The Malibu beach house that rapper Kanye West famously gutted—then abandoned—is being turned into a unique members-only timeshare opportunity after the latest owner was threatened with foreclosure, having defaulted on his $18.5 million mortgage.
West’s former home, which he sold as a bare bones shell, is currently owned by developer Steven “Bo” Belmont, CEO of “real estate crowdfunding firm” Belwood Investments, who purchased the property for $21 million in September 2024 and vowed to restore it to its original glory.
However, Belmont threw a Ye-style curve ball of his own earlier this year, when he opted to list the partially-completed home for $39 million, eventually reducing that price to $34.9 million.
Now, he has pivoted yet again, with a new listing showing that the property is being offered as part of a new membership club called Populis, through which wealthy architecture buffs can secure “partial economic ownership” of the property to the tune of $12 million.
The latest move comes just days after Belmont was served with a notice of default in which his lender, Quality Loan Service Corp, has accused his company, Belwood Investments, of falling behind on mortgage payments, claiming that the developer currently owes $814,623.54 as of Nov. 4, 2025.
In the default notice, Belmont is warned that he risks losing the home if he fails to catch up on payments within 90 days. It is unclear whether he has taken any action to prevent foreclosure since the notice was served.
Realtor.com® has contacted Belwood Investments for comment.
West, 48, purchased the beachfront home, which was designed by storied architect Tadao Ando, for a staggering $57.3 million in 2021, months after he split from his former wife, Kim Kardashian.
He then proceeded to gut the architectural gem, with reports at the time suggesting that he wanted to turn the concrete structure into a kind of modernist bomb shelter.
The rapper’s overhaul of the dwelling saw it reduced to little more than a concrete shell, decimating almost all of Ando’s original design—and leaving design lovers up in arms over its destruction.
He then sparked further fury when he abandoned his plans for the waterfront abode altogether and put it back on the market in January 2024 with an asking price of $53 million, enlisting celebrity real estate agent Jason Oppenheim to help him offload the bare bones of the home.
When it was put on the market, the home had no electric, no plumbing, no windows, and no interior finishes, all of which had been stripped out during West’s “renovations.”
So it came as no surprise that West was unable to secure anything close to his original asking price, ultimately accepting an offer of just $21 million from Belmont—who owned the home for just a matter of months before trying to find a buyer.
While the developer had initially secured an offer from an investor group led by Andrew Mazzella, that deal fell through, prompting Belmont to relist the home for the reduced price of $34.9 million.
Now, amid the threat of foreclosure, the property investor appears to have changed up his tactics yet again, with a new listing for the home indicating that it is being offered as a kind of luxury timeshare, despite work on the home not yet being completed.
For the sky-high price of $12 million, members of the timeshare, known as Populis, will gain access to “blue-chip real estate without assuming full ownership, management, or renovation responsibility,” according to the listing, which is held by Timothy Di Prizito of Christie’s International Real Estate | SoCal.
“Christie’s International Real Estate | SoCal is proud to introduce Populis, an exclusive new membership that includes partial economic ownership and access to incredible properties, including this architecturally significant Tadao Ando-designed oceanfront residence in Malibu, formerly owned by Ye and one of only a handful of Ando homes in the United States,” the description goes on.
Confusingly, while the property’s asking price is now listed as $12 million, there are other, much cheaper ways of gaining access to the property.
Populis members will be given the opportunity to purchase SmartDeeds, an initiative launched by Belwood Investments that offers up “blockchain-secured membership passes” for as little as $1,000, which essentially sees the member becoming an investor in the property.
Members of all tiers—gold, platinum, diamond, and founders—will be given access to the property in various forms, including guided tours, architecture briefings, and networking events.
Gold membership costs $1,000, platinum is $10,000, and diamond is $100,000.
The most expensive membership tier, referred to as the “Founders Circle,” is invitation-only and costs $300,000. For that price, members will get a range of benefits, including one chef dinner, concierge scheduling, and “4 Private Estate Sessions annually (half-day hosted experiences for dinners, creative gatherings, or brand showcases up to 12 guests).”
“[Belmont’s] vision for SmartDeeds is to democratize access to premium real estate investments through blockchain-secured membership tiers, starting with the iconic Project Malibu—the Tadao Ando-designed oceanfront property once owned by Kanye West,” the SmartDeeds website states.
Additionally, members will be given exclusive insight into the work being done on the property, which is predicted to take between 12 and 14 months to complete, according to the SmartDeeds website.
The site also notes that the “as-is market value” of the property is $35 million—but claims that its predicted “after repair value” is $57.5 million.
While the beach is currently the only property on offer in Populis’ portfolio, the listing notes that the group plans to add many more to its offerings.
“Populis is creating a curated portfolio of architecturally significant, design-driven properties along the West Coast and beyond,” it states.
“This is a rare opportunity to participate in a modernized, next-generation model of luxury real estate access centered around transparency, design excellence, and long-term value.”
While it is unclear what state the property is currently in, new listing images uploaded to the MLS reveal the true extent of West’s updates—laying bare the bare concrete shell that was left when the rapper decided to get rid of the home.
The beach house had been stripped of all amenities, including plumbing, gas, and electric, and was also left without any windows.
When Belmont secured an offer on the home from Mazzella, he told The Wall Street Journal at the time that he and his team had made some significant headway on restoring the home, installing new plumbing and electric, redoing the roof, and completing all framing.
He also said he had ordered glass for the windows from Germany that was due to arrive before the end of the summer.
Before the property was offered up as a members-only timeshare, former listing agent Jason Oppenheim told Realtor.com in September that it’d had “decent interest” from prospective buyers, noting that the work on the dwelling—which had paused when Belmont and Mazzella were hammering out their deal—had been due to pick back up within a matter of weeks.