Krystal Kang recently sold her home at 6 Sea Glass in Newport Coast for $7.6 million.
And it wasn’t even on the market.
The Tuscan-style home was once a model home for Irvine-based Standard Pacific Corp.’s The Tides at Crystal Cove, a gated, hilltop neighborhood with ocean views. Crystal Cove Promenade shopping center sits below The Tides.
Kang and her husband bought the home in 2007 for $7 million. She started to feel the home was a less-than-an-ideal fit when she became pregnant with her fourth child.
“It’s a huge home but [doesn’t have] enough bedrooms in the main house,” Kang said.
There are bedrooms connected by courtyards, but the couple wanted their kids’ bedrooms together in the main house. So they decided to sell the home.
Kang listed the home with an agent for a year but got little response and took it off the market. She later listed it “for sale by owner” and got a few lookers but no serious offers.
Kang and her husband then decided to reconfigure the home rather than sell. They converted an upstairs den and downstairs entertainment area into bedroom space.
“We actually settled in,” she said.
That’s when a buyer who had looked at the home in the past resurfaced with an offer.
Kang and her husband made a counter offer, not expecting anything, and the buyer accepted.
They are now building a new home in Crystal Cove.
The Sea Glass home sold for about 8% more than what they bought it for, but they probably broke even with the remodeling they did, she said.
Pool House
The so-called Blue Pool House at 2137 Bayside Drive in Corona del Mar won’t be torn down by the buyer, contrary to initial speculation.
Linda Taglianetti, an agent in Teles Properties Inc.’s Newport Beach office, said the buyer has decided to keep the home as-is for now.
“They fell in love with this property,” Taglianetti said.
The property had been part of the Irvine-Wheeler family estate for more than 80 years. The buyer bought the property from the Wheeler family trust for $11.9 million, down from $14.9 million when it was listed in summer of 2011.
William Coté, of First Team Real Estate, represented the seller.
A big indoor pool takes up most of the space inside the 6,200-square-foot building. The turquoise color stands out, and driving along Bayside Drive, you can’t miss it.
The pool has a skylight above and floor-to-ceiling windows that face the bay.
“It literally is a huge pool with a structure around it,” she said. “It’s not really conducive for people to live in. It’s a pool house.”
Inside the building is a small bedroom, two bathrooms, two dressing areas, an expansive room with a fireplace and a sizable kitchen.
The home had been used by the Irvine-Wheeler family for parties and gatherings. It has parking for 25 cars.
The property is situated on 19,000 square feet of waterfront. In front of the pool house is a party deck and a dock.
The late philanthropist Kathryn “Katie” Wheeler, the eldest granddaughter of Irvine Company founder James Irvine II, lived in the house above the pool house.
“It’s got a great deal of history,” Taglianetti said.
She is gathering history of the home and may write a book about it for the buyer. Taglianetti self-published another book called Done Deal, which has humorous anecdotes about her 25 years in real estate.
Real estate is an intimate business, she said, and agents often “see more than we need to see.”
The late philanthropist John Crean, who founded Fleetwood Enterprises in River-side, was one of her clients for several years.
Taglianetti is originally from Philadelphia and was lured West by the California dream.
She loaded up her car with her 10-speed bike and a beach chair and drove first to Beverly Hills. She ended up on Balboa Island, where she bought a home.
“Real estate gives you the ability to meet the most fascinating people in every walk of life,” she said.
Laguna Sale
Warren Buffett’s former home in Laguna Beach, at 35 Emerald Bay, recently sold for $4.3 million, down from $4.9 million in October.
The 3,103-square-foot home is on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway.
Tim Smith, an agent with Coldwell Bank-er Previews International, represented the seller.
Soosan Robinett and Doug Robinett, agents with First Team Real Estate, represented the buyer.
Past owners of the four-bedroon, four bath home rented it out for about $9,000 a week during the summer months and about $7,000 a week during the off-season.
The home is on a private cul de sac in the Emerald Bay neighborhood, which has resort amenities such as tennis courts, volleyball courts, community center, and a pool and spa.
