After power couple Kelly Dodd and Rick Leventhal were fired from their network TV jobs last June, the real work began.
Dodd, a former star of “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” was fired from her reality TV job the same week that Leventhal ended his 24-year career at Fox News.
But all that free time has given the couple the space to try an unexpected adventure: In November, a year after their wedding, they bought a modest home with plans to turn it into a boutique hotel.
Records show that Mr. Dodd and Mr. Leventhal spent $715,000 on a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Palm Desert that needed repairs.
“I love things that start out really ugly, and then I can make them beautiful later,” Dodd, 46, told The Washington Post.
Coincidentally, the project may also land them back on reality TV: The Washington Post reports that several producers have already approached the couple to star in a home-renovation show.
Formal living area at entry. realtor.com
“We've already had producers reach out to us who want to do a home improvement show,” Dodd revealed, “but we're exploring our options and trying to figure out what's best for us.”
The living room features a wood-burning fireplace. realtor.com A view of the open floor plan. realtor.com
Leventhal, 61, told The Washington Post that the deal was made all in cash last November.
“We want to keep the property and rent it out like a hotel,” Dodd told The Post. “We want to build an outbuilding so we can get a hotel license and put in a pickleball court. There's a pool and we're going to put in a spa. We're going to put a lot of money into this house.”
They made the purchase after plans for another project fell through.
“We purchased approximately 2.5 acres in Polo Estates in La Quinta last spring and hired an architect to draw plans for a roughly 7,000-square-foot home that we plan to use and rent,” Leventhal explained.
“But once the pandemic hit, prices rose, labor became harder to hire and supply chain issues became apparent, we realized the delays and ultimate cost of the project made it much less attractive to us. We sold the property and started looking for homes that were either already completed or in need of renovation.”
Family room. realtor.com One of three bedrooms. realtor.com
“Our goal is to build a portfolio of homes,” Leventhal added. “I've always wanted to get into the home flipping business. I worked in construction when I was 19.”
Palm Desert homes are located near the upscale shopping district of El Paseo, boast panoramic views of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains, and are a 45-minute drive from the celebrity-favorite Joshua Tree National Park area.
Built in 1950, the midcentury home needs a lot of updating to make it usable, but Dodd and Leventhal told The Washington Post they're up for the challenge after a tumultuous year.
“I really love owning real estate,” Dodd says. “A lot of my friends have homes in the desert and they're making $400,000 to $500,000 a year just from rent.”
“Living in the desert has so many benefits, so a complete renovation of our home will be our next full-time project. It's a real passion for Rick and I.”
Meanwhile, they are renting out their Westhampton home, which is currently running for $4,200 a month.
Pool in a Hamptons home. Realtor.com Daytime view of a Hamptons pool. Realtor.com Living area. Realtor.com Kitchen. Realtor.com One of four bedrooms. Realtor.com
“We make really good money on our Hamptons homes,” Dodd told The Post. “We rent them out year-round, summer and winter.”
Dodd explained that the next move after the Palm Desert project was to rebuild a home in the Hamptons.
When he's not fixing things up around the house, he records podcasts and films his increasingly popular YouTube show, “Rich & Kelly UNMASKED.”
The couple's primary residence is a five-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Newport Beach that Leventhal purchased in 2016 for $2.56 million. Getty Images for DailyMail.com
“It's always been a dream of mine to work with my wife,” Leventhal explained, “to create a show with my wife, and now we're doing it. And our show doesn't have the same restrictions as a network. It's free-flowing.”
“The best part for me has been working with Kelly. She's just so fun and funny and unpredictable,” he added. “It's really fun. It's a change of pace from what I'm used to.”
Dodd said going through the challenges of the past year has taught him some invaluable lessons.
“When one door closes, another one opens,” she said, “so I want people to know that you don't have to give up and you can keep chasing your dreams.”