You want to be able to speak freely about the house. But it’s really unusual to have the owner’s band playing.’
Famous owner: The broker was excited to see the place because he’d heard that Hughes had not only thrown parties in the four-bedroom home, but let many of his girlfriends live there
‘The reality is, it could backfire if buyers aren’t feeling the groove.’
To Altman’s relief, brokers seemed to like the rock music Scott was playing on the roof, which showed them the potential for entertaining in the space.
He then tried his hand at playing guitar with the band, singing, ‘This thing is hot, it will sell, all cash, shekels, it don’t matter, we got it all,’ to the brokers’ delight.
Selling song: Altman tried his hand at playing guitar with the band, singing, ‘This thing is hot, it will sell, all cash, shekels, it don’t matter, we got it all,’ to the brokers’ delight
‘It’s never been a dream of mine to jump onstage, but there’s only so many times you get to channel your inner Steve Perry,’ Altman added afterward.
Josh Flagg, 34, faced a different kind of challenge during the episode, working with a buyer named Heather who’d cold-called him looking for a Westside Los Angeles home far from coyotes.
She was not a ‘diligent’ pet owner, she admitted, and didn’t want her dog to get ‘munched.’
New buyer: Josh Flagg, 34, faced a different kind of challenge during the episode, working with a buyer named Heather who’d cold-called him looking for a Westside Los Angeles home far from coyotes
With a $4 to $5 million budget, Heather wasn’t loving the Colonial home Flagg showed her, and figured out that what she really needed was a small place with ‘charm’ on a small street.
At first, she seemed to like a six-bedroom 1931 Roxbury Park home for $3.65 million, but she faltered when she found out about its termite issues and leak in the garage.
‘I inherently like you as a person, but if I’m just to evaluate the two houses we’ve seen today, we’re missing the mark,’ she told Flagg.
House hunting: ‘I inherently like you as a person, but if I’m just to evaluate the two houses we’ve seen today, we’re missing the mark,’ Heather told Flagg
Bold promise: Flagg promised Heather that he would find her a home in her $4 to $5 million price range
Meanwhile, David Parnes and James Harris, 35, were trying to sell Carnarvon, a gorgeous two-bedroom property in Pasadena, California, which their rival Tracy Tutor. 44, had tried to steal.
They’d put it on the market for $1.7 million, and David hoped that recent updates to the 1950s home might make it more appealing to new buyers.
But in private showings, brokers were critical, complaining about the lack of light and space.
Pasadena property: Meanwhile, David Parnes and James Harris, 35, were trying to sell Carnarvon, a gorgeous two-bedroom property in Pasadena, California, which their rival Tracy Tutor. 44, had tried to steal.
‘This house is a mid-century gem, but it is old and it needs work done to it,’ David admitted, adding that brokers ‘just can’t see their way around it.’
After the showings, David had architects draw up plans for expanding the house, so future buyers could see its potential.
‘We’ve actually done the work for the buyer, so they can see this deal as a cookie-cutter opportunity,’ he noted.
Major potential: After the showings, David had architects draw up plans for expanding the house, so future buyers could see its potential
In the end, they got two offers and made a deal to sell the home to a developer for $1.55 million.
David couldn’t resist making one final call before he finished with the deal entirely.
‘Hey Tracy, it’s David and James,’ he said, ringing his real-estate rival. ‘I think the last time I saw you we were talking about Carnarvon, so I just wanted to let you know that we did sell it, and we would love to take you out for lunch with our commission.’
Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles will return next week on Bravo.
Lunch offer: ‘Hey Tracy, it’s David and James,’ James said, ringing his real-estate rival Tracy Tutor. ‘I think the last time I saw you we were talking about Carnarvon, so I just wanted to let you know that we did sell it, and we would love to take you out for lunch with our commission’