Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles Recap: Reality Bites

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It has been no secret that Josh Altman and Heather have called off their wedding. For now. But on last night’s episode of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, seeing him try on his custom inscribed tuxedo, ‘to a beautiful beginning’ on the lapel and ‘I’m sold’ under the collar, gave me the sads. Fortunately, his brother Matt, in his Yolanda Foster approved Hermes belt, will be there to help him get through the tough times. And carry him professionally as well.

The Altman Brothers have a Big Fish to catch. Up for grabs is the majestic Dorothy Chandler estate in the Hancock Park section of Los Angeles. A major deal in Josh Altman’s career. At the same time, he is supposed to be planning his client-focused wedding extravaganza with Heather, who is none too pleased to be meeting with the florist on her own. Josh senses that things are going south with his fiancé when she hangs the phone up on him. And Heather never hangs up on him.

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Over at James Harris and David Parnes office, the boys and their assistant, Lindsay, prepare to land their own Big Fish. On the hook is new client and developer, Jay, whose personal playground is the Bel Air, Holmby Hills and Sunset Strip areas. He likes to find $10m properties and turn them into $20-30m properties. The Brits have cued up their flashy Bond Street Partners PowerPoint presentation to show him, but he has absolutely no interest in viewing it. The nerve of him! James quickly, and wisely, closes the laptop. This Dennis Hopper wannabe tells them not to waste his time and to ‘impress me!’ James said exactly what I was thinking – this guy is a real ball buster!

Josh Flagg is now back from his Edith-less vacation in The Hamptons. Edith has not been feeling well and he instructs his assistants, Hilary and Cory, to find him no matter what he is doing should any family matters arise. Again, the sads as we already know about Edith’s passing.  To take his mind off of things, Josh has taken on his cousin’s listing in the Los Feliz area, an affluent hillside area in Central Los Angeles abutting Hollywood. Los Feliz is home to a lot of creative types and this particular house was once owned by none other than Jason Priestly, the actor who played Brandon on Beverly Hills 90210.  

Josh Altman and his brother Matt are off to see Salvatore, the seller’s representative for the Chandler Estate.   This majestic 9300 sq. ft. Beaux Arts estate built in 1913 was home to former Los Angeles Times publisher Norman Chandler and his wife, Dorothy. They had entertained many luminaries there back in the day and welcomed several late Presidents, including Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. It is a living and breathing museum adorned with gold leaf trim, original woodwork and doors from the composer Mozart’s house. While Josh is impressed, he is completely off his game with worry over Heather’s recent behavior. Snap out of it, Josh! Fortunately, Matt is able to speak on behalf of the Altman Brothers and secure the listing at $10.6m. Salvatore mentions that Josh Flagg was the former listing agent and they would be able to use the photos from before.

Josh Flagg is not too happy about the discovery of the Dorothy Chandler listing photos and plans to send the Altman Brothers an invoice. If they had asked nicely, he would have gladly handed them over. Really, Josh?!   Major side eye to you!   In the meantime, he hops in his Bentley and heads over to his cousin’s Los Feliz property for some private showings.   The 4700 sq. ft. Spanish art deco gem listed at $3.495 has all original fixtures and mosaic tiles, which you either love or you hate.  This seems to be a bone of contention for the brokers. As well as the lack of a view. Josh is confident that he can sell this unique home with lush landscaping and privacy despite the lower comps in the area.

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The Brits have been scouring the MLS listings relentlessly trying to find teardown properties for their client, Jay. So much so that their heads are about to explode. Time to ‘lay down together’ (their words) and figure this thing out. So the boys lay down on their office sofa, shoes off, and put their thinking caps on. One of them suggests to get an architect on board to identify a location. And Russell is the man. Pleased with their strategy, and high fives all around, they plan to meet him at a 2 acre lot in Bel Air listed at $9.5m. Overlooking the pristine Bel Air Country Club golf course, together with Russell, they estimate that Jay could have a potential 25,000 sq. home on his hands. Major cha-ching! All they have to do is convince him.

Josh Altman shows up at Matt’s house looking disheveled. The tie is undone. The hair is mussed. He tells him that he and Heather had a rough conversation the night before. The wedding is off. For now. They are still together but things are tense.   Josh says that he has never seen Heather so upset. Matt advises him to focus on what is important and Heather is important. Josh blames himself.   Later on, Matt will advise him to seek out couples therapy, which he personally had found helpful. Interesting.

Josh continues to show the Chandler Estate in spite of his brother’s advice to take a day off. He is clearly off his game when he meets Agent Leslie and her client, global software Poobah Florian.   He can barely remember the names of the presidents who stayed there. Fortunately, his brother is with him when they meet Agent Joseph and his buyer, Robert, a Grand Poobah from Nigeria who owns the largest furniture store in Africa and is also an oil dealer. Robert appreciates acquiring fine art and grand estates and is ready to make a quick offer. $10.5m complete with furniture and a 10 day close.   After a mini haggle session with Salvatore, the Altman Brothers get his seller full asking price together with the furniture and a quick close.  

James and David show Jay the Bel Air property that Russell has put his stamp of approval on. He likes what he sees and instructs them to offer $8.2m. The Brits know that this is extremely low. $9m would be a fair price, which is an offer they find is already on the table. However, it has a 90-day escrow attached. Jay advises them to ‘be the animals that you can be!’ and get him that property. What kind of animal would that be, Jay?! Well, whatever the animal, our argyle socked boys finagle him an $8.7 all cash (natch) deal with a quick close. Meow!

Josh Flagg and Colton are cruising around in his Bentley (thank you, Bentley), when he receives a call from his assistant, Hilary.   Thankfully, it is good news. They have a $2.9m offer on his cousin’s house. After some savvy negotiation, he boasts ‘no one does a better job negotiating than I do…weibchen’!, Jason Priestley’s old home is sold for $3.3m.   Did you know Josh spoke German??

Recap Author: Maura

Photo Credit: Bravo TV

 

 

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