Want to play hoops in your home? Only $3.8 million - May 28th, 2009 · by Jeff Collins

For six months, a hilltop house in Newport Beach has been listed without mentioning the owner.

But now that he’s bought a new home and moved out, the owner’s name can be revealed, his agent said: It’s Dr. Daniel Amen , a Newport Beach psychiatrist and brain-scan specialist who has applied brain imaging to the treatment of such disorders as ADD, depression, autism and memory loss.

Turns out he’s a huge basketball fan, and when he bought his guarded Harbor Ridge Estates residence, he spent $250,000 installing a professional indoor court with a floor so durable, you can park four additional cars on it, raising the home’s parking to eight spaces. He’s also a nationally ranked table tennis champ, so the court also has space for ping pong.

The asking price for this four-bedroom, five-bathroom house: $3,799,000. Go to www.5Geneve.com

Amen reports on his Web site that he has taught medicine at UC Irvine, has authored 22 books and appeared in TV specials. Hence, he didn’t want anyone to know where he lived until he bought another home (paying nearly $5 million) and moved out, said his agent, Andrew Karigan of Prudential California Realty Newport Beach (ranked Number One Realtor in 2008 for Prudential's Newport Beach and Corona del Mar offices).

“He didn’t want anyone coming to his door,” Karigan said. “Now that it’s vacant and he’s not there, it’s not a problem.”

Amen claims to have used brain scans to treat neuropsychiatric conditions... Amen Clinics Inc. now operates in California, Washington and Virginia and claims to have patients from 75 countries. Amen’s house? Key features include:

• 6,000 square feet of living space
• $1 million in upgrades including $150,000 for the kitchen
• Leaded-glass windows
• Extensive use of high-end materials like wood, stone and glass
• A pool and spa
• Panoramic ocean views...
• A large rooftop patio

The portrait of Dr. Amen (top center) is by Register photographer Eugene Garcia. The pictures of the home were shot by photographer Whitney Davies and provided by Andrew Karigan.

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