Belwood Investments Files for Bankruptcy

The home flipper that made headlines buying the gutted Malibu home of Kanye West filed for bankruptcy this week.

Belwood Investments’ Chapter 11 filing in Santa Ana bankruptcy court saves the property from being sold off at an auction originally set to take place Thursday morning.

As of the November notice of default the company founded by CEO Steven “Bo” Belmont, was late on over $800,000 in payments, according to property records.

The Chapter 11 lists assets between $100 million to $500 million. Meanwhile, the company’s liabilities are in the range of $50 million to $100 million.

“Here’s the thing: I have to do everything I can to preserve this opportunity for our investors and for the home itself,” Belmont told The Real Deal late Thursday of the bankruptcy. “It’s not a Chapter 7 [liquidation]. It’s a reorganization so we can position ourselves to finish the [property] and everybody be made whole and become winners.”

Belwood, while founded in 2018, turned heads in 2024 when it paid $21 million for Kanye West’s former home at 24844 Malibu Road. The company began in Folsom before expanding operations to Newport Beach. It flips homes partially funded with individual investors willing to sign up through the company’s app and put up at least $1,000 that’s secured through a trust deed.

The Malibu Road beachfront home was well known for its Tadao Ando minimalist design, which used over 1,000 tons of concrete and 200 tons of steel to build. West’s handiwork took the property in another direction after he bought it in 2021 for $57.3 million. His vision called for the hiring of a demolition crew that was ordered to strip it of tubs, light fixtures, windows, heating, wiring and more. The home then went on the market in early 2024 with a $53 million ask that was reduced a few months later to $39 million.

Belwood’s bankruptcy comes after a Wall Street Journal report last week highlighting the patchy history of both Belmont and Belwood’s Malibu flip. That included a now resolved lawsuit filed by former Belwood marketing lead David Contreras, Belmont’s time in prison for assault with a deadly weapon before starting Belwood and stalled construction on the Malibu property.

“You know, it is what it is,” Belmont said of the Journal report. “The property was in default. It was going up for sale. Everybody’s aware that this is real estate and real estate’s taken the hits that we’ve taken the last two years…. We have product and we keep very good accounting of everything and Belwood is working with the bankruptcy court.”

Belmont said the company has roughly 20 properties up for sale or lease in North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Texas and California. He pinned some of the company’s challenges on what he said has been a slowdown in the real estate market.

One investor who spoke to TRD on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation was baffled at the latest company update. Investors were informed of Belwood’s bankruptcy on Thursday, a day after the filing, via an emailed letter from Belmont, which was reviewed by TRD.

“It’s just beyond us [investors],” the individual said. “What we’re most frustrated with is this came out of left field. We thought everything was moving along. [Belmont] said, ‘We ordered this and we ordered that and everything’s going along fine,’ and then I got a notice via certified mail that it’s going to be put up for auction. I’m like, ‘Why am I getting this?’”

Last year it appeared Belwood would be able to flip the property, going into contract in April with a $39 million asking price. The buyer was Montana developer Andrew Mazella Ventures. However, the deal never closed.