When former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa backed out of a run for Senate last week, he said, “My heart and my family are here in California.” So is his new house.

As it turns out, Villaraigosa recently bought a three-bedroom home in the Hollywood Hills for $2.5 million. The sale closed in February and was first reported by the L.A. Times' Hot Property column.

It's entirely possible that the mortgage is one of the reasons he decided not to run. When Villaraigosa left office in June 2013, he had very little net worth. He immediately set about remedying that, taking several private-sector gigs, including an advisory role at Banc of California and a consulting job for Herbalife.

Depending on the down payment, Villaraigosa is likely paying at least $10,000 per month, possibly more. Even factoring in his pension, he probably does not have the luxury of turning down paid work for an extended period while he runs for office.

Villaraigosa bought the 3,600-square-foot home from Vance Lorenzini, a music video producer who won MTV Video Music Awards for art direction in Madonna's “Express Yourself” and Aerosmith's “Livin' on the Edge.” According to the listing, Lorenzini custom designed the interiors, which explains the guitars and the Statue of Liberty in the living room.

The real estate agent made this drone video to advertise the property. Check it out:


Incidentally, Villaraigosa's new house is in the fourth City Council district. So he could end up being represented by Teddy Davis, his former spokesman.

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