DiTech CEO Pays $7 Million in Cash for Estate

In one of the largest residential deals in Orange County this year, J. Paul Reddam, the chief executive of DiTech Funding Corp. and TV pitchman for the mortgage lender, bought a 10,000-square-foot oceanfront home in an exclusive neighborhood in Laguna Beach for $7 million. Reddam also bought the home’s handmade furnishings, such as sofas, tables and chairs, adding $1 million to $1.5 million to the price, real estate agents said. Reddam paid cash for the home, which agents believe is the most expensive property ever sold in the Smithcliffs community, a former private estate on a promontory south of Emerald Bay that has been developed over the last decade into an enclave of multimillion-dollar properties. The home, designed by Orange County architect Lori Naritoku for her parents, has four bedrooms, 7 1/2 baths, seven fireplaces, a blue pearl granite swimming pool and spa giving an illusion that it flows into the Pacific Ocean, and 5,000 square feet of terraces, decks and patios. An underground garage can accommodate 15 cars. “It’s more like a piece of art than simply architecture,” said Bob Chapman, general manager of Prudential California Realty in Laguna Beach.