Ben Affleck takes out mortgage for half the $20.5million price tag on his LA bachelor pad despite his $200m fortune as divorce from JLo looms
Ben Affleck bought a new $20.5 million LA home as his divorce from Jennifer Lopez looms last week – but not without taking out a mortgage for half the amount, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The 51-year-old actor all but confirmed that his marriage is over by taking out a $10 million loan to buy a five-bedroom, five-bathroom bachelor pad in Sullivan Canyon, a beloved horse-loving spot on the border of Brentwood and Pacific Palisades.
It’s next door to actress Diane Keaton’s four-bedroom, seven-bathroom home, which she bought for $4.7 million in 2011. That home is now worth a whopping $17 million.
Property documents obtained by DailyMail.com reveal the sale went through on July 24, the same day Affleck borrowed the money and his wife JLo celebrated her 55th birthday.
Ben Affleck (pictured in LA in June) has all but confirmed that his marriage to Jennifer Lopez (pictured in New York last week) is over after purchasing a $20.5 million home in Pacific Palisades last week
Property records obtained by DailyMail.com reveal the sale went through on July 24 – the same day he took out a $10 million mortgage for the five-bedroom, five-bathroom mansion
Affleck — who is worth an estimated $200 million — got the 30-year mortgage from City National Bank, which is due to be paid off by August 1, 2054.
According to records, the purchase and mortgage were made through a trust set up several weeks earlier, on July 11, by Affleck’s longtime business manager Gary Kress.
Welcome to the neighborhood. Ben is moving in next door to actress Diane Keaton
Kress, who is listed in the documents as trustee, had previously handled the purchase of the couple’s Bel Air home, which was put on the market the same day.
This is the second mortgage the Oscar winner has taken out in the past 12 months, as he already has a $20 million loan from JLo.
The couple took out the mortgage with JP Morgan Chase Bank in September 2023, after paying cash for the $60.85 million mansion four months earlier.
Under Affleck’s new agreement, he will pay an initial fixed rate of 6.6 percent for the first five years, which equates to a monthly payment of $140,000 including property taxes. After that, it will rise 2.5 percent above the mortgage index rate.
This stunning new purchase, called Paradise Found, is tucked away in a leafy cul-de-sac on almost two-thirds of an acre of grounds, hidden behind walls and a gated driveway with mature olive trees.
He bought the property from Australian-born film producer David Calvert-Jones – the nephew of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch – and his wife Karina.
Affleck took out a 30-year mortgage from City National Bank, nicknamed the “bank of the stars,” which was due to be paid off by August 1, 2054.
According to property records, the purchase and mortgage were made through a trust established on July 11 by Affleck’s longtime business manager Gary Kress
Affleck bought his new home in the Pacific Palisades on Wednesday, July 24, while his wife celebrated her 55th birthday without him
The 580m² property was originally built in the early 1940s and designed by renowned architect Cliff May, before being extensively renovated by the previous owners.
There is a split-level main living area with a mix of stone and rustic hardwood floors. The rooms have vaulted ceilings with exposed beams, steel windows and views of the beautiful countryside.
The living room with fireplace also functions as a cinema room.
The property has a large detached guest house, a horse stable, a running ring and a tack room.
There is also a cabana with a fireplace and – of course – a swimming pool.
City National Bank is known for offering “super jumbo loans” with discounts for those who have a “special relationship” with the bank. It has even been nicknamed “the bank of the stars.”
The Los Angeles headquarters has been known as the celebrity bank of choice since 1963, when the company worked with the FBI to advance $240,000 in ransom to Frank Sinatra when his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped and released unharmed two days later.
When Affleck and Lopez purchased their 12-bedroom, 24-bathroom condo in May 2023, they also did so through Kress and his colleague Brian Murphy.
Jennifer and Ben were photographed in happier times in November
After failing to sell it off-market, the couple finally listed their marital home on the MLS system on July 11 for $68 million.
Kress and Murphy prefer to stay in the shadows: Their offices are in Santa Monica and a Google search for the couple yields little information.
According to real estate documents, Kress and Murphy are linked to dozens of LA properties owned by the entertainment world’s elite.
Affleck’s latest real estate purchase is the most telling sign yet that his marriage is headed for divorce.
Lopez celebrated her birthday that same day without him.
Coincidentally, that was also when the Hustlers star closed on the sale of her four-bedroom penthouse in New York City for $23 million, according to People.
The couple haven’t been photographed together in months amid ongoing split rumors, and they’ve spent most of the summer apart on opposite coasts.
They recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary separately, amid rumors that they were living in separate houses.
While Lopez lives in their marital home, Affleck lives in a $100,000-a-month rental house a short distance from his ex-wife Jennifer Garner’s Brentwood home.