Neighbors at Legal War Over Rihanna's Big Move

Here's another recent story from TMZ on singing superstar Rihanna. Rihanna previously rented a house in the Hollywood Hills that she allegedly considered buying.  She eventually moved out after an angry neighbor sued her for trampling his property.  Now her former landlord is reportedly suing the angry neighbor for killing the sale.

More details here: Neighbors at Legal War Over Rihanna's Big Move

Tiger Woods: Car Trouble in Paradise?

By now you've heard that golf phenom Tiger Woods was involved in a single-vehicle car accident at 2:25am on Friday right in front of his house.  He was knocked unconscious for a couple of minutes.  The neighbor called 911.  And Tiger's wife, Erin (shown with him above), used a golf club to break the car window. 

Rumors started flying everywhere!  After all, where was Tiger going at that late hour?  Why hasn't he talked to the police?  Did he and Erin have a fight?  Did she use the golf club because she was angry?  Is Tiger having an affair?  Why did he issue a statement saying that "the situation" was all his fault and promise that it won't happen again?  How can anyone promise a car accident won't happen again--unless he's not really talking about the car accident? 

And, finally, what's the scoop on his house?  There are lots of photos out there purported to show his home.  But which one is really his?

Well, we can at least help clear up the last matter!  Tiger lives with his wife and two kids in a luxury lake home in Isleworth, a private gated community in the Orlando suburb of Windermere, Florida.

After the accident, there were lots of stories showing this house as belonging to him:

The problem is, this house is not on a lake.  It's actually on a beach!  In Hawaii!  And it's not Tiger's house!

Here's another one that is more commonly shown in connection with Tiger's accident story:

Well at least it's close -- very close in fact -- but it's not Tiger's house either!  It's actually right next door!

HERE is Tiger's house:

We'll let you know if we dig up photos of the interior!

VIDEO: Forbes on Celebrity Real Estate Woes

Here's something we ran across on Twitter:  a Forbes video discussing how celebrities aren't immune from the problems in the real estate market.  It offers glimses inside the homes of Nicholas Cage, Ellen DeGeneres, Eddie Murphy, and other celebs who have had to slash sales prices drastically.  The video also mentions LaToya Jackson, Stephen Baldwin, Toni Braxton and other celebs facing foreclosure.

We posted or tweeted many of these stories over the past several months.  In fact, we tweet LOTS of stories when we don't have time to write about them ourselves.  So if you want to read about more celebrity homes than those you see here, please FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:  @CelebrityDigsHQ.

In the meantime, watch the video and tell us what you think!  Are you sympathetic?  After all, celebs are human just like us.  Or, do you think these celebs tried to live too lavishly?

Winning Bidder Pays $35,000 to Tour Bill Gates' House

Todd Bishop, a blogger for Seattle-based TechFlash.com, recently reported that Bill Gates donated a tour of his Lake Washington home once again this year for a charity event.  He's talking about this techie-lover's dream home, we featured a while back. 

Anyway, last year, the winning bid was $8,600.  This year, it came in at a whopping $35,000!   Either the economy is really bouncing back, or somebody has waaayyy too much money on their hands.  Hey, may we tag along?

A big thanks to Zillow Blog for spotting this news item.

Mad Men's John Slattery Says "Not In My Backyard!"

We Tivo'd last night's season finale of Mad Men and started watching it this morning.  We were on the edge of our bed waiting to hear a final quip from our favorite character, Roger Sterling.  But, as luck would have it, our Tivo ran out of storage space and didn't record the last few minutes!  Oh well!

We decided to spend this morning looking for info about the homes of Roger, er, John Slattery, that is (above). We know this handsome actor is married to actress Talia Balsam--who plays his ex-wife on the show and also happens to be the real-life ex-wife of George Clooney.  We also know that they split their time between New York and Los Angeles.

Looks like they might be spending more time in New York . . . so they can keep fighting!  No, not each other!  They are fighting the city's plans to build a $346 million sanitation department building in their neighborhood.  For more details, check out the Huffington Post article here.

We'll let you know if we find photos.  In the meantime, if you want to get your fix on the homes of Mad Men stars, be sure to read our earlier posts showcasing the homes of John Hamm/Don Draper, January Jones/Betty Draper, and  Bryan Batt/Sal Romano.  By the way, Sal was conspicuously absent from last night's show, but we'd bet money he'll be back!

Bill & Hillary Clinton: They're Gonna Need a Bigger House!

The New York Post's Cindy Adams reports today on Page Six that ex-Prez Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary ("He's not the Sec'y of State, damn it, I am!") are house-hunting in Westchester County, NY. Cindy says they want a bigger place, enough for his-and-hers quarters.

After all their history, it wouldn't surprise us that Bill and Hill would want to be as far apart as possible if they're going to be in the same house. And we guess their Chappaqua house (above) in Westchester County isn't big enough.

But, according to TMZ, they were spotted just last month holding hands while on vacay in Bermuda! Check it out:

We're still scratching our heads! Like, was that a photo op or what?

Top photo credit: Mike Albans

Grammer Rules! Contractor Loses Lawsuit Over Kitchen Work

TMZ is reporting that Kelsey Grammer (television star of shows like Frasier, Back to You, and the upcoming Hank) and his wife Camille won a lawsuit brought by The Last Detail, a company that claimed the Grammers owed them $150,000 in construction costs. The court even threw in the kitchen sink, ordering the company to pay damages to the Grammers.

According to TMZ, Kelsey says he fired the company for "'non-performance' after they tried to overcharge him for the work" on kitchen of their home in Malibu.

Yada, yada, yada. You just wanna see the house, and especially the kitchen, right? Well, we've got it!

We dug up this video from NBC's Today Show, where Kelsey and Camille are interviewed inside their Malibu home:



Enjoy!

DJ AM Dies, Mom Wants to Close Real Estate Deal

Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, who along with Blink 182's Travis Barker famously survived a Learjet crash that killed four others nearly a year ago, was found dead last Friday in his New York City apartment. It has yet to be determined whether it was a drug overdose or suicide.

TMZ recently reported that Goldstein's mom wants to be named special administrator of his estate so she can sell his house in Los Angeles.

For more on the story and photos of the house, go here: DJ AM's Mom Wants to Close Real Estate Deal

R.I.P. DJ AM

Feds Prepare to Sell Bernie Madoff's Beach House in Montauk

Various news outlets report today that the U.S. Marshals are preparing to sell Bernie Madoff's Long Island beach house, located in Montauk, New York. The home was seized by the feds after Madoff was convicted of swindling investors out of billions of dollars. CNN reports that the feds hope to fetch about $7 million for the home, which CNN describes as unremarkable except for its views of the Atlantic Ocean.

So let's see if CNN is right:

Well, yeah, the living room decor (above) is indeed pretty tired. Judging from the taupe leather sofa "collection," it looks like the home was last updated in the 1980's. And too bad someone cut a giant hole for a TV into that beautiful stone fireplace. Guess it happened before the invention of flat screen TVs.

And, yeah, the kitchen (above) is dated too. Just look at those appliances. But after all, it is just a beach house. Casual is the goal.

Nevertheless, the circular dining room (above) with windows galore is simple, rustic, and frankly perfect for the setting.

Perhaps all the U.S. Marshals need to do is hire an interior designer (or at least a home stager) to bring out the best features of this beach house.

UPDATE: If you want to see a slideshow with additional, larger-sized photos, please go here.

Lindsay Lohan's House Burglarized

People magazine is reporting that Lindsay Lohan's home was burglarized over the weekend. Her mother Dina Lohan told People that: "The safe was ripped off the wall . . . . Bags, shoes, and jewelry were taken too. Thank goodness she wasn't home."

TMZ broke the story first, after learning that her father Michael Lohan had called the police about it: Papa Lohan Says Lindsay's House Burglarized

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Home Builder Has Beef Against Beefy ex-NFL Player Keyshawn Johnson

TMZ reported yesterday that construction company Gordon S. Gibson, Inc., recently filed a lien against former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Gibson claims Johnson owes more than $1 million for the supervision and construction of Johnson's Calabasas, California, home.

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Body found on Atlanta Braves Player Chipper Jones' Ranch

This is really sad news: Body found on Chipper Jones' ranch ajc.com

Our sympathies go out to the families.

If you're interested in knowing more about the ranch, go here: http://www.doubledimeranch.com/ranch.html

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Wife Of Monkee Micky Dolenz Arrested For Defrauding Affordable Housing Program

Saw this piece from the Associated Press on the Huffington Post site late Friday . . .

Wife Of Monkee Micky Dolenz Arrested For Defrauding Affordable Housing Program

Michael Jackson's Neverland Moving to Vegas?

SPECIAL LATE EDITION

Say it isn't so!

E! News and other sources are reporting that Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch may be disassembled and moved piece-by-piece to Vegas for reassembly as a tourist attraction.

We here at Celebrity Digs HQ have a special affinity for Neverland Ranch, despite that Graceland-ish front gate and Disney-ish train depot. The house itself is quite beautiful and was the subject of our very first post. Click here to view our post.

Let's hope it's just a rumor. We'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, here's the article from E! News:
The Next Big Vegas Attraction: Michael Jackson's Neverland?

Federal F*CK-UP: Part I

Ah, politicians. Can't live with 'em/can't send 'em to Mars. Usually, we would feel sympathy for someone facing foreclosure, but WTF?!! California congresswoman Rep. Laura Richardson --who has an M.B.A. -- surely has some explainin' to do.

First, she bought her house in Sacramento with no money down and a subprime mortgage. Then, she didn't even bother to maintain her home, pissing off the neighbors by failing to mow the lawn or remove garbage and rotting fruit. In fact, the Sacramento department of code enforcement declared her home a "public nuisance" and "blighted."

She also failed to keep up the mortgage payments, ultimately owing $40K more than the purchase price of the home, $535K. After the bank foreclosed on the property, an investor bought it for $338K and started renovations. But, in an unusual act, the bank rescinded the foreclosure and withdrew the sale, apparently giving Rep. Richardson some sort of preferential treatment.

Needless to say, Richardson is now the subject of a House ethics committee investigation.

Too bad. The house looks sorta cute. (Photo by Randy Lynn Beach for the L.A. Times.)

Opposition Says "NEVER!" to Neverland as Tourist Spot

The Associated Press reports that the neighbors of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch have formed a group called "Never!" to oppose any attempts to turn the property into a tourist destination. Of course, no development has been proposed . . . yet.

Let's Dish the Dirt on Celebrity Homes!

ALL celebrities, some rich and some not-so-much, HAVE to live somewhere . . . .

Some celebrities live in beautiful homes . . . .

And some . . . well . . . not-so-much!

Here at CELEBRITY DIGS HQ you'll get the latest scoop on celebrity homes found in shelter mags and pulled from other news sources.

Naturally, we'll tell you which celebrity homes we really DIG! And we'll even take a few "digs" at celebrity homes we really hate!

Can't wait to dish with you!

--Celebrity Digger (C.D.)