Broker raises flap over real estate transaction that was supposed to be confidential.
By Michelle Logsdon/Special to The Malibu Times
Celebrities and public figures walk a daily tightrope between their public personas and their private lives. Whenever possible, the rich and famous try to keep their dealings to themselves, especially when it comes to real estate.
“A public person does not want people to know how much they are spending or where they live,” said a Malibu Realtor, who chose to remain anonymous.
In fact, most high-dollar transactions are accompanied by a confidentiality agreement.
However, high-profile transactions are hard to keep under the rug.
Such was the case recently when legendary television host/producer Dick Clark purchased a legendary Malibu estate. The 11.5-acre property, known as Gulls Way, is located at 26800 Pacific Coast Highway and was listed for $15 million.
Clark bought the Gulls Way property from Pepperdine University.
Pepperdine Public Information Officer Jerry Derloshon said, “We aren’t commenting on the sale of the property except that it was sold. We cannot even confirm who bought it.”
When the Los Angeles Times published an item in its June 23, Sunday Hot Properties column that Clark purchased Gulls Way, the parties involved with the sale made it known they were unhappy about the press.
“That was supposed to be a confidential sale,” said Diane Carter, the Malibu Coldwell Banker agent who represented Clark. “We are trying to get the L.A. Times to retract their story.”
Reporters specializing in real estate stories get around confidentiality agreements by using public information filed with the county recording office. Each property has a file documenting each transfer of the title. Celebrities rarely use their own name, instead they file the transfer under a trustee’s or a company’s name. Still, these entities can usually be traced back to the celebrity.
The agent who chose to remain anonymous said targeting celebrities shows a lack of class.
“From my perspective, as a long-time Malibu resident, we try to protect the celebrities. I don’t regard the newspaper stories as tasteful.”
Gulls Way had only one owner before Pepperdine-Rick and Luella “Billie” Ulrich. The couple bought the majority of the oceanfront property at Latigo Point in 1943. The initial purchase was for six acres sold by the Marblehead Land Co. The price, according to some reports, was less than $10,000.
The Ulrichs owned several mobile home parks throughout Southern California and moved a trailer onto the property until construction of the 1,840 square foot guesthouse was completed in 1947. The house was christened “The ’47 house.”
The 6,000 square foot, three-story brick main house, fashioned after a post card of “The House of Seven Gables,” was completed in 1971. The Ulrich’s rented the property to movie studios. Hundreds of films and television shows have been filmed at Gulls Way including “Fantasy Island,” “Hardcastle & McCormick” and “It’s Only Money,” starring Jerry Lewis.
Rick Ulrich died in 1987 at the age of 86. Alone, Billie couldn’t keep up the sprawling compound that, by then, included a beach house, caretaker’s cottage, manicured gardens, statuary, fountains and a waterfall. In 1992, at the age of 91, she negotiated with Pepperdine to give the university the property but stayed at Gulls Way until she died. Billie passed away five years later.
That transaction was not kept secret. In fact, both Pepperdine officials and Billie wanted Gulls Way to serve the public. They wanted to convert it into a conference center but the City of Malibu opposed the idea.
Former Mayor Tom Hasse was on the Planning Commission from 1995 to 1998. In a Daily News article Hasse said, “No matter how you want to limit the number of conferences or the number of people, it still has a conference use in a residential area.”
Pepperdine put the property up for sale in June of 1999.
Gulls Way was listed for $15 million, but the final sale price is not listed in public records. Reportedly, Clark bought the property as an investment. Proceeds of the sale will go to Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business.
Media relations officer for the business school, Michael Sims, did not have any further information about the sale.