Meet music's top 15 real-estate agents who broker Miley and Lil Wayne's show-stoppers
Josh Altman, 36
The Altman Brothers/Douglas Elliman, Beverly Hills
Altman recently closed Miley Cyrus' $5 million buy of a ranch home in Hidden Hills. He also has worked with Kanye West and DJ Skee, among others. A star of Bravo's Million Dollar Listing, Altman once dreamed of a music business career. "Only until I bought my first home and flipped it did I quit -- when I realized real estate was a lot more profitable."
His personal abode: A contemporary house, done in white and gray, in Hollywood Hills' Bird Streets neighborhood.
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Cindy Ambuehl, 51
The Agency, Los Angeles
Ambuehl helped spark a bidding war over the five-bedroom Santa Monica home of composer Jonathan Elias earlier this year. It went for $8.6 million -- about $500,000 more than asking. The property offers a Lakers-themed basketball court and a two-story guesthouse. Ambuehl has spent most of her career working with celebrities: first as an actor on such shows as Wings and Seinfeld, and now as their real estate agent.
Her personal abode:A Mediterranean-style Santa Monica home she shares with her husband, actor Don Diamont, and their seven boys.
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Sandra Balan*
Corcoran, New York
"Each deal is a different story," says Balan, a 20-year industry vet. The story behind 237 Lafayette St. involved 12-foot ceilings -- and caught the imagination of London-based Mumford & Sons guitarist Winston Marshall, who spent $3.2 million in June for a "massive, raw" loft space in the building, on the edge of SoHo.
Her personal abode: A postwar doorman building on a cul-de-sac right off the East River.
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Matt Breitenbach, 32
Douglas Elliman, Bridgehampton, N.Y.
Breitenbach has real estate bona fides that rival his more seasoned peers. His dad is a home builder on the East End of Long Island, and he spent childhood summers watching houses get framed. After college he joined forces with his mother, Susan Breitenbach, a Hamptons broker for Corcoran, and cultivated music-biz titans like Russell Simmons, whose East Hampton home recently sold for $6.995 million. Breitenbach jumped from Corcoran to Douglas Elliman's new sports and entertainment division -- with mom's blessing.
His personal abode: A "little oasis" on three acres north of Montauk Highway, which bisects the Hamptons.
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Ernie Carswell, 55
Teles Properties, Beverly Hills
Thirty-odd years ago, Carswell was a flight attendant when a passenger suggested that the outgoing young man consider going into real estate. Today, he's a co-founder of Teles Properties. In 2014, Carswell sold Katy Perry's Hollywood home for $5.6 million. Past clients include Seal, Fergie and Britney Spears.
His personal abode: An Italian-Mediterranean home in Hollywood Hills' Bird Streets.
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Linda Feder*
Corcoran, New York
"You can't live without music or a home," says Feder, whose former record-business career led her to real estate, with a focus on pied-a-terre homes and helping bicoastal music executives move East. She recently assisted veteran A&R executive Jeff Aldrich in scoring a "glitzy, New York-y" $15,000-a-month rental in Tribeca.
Her personal abode: A Carnegie Hill apartment with views of Central Park.
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Ty Forkner, 38
South Beach International, Miami Beach
[[{"fid":"561649","view_mode":"media_original","type":"media","attributes":{"height":1340,"width":1020,"style":"line-height: 20.7999992370605px;","class":"media-element file-media-original"}}]]Slash for $11 million, complete with alligator-print wallpaper.
Her personal abode: A modern home in Beverly Hills' Trousdale Estates.
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Barry Peele*
Sotheby's International Realty Beverly Hills
Not only has Peele served as Madonna's realtor, he also was her tour photographer. That's his shot on the cover of her 2006 CD/DVD I'm Going to Tell You a Secret. In 2014 he sold her modern Georgian-style home on Sunset Boulevard for $19 million. He also has worked with Ricky Martin, Robbie Williams and k.d. lang.
His personal abode: A post-and-beam home in Beverly Hills, featured on the cover of House Beautiful twice.
Tomi Rose, 41
Opulence International Realty, Miami
Rose is negotiating to sell Timbaland's seven-bedroom Mediterranean home in Pinecrest for $4 million and acquire him a new, larger residence nearby. While raising her teenage son, the former stay-at-home mom "just decided I like real estate." She's married to former Miami Heat player Mark Strickland.
Her personal abode: A contemporary in a Cutler Bay clubhouse community.
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Rosina Seydel, 49
Beacham & Company, Atlanta
While marketing top-end homes (like a $6.3 million Buckhead mansion that was Atlanta's top residential deal of 2014), Seydel has found a lucrative niche in leasing luxury properties. Both Lil Wayne and Cee Lo Green have leased the Infinito penthouse in midtown Atlanta's Aqua condominium, a 4,176-square-foot residence with floor-to-ceiling windows, outdoor entertainment areas and state-of-the-art security.
Her personal abode: A classic Southern home with large gathering spaces and a huge yard.
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Leonard Steinberg, 50
Compass Realty, New York
A fashion designer who entered real estate 20 years ago "out of curiosity" -- and to provide a level of service he says he found lacking -- Steinberg has built an A-list client roster. In March, he sold Jon Bon Jovi's $37.5 million SoHo duplex penthouse to business mogul Gerhard Andlinger, after celebs including Heidi Klum had eyed the pad.
His personal abode: A West Chelsea apartment with views of both the High Line and the Hudson River.
[[{"fid":"561646","view_mode":"media_original","type":"media","attributes":{"height":876,"width":1020,"class":"media-element file-media-original"}}]]Donna Tisdale*
The Lipman Group/Sotheby's International Realty Nashville
Donna Summer sat down at a grand piano to sing octaves in the living room of a pre-Civil War home with 14-foot ceilings. Such are the tales Tisdale can tell after 38 years of selling Nashville real estate to big-name clients, from quirky label executives carrying guns to iconic artists (like the late Summer) testing the acoustics with impromptu performances. Tisdale offers the privacy stars crave: "I've sold dozens of farms to celebrities," she says.
Her personal abode: A hilltop contemporary with views of the Brentwood valley.
*Declined to disclose age
Contributors: Emily L. Foley, Billy Gray, Deborah Evans Price and Jacquelyn Ryan
This story originally appeared in the July 4 issue of Billboard.
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