Amanda Lynn famously stirred the pot full of drama on Selling Sunset during season 8, but off camera she’s inking multi-million dollar real estate deals.
And she’s working overtime to bring Kanye West’s former Malibu retreat back to its original glory.
The architectural masterpiece, designed by renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando, made headlines when the disgraced rapper put down a jaw-dropping $57 million on the beachfront gem only to gut and vacate the property he had reportedly planned to turn into a modernist bomb shelter.
Belwood Investments purchased the abandoned bunker last August for under $22 million — and within months it was up to Lynn to flip it and find an off-market buyer – and the Nest Seekers International agent did it in record time.
And while other real estate reality stars may have gotten credit for the public listing (fans know who they are), Lynn is setting the record straight on the art of this behind the scenes deal and if she’s coming back to reality TV.
Courtesy of Nest Seekers International
You played a central role in the sale of Kanye West’s former Malibu mansion that you recently sold in a massive off-market deal.
I know the seller, Bo Belmont, very well from Belwood Investments. Basically, he gave me a window of time. I had 60 days, but it was more like 30 days to get him a full price offer on that property, which I did. I secured a buyer within less than a week, and we had it under contract for a full price offer. It’s been a very complicated transaction. We’re still working on it now, but it’s set to close this week.
Just months after buying the bunker for $22 million Belmont sold it. What’s the final offer?
$30 million. He was going to go to market at $39 million if I didn’t find someone off market within that 30 days. So I had a 60-day agreement, but we did it within a week.
That’s quick and impressive work. And I understand Mauricio Umansky and Jason Oppenheim were also in the mix and publicly listed it.
They had a contract that I was unaware of from the seller (Belmont), but they had it to list on the market. I had the off market exclusive for 30 days. So the seller actually signed two agreements.
I moved very fast. I did a showing [and] the next day the buyer flew in from Montana and looked at it right away. When they (Umansky and Oppenheim) heard about that, they went to market and listed it with their agreement. So that’s how I found out that they were even involved. They put it live on the market way earlier than they were supposed to. I had already done [the deal] off market at $30 million. They were going to go live on the market at $39 [million]. But it was too late.
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It sounds like there was some healthy competition.
Yes. But, you know, I am very proud that what I did. Real estate in California is very complicated, especially the state of the world. And things are changing all the time. The luxury market is not as affected. It stays pretty consistent. But what I did was very difficult to do, especially that fast. So, I’m just very proud that I was able to even do that.
So there’s no bad blood with Mauricio and Jason.
I don’t have bad blood with anyone. I mean, in my opinion, all emotion aside, this is a business. So that’s how I operate. Treat it as a business. This is my passion. This is my life. I want to have great relationships with everyone, because I’m going to be in this industry for a long time, and these are the people that I have looked up to that I aspire to be like, so I don’t want to have bad relationships with anyone. It’s business. I want to move on and close more deals. That’s kind of my mindset. I love Mauricio. Mauricio hired me, he brought me into real estate. I started at The Agency. I worked there for three years. I don’t have a problem with anyone. It’s just business, you know, contracts, business being business. I learn through every deal — the people, the relationships. There’s obstacles in every transaction. This one has been very complicated. It’s been going on for over four months.
Kanye’s one-time beachfront home was essentially gutted – it didn’t even have plumbing or electrical. What’s going on with the property now?
There’s been a lot of work done to the house. Every time I stop by the house, there was always crew there. It still needs more work, but it will resume as soon as [the deal] closes and we’ll be completing it. This property really was like a piece of art by Tadao Ando. So we want to restore the value of the art. And the new buyer is the perfect buyer for this house. It’s like a match made in heaven, truly because he is worked on bunkers, he’s done a lot of construction work, bridges, that’s really what he knows. So this house just fits right into his wheelhouse. He has a lot of projects in Montana and Alaska, so he is very excited about it. It’s going to be a piece of art again. Selling $30 million full price on a construction site on the beach, you can imagine when the new buyer comes in and redoes everything, how much it will actually go for.
Courtesy of Nest Seekers International
And it’s going to be even more incredible because after all, you know how difficult this year has been in Malibu and the Palisades [with] the fires. I feel like Malibu is just going to be more of the hidden heaven on earth that people in California love so much. There was so much tragedy. I feel like this property is going to be one of the special ones that’s still there.
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You’re making multi-million dollar deals left and right.
I also have beautiful [properties] on Mykonos [in Greece].
Courtesy of Nest Seekers International
And in California I have this property in Bel Air on Somma Way which is right by the Bel Air Hotel. It’s on a very quiet cul-de-sac. It’s listed at right below $7 million.This house is very special. This is like the house from The Notebook. The husband built it for his wife [as] her dream home for them to raise their son. It’s magical. It’s a happy home with loving energy. You can feel it. It’s very charming. It’s like a European retreat. It’s 4,400 square feet [on] a 29,000 square foot lot, five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, big windows, light coming in. There are avocado trees. It’s full of lush trees everywhere, making it really private. And for it to be only priced at $7 million in Bel Air, there are properties that are $60 million on the same street.
Courtesy of Nest Seekers International
Of course, we have to ask about Selling Sunset. You stirred the pot last season. Is there any plan to come back?
There’s nothing in the works right now, but I’m always open to filming and doing things that are focused on real estate. Hopefully more real estate, less drama — if that opportunity ever presented itself again.
I’ve been so focused on business in the last year [and] the things that I’ve been able to do. I got a $70 million listing in Carpinteria [California], closing this Malibu house. I feel like what I’ve wanted was to really focus on my business. I love filming, but I really care about the real estate. Even though it was dramatic, it was a fun thing for me to do and I’m always open to doing more. I don’t close the door on anything.