Ben Affleck bought a new $20.5 million home in Los Angeles amid his impending divorce from Jennifer Lopez last week, but not before taking out a mortgage for half the amount, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The 51-year-old actor all but confirmed his marriage was over by taking out a $10 million loan to buy the five-bedroom, five-bathroom “bachelor pad” in Sullivan Canyon, a horse-riding hot spot on the border of Brentwood and Pacific Palisades.
It’s next door to the four-bedroom, seven-bathroom home that actress Diane Keaton bought for $4.7 million in 2011. That home is now valued at a whopping $17 million.
Property documents obtained by DailyMail.com reveal the sale took place on July 24, the same day Affleck borrowed the money and his wife JLo celebrated her 55th birthday.
Ben Affleck (pictured in Los Angeles 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 documents obtained by DailyMail.com reveal the sale took place on July 24, the same day she took out a $10 million mortgage on the five-bedroom, five-bathroom mansion.
Affleck, whose fortune is estimated at $200 million, took out a 30-year mortgage from City National Bank, which is due to be repaid by August 1, 2054.
According to records, the purchase and mortgage loan were made through a trust set up by Affleck’s longtime business representative, Gary Kress, weeks earlier on July 11.
Welcome to the neighborhood. Ben will be living next door to actress Diane Keaton.
Kress, who is listed as trustee on the documents, had previously handled the purchase of the couple’s Bel Air home, which went on the market the same day.
This will be the Oscar winner’s second mortgage in the past 12 months, as he already has a $20 million loan with JLo.
The couple obtained that mortgage from JP Morgan Chase Bank in September 2023 after originally paying cash for the $60.85 million mansion four months earlier.
Under Affleck’s new deal, 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 tax. It will then increase to 2.5 percent above the benchmark mortgage rate.
The stunning new purchase, dubbed Paradise Found, is tucked away in a leafy cul-de-sac on nearly two-thirds of an acre, secluded behind walls and a gated driveway lined with mature olive trees.
He purchased the property from Australian film producer David Calvert-Jones (nephew of media mogul Rupert Murdoch) and his wife Karina.
Affleck took out the 30-year mortgage from City National Bank, nicknamed the “bank of the stars,” to be paid off by August 1, 2054.
According to property records, the purchase and mortgage loan were made through a trust set up by Affleck’s longtime business representative, Gary Kress, on July 11.
Affleck purchased his new home in Pacific Palisades on Wednesday, July 24, as his wife celebrated her 55th birthday without him.
The 6,200-square-foot property was originally built and designed in the early 1940s by renowned architect Cliff May before being extensively remodeled by its previous owners.
There is a split-level main living area with a combination of stone and rustic wood floors. The bedrooms include vaulted ceilings with wood beams, steel-framed windows, and views of the beautiful landscape.
The living room with fireplace also serves as a screening room.
The property includes a large, detached guest house and horse stable, walking track and tack room.
There is also a cabin with a fireplace and, of course, a swimming pool.
City National Bank is famous for offering “super-sized loans” with discounts for those who have a “special relationship” with the bank. It is even known as “the bank of the stars.”
Its Los Angeles headquarters has earned a reputation as the bank of choice for celebrities since 1963, when it worked with the FBI to advance $240,000 in ransom money to Frank Sinatra when his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped and then released unharmed two days later.
When Affleck and Lopez purchased their 12-bedroom, 24-bathroom pad in May 2023, it was also through Kress and her colleague Brian Murphy.
Jennifer and Ben appear in happier times in November.
After failing to sell it off-market, the couple finally listed their marital home on the MLS for $68 million on July 11.
Kress and Murphy prefer to stay in the shadows: Their offices are in Santa Monica, and a Google search for them yields little information.
According to property records, Kress and Murphy are linked to dozens of Los Angeles properties belonging to the entertainment elite.
Affleck’s latest real estate purchase is the most telling sign yet that his marriage is headed toward divorce.
Meanwhile, Lopez had celebrated his birthday without him that same day.
Coincidentally, that was also the time the Hustlers star finalized the sale of her four-bedroom New York City penthouse for $23 million, according to People.
The couple has not been photographed together in months amid ongoing split rumors, and have spent most of the summer apart on different coasts.
They recently spent their second wedding anniversary apart amid reports that they are living in separate homes.
While Lopez has remained in their marital home, Affleck has been living in a $100,000-a-month rental that’s a short drive from his ex-wife Jennifer Garner’s Brentwood home.