Leonardo DiCaprio Buys Neighbor’s Home for $10.5 Million

Buyer Leo DiCaprio

Location -Bird Streets, Los Angeles, Calif.

Price -$10.5 million

Year -1963

Specs -3,527 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms

Lot Size- 0.4 acres

For over 20 years, Leonardo DiCaprio’s primary residence has been a 4,500-square-foot hilltop house in the Bird Streets neighborhood of the Hollywood Hills, complete with an infinity pool and views that sweep across the Los Angeles skyline, from the DTLA skyscrapers to the Pacific Ocean. But not everyone in the Birds is a fan — way back in 2007, the actor ran afoul of his next-door neighbors while building a basketball court on his property.

The neighbors, an elderly couple from New York named Ron and Joan Linclau, filed a lawsuit that accused DiCaprio of titanic levels of negligence, arguing the sports court destabilized and caused significant structural damage to their property. DiCaprio, for his part, claimed the structural problems were caused by an illegal retaining wall installed by the Linclaus themselves.

The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court in 2009, and peace seemingly returned to the neighborhood. The Linclaus and DiCaprio continued sharing a property line until earlier this year, when Joan Linclau died at the age of 90. Records now show that widower Ron Linclau has sold the couple’s former home to DiCaprio, in an off-market deal valued at $10.5 million.

Because the house was never officially listed for sale, photos and details are scant. But tax records say the blocky midcentury modern residence was built in the early 1960s and features four bedrooms and four bathrooms in 3,500 square feet of living space. From the street, a long driveway winds up to an impressive motorcourt fronting the main house, and there’s also a pool and some sort of small guesthouse or detached garage building on the 0.4-acre lot.

Also gracing the property is some of the most elegant landscaping in the Bird Streets. The Linclaus planted privet hedges and eucalyptus trees that shade the property’s grassy lawns and provide the home with privacy from the public road out front.

No word yet on what DiCaprio plans to do with his new Bird Streets acquisition, but this isn’t the first or second time he’s bought one of his neighbor’s homes. His Bird Streets complex now encompasses five adjoining parcels of land that together span a whopping 5.14 acres, making his one of the largest compounds in the Hollywood Hills. Altogether, there are four houses and four swimming pools on the combined estate, and more than 15,000 square feet of total living space.

In addition to his Hollywood Hills compound, DiCaprio also has lavish homes in Beverly Hills, Malibu, Palm Springs, Los Feliz and New York City, and he’s long owned a vacant island off the coast of Belize.

(Photo : Google Maps)

The Linclaus’ boxy Bird Streets home is obfuscated from the street by towering hedges and mature eucalyptus trees.

(Photo : Google Maps)

For over 20 years, DiCaprio’s main residence (below) has been a contemporary home with an infinity pool and backyard basketball court.

(Photo : Google Maps)

Ref: Leonardo DiCaprio Buys Neighbor’s Home for $10.5 Million (dirt)