Ed Freedman signs $6M lease for beachfront home in Malibu

Rental, at $120K per month, could be most expensive in history for LA city.

Ed Freedman and his $6 million Malibu rental
Ed Freedman and his $6 million Malibu rental

A $6 million sale in Malibu? No big deal. What about a $6 million lease?

The founder of a credit-card processing company has agreed to pay seven-figures stretched over four years for a beachfront home in the wealthy enclave, in what could be the priciest lease in Los Angeles history, according to Yolanda’s Little Black Book.

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The $6 million lease works out to about $120,000-per-month, a little less than the $135,000-per-month Mel Brooks is asking to rent out his longtime beachfront Malibu home this summer.

Naturally, the renter is someone with plenty of green to throw around: Ed Freedman, the founder of Total Merchant Services. Freedman started the credit card processing company over two decades ago. It now processes around $12 billion in sales each year, according to its website.
Freedman splits time between Malibu and the Hawaiian island of Maui, where he owns a beachfront home.

His new rental sits on just a half-acre, but includes a 4,000-square-foot main house, a two-bedroom guest house, and a two-car garage with a second-story gym. The house last sold in 2010 for $21.5 million. [Yolanda’s Little Black Book] – Dennis Lynch