Brad Pitt Let His 105-Year-Old Neighbor Live on His $40M Former L.A. Estate Rent Free, Says Elvira [Exclusive]

Cassandra Peterson (aka "Elvira") sold her home to the actor in 1994 and opened up to PEOPLE about how he signed on for an unintentional role: landlord

Brad Pitt's sprawling Los Angeles estate was home to one more resident than the actor anticipated.

The Academy Award Winner, 59, purchased the 1.9-acre property in 1994 for a reported $1.7 million from Elvira, Mistress of the Dark star Cassandra Peterson, and held onto it for nearly 30 years before finally parting ways with it for about $40 million in March.

Related:Brad Pitt Has Sold His L.A. Home of Nearly 30 Years After Listing it for $40 Million

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Peterson opened up about how she sold her home to Pitt, became his longtime neighbor, and how the actor ended up with an unexpected elderly tenant on the property.

The situation was the result of Pitt slowly expanding the footprint of the estate. "I think there were like 22 houses houses that were contiguous to the edge of the property. And every time they came up he bought one," the actress explained to PEOPLE.

One of the properties belonged to an elderly man in his early nineties, so Pitt made a deal that allowed him to stay in their home.

"He was very, very kind to the husband. His wife passed away and the husband, John, lived there," explained Peterson. "I know that Brad allowed him to live there without paying anything until he died."

The arrangement went on a bit longer than it might have, she notes: "It was kind of funny because John lived to be 105."

Related:Elvira Says L.A. Mansion She Sold Brad Pitt Is Extremely 'Haunted' but 'He Loved It' [Exclusive]

The actress joked that John "just kept living forever," adding, "I imagine Brad was thinking well, you know, he can live there till he dies, which might be any minute now."

Peterson, who became Pitt's neighbor, buying a house next door after she sold him her property, shared her own exchanges with the actor throughout the years, describing him as "always kind and sweet."

According to Peterson, on one occasion, she came across his preparation for his 1999 movie Fight Club.

While walking her dogs down the street, she recalls, "I go past Brad's garage and he's in there wearing only sweatpants. He's got on boxing gloves and he is punching a bag. I swear I almost fainted."

"I remember he goes, 'Hey, how are you?' and I'm like, 'Huh?' I couldn't talk. I was turning red. I felt like I was fainting," she continues. "He's just so stunningly, stunningly handsome — and nice, to top it off."

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The home, which was sold in an off market deal last month, is where Pitt and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie, 47, raised their six children — Maddox, 21, Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 16, and 14-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. The couple split in 2016.

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