Infinity Pool

Former Countrywide Financial Corp. chairman and chief executive Angelo R. Mozilo and his wife, Phyllis, have sold their house in Thousand Oaks for $2.9 million. Countrywide helped fuel the boom in risky subprime loans that led to the foreclosure crisis. Federal prosecutors shelved a criminal probe of Mozilo last year after determining that his actions in the mortgage meltdown — which led to a $67.5-million settlement against him — did not amount to criminal wrongdoing.

Online readers will find a bonus this week: a tour through the recently completed Hollywood Hills house by L.A. architecture firm Assembledge. It's a house that doesn't blur the line between indoors and out; the house erases it. White terrazzo floor flows from the family room, past the floor-to-ceiling glass sliders and onto the terrace, where an infinity pool seemingly spills off the hillside. Subtle built-ins provide storage without intruding on the design.

ELEGANT LINES Location: 1278 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills 90210 Asking price: $9.85 million Lot previously sold for: $3.25 million in 2005 Size: 4 bedrooms and 4½ bathrooms in 7,008 square feet Lot size: 12,000 square feet Additional features: Panoramic view, infinity pool with LED lighting, outdoor deck and entertaining area, two-car garage, media room Around the neighborhood: ...

Patience often pays off when waiting for the right pitch, and it also can pay off in home selling. Texas Ranger third baseman Adrian Beltre and his wife, Sandra, have sold their 4-acre-plus estate in Bradbury for $17,410,961, according to the Multiple Listing Service. The couple listed their custom house nearly two years ago at $19.8 million. The newly built Mediterranean, designed for both formal entertaining and casual indoor-outdoor living, includes such custom features as a 2,500-square-foot rec room outfitted as a batting cage.

Pop star and singing competition judge Britney Spears is a Thousand Oaks homeowner, public records now show. The property came on the market in August at $8.5 million and was withdrawn from the Multiple Listing Service within a month. A withdrawal is a tactic sometimes used to hide celebrity home purchases. The sales price was not disclosed. The Mediterranean-style house, built in 2010, is in the Lake Sherwood area. Features include pocket doors, limestone and oak floors, beamed ceilings, two offices, a temperature-controlled wine cellar, a home theater/bonus room, five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and 8,456 square feet of living space.

This gated Mediterranean-style mansion in Bel-Air centers on a dramatic round hallway off the entry. Wrought iron handrails ring the second level, and the hall is topped by clerestory windows and decorative glass. Location: 2244 Weybridge Lane, Los Angeles 90077 Asking price: $9.75 million Year built: 2001 House size: Seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, 10,828 square feet Lot size: 37,369 square feet Features: Projection room, den, wine room, office, bar, gym, spa with sauna, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, infinity pool, six-car garage, motor court About the area: Last year, 147 single-family homes sold in the 90077 ZIP Code at a median price of $1.8 million, according to DataQuick.

Madonna's Castillo del Lago, her famous former home near the landmark Hollywood sign, was the inspiration for the design of this house, known as Casa de Lila. Built in 1994, it looks as if it is from the 1920s. The designer wanted the multilevel house to be one of the Hollywood Hills' few trophy properties. Using astrology, he created the home for what he deemed perfect viewing of the moon, the stars and the city below.

A waterfall cascades from an infinity pool to mark the entrance to this Malibu contemporary. The waved copper roof plays off the Pacific, which can be viewed from most rooms including the living room, where underwater windows also provide a look into the swimming pool. The details Location: 31533 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu 90265 Asking price: $3.995 million Year built: 2010 Architect: S.K. Das House size: Four bedrooms, four bathrooms Lot size: 1.71 acres Features: Three fireplaces, 15-foot ceilings, wired for surround sound, white oak kitchen cabinets, Viking appliances, breakfast area, elevator, 1,700-square-foot deck off the master bedroom, 2,500 square feet of lawn, palm trees, native shrubs and plants, orchard and herb garden.

Cyberspace was a-twitter this week with the news that Ryan Seacrest is buying Ellen DeGeneres' Beverly Hills compound for $37 million, and that she and spouse Portia de Rossi are moving no farther than a Hal Levitt-designed midcentury — also in Beverly Hills. DeGeneres' new 8,500-square-foot house, built in 1958, features walls of glass, soaring ceilings, multiple fireplaces, a library, a black-and-stainless-steel kitchen, a sunken living room, four bedrooms and six bathrooms.

Here are three tweets I would have sent from my recent stay at Santa Barbara's just-reopened El Encanto hotel if I hadn't been busy behaving like royalty and pretending the Internet didn't exist: - Arriving Encanto. Tab for a 375-sf room w/fireplace and regal bathroom: $575 for 1 night, $35 for pkng, plus tax. Hey, what's with extra stairs? - Sunset on terrace. Ordering abalone. Below: lush grounds, distant sea, SB's red roofs. We're 200 ft above normal life. - Waiting for dinner.