The Man Who Purchased Kanye West's Malibu Home Describes Major Renovations Necessary To Make The House Livable Again

If you were a lawyer trying to prove the adage that "There's no accounting for some people's taste" is true, the decisions people make while remodeling their homes would be some of the strongest evidence you could submit. There would be no shortage of contractors and home flippers you could call to testify too. One would be the real estate investor who bought music mogul Kanye West's Malibu home.

For most people, buying a home designed by famed architect Tadao Ando is like buying a work of art, meaning you preserve it, not change it. However, Kanye West is not like most people. Throughout a career characterized by controversies, one constant theme with West is his desire to push the limits of creativity in whatever he does. So when he purchased a 4,000-square-foot Ando-designed Malibu beachfront home in 2021, changes were almost guaranteed.

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According to the Los Angeles Times, West made a series of baffling alterations to the property during a massive renovation project. He stripped out essential aspects of the home's infrastructure, including the plumbing and electrical wiring. He also removed the doors and windows, essentially turning the house into a concrete bunker overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Considering the changes, it's hard to believe that West expected to sell the property for anything approaching the original $57 million purchase price, but he did. After his rather unique renovations, West re-listed the property for $53 million but found buyers in short supply. Although it's worth mentioning that interest rates had spiked when West re-listed the property, it's clear his changes were turning buyers off.

After all, who wants to pay over $50 million for a house they will have to pour millions more dollars back into just to make it livable again? Eventually, West did what all sellers do when they have a property they can't move. He began dropping the price. It wasn't until the price had sunk to $21 million before the property found a buyer in Bo Belmont.

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 The final purchase price represented a loss of over 35% for West, not counting the money he spent on renovations. In an interview with the LA Times, Belmont clarified that he would not remain faithful to Kanye's vision for the property. He said, "My goal is to make it as if Kanye was never there. The house will be restored right back to what it was."

He didn't stop there. Despite admitting most of West's changes were aesthetic, Belmont took serious issue with some of the other design decisions. One example is the floors, which Kanye stripped of glaze. Belmont summed up his thoughts by saying, "That was a really dumb move. Really no purpose." Belmont has reached out to the builder who originally constructed the house to help him restore it to its original state.

By the time all the changes are done, Belmont expects to have spent between $6-8 million. Then the good part starts. It's safe to assume the home will retain much of its original "Pre-Kanye West alterations" value once Belmont's restoration is complete. That means he'll have spent roughly $30 million on a property that could be worth somewhere north of $50 million. That's the definition of a successful real estate investment! Well played, Mr. Belmont.

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