Madonna Goes British

12/07/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

Madonna is buying a house and garden in a fashionable London neighborhood for $8 million, reports The London Times, which goes on to say that the star is getting in a shot at the city's real estate agents in the process. The Material Mom bought the five-bedroom, four-story mansion in South Kensington directly from the unidentified seller, The Times said, thus depriving real estate agents of their standard 2% commission. This is said to be sweet revenge for Madonna, who spent 18 luckless months searching for a home. "It's a very ordinary house," said real estate agent David Forbes. "It needs a lot of work doing to it and her designer and decorator are in there at the moment."