After four years of renting his house in Maida Vale, Jude Law has bought it from his landlord for £3.5 million.

The 35-year-old actor wants a fresh start and a stable home near his ex-wife Sadie Frost and their three children.

Jude will now spend £1 million gutting and refurbishing the five-bedroom, four-storey Georgian house.

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Regular visitor: Jude Law outside ex-wife Sadie Frost's Belsize Park home yesterday

Our source said: "Jude is tired of being an eternal bachelor without a permanent base and is fed up with renting or living out of hotel rooms when he is filming.

"The refurb will be a significant step towards him settling down and a chance to put his mark on the house so he can call it home."

The house is less than a mile from his old marital home in Belsize Park, which Sadie kept in their divorce settlement. The pair are still close and both play an equal role in bringing up Rafferty, 11, Iris, seven and five-year-old Rudy.

Strong bond: Sadie and Jude have remained very close despite no longer being married

Jude is a regular visitor to Sadie's house, pictured leaving there only yesterday.

Friends say they will never rule out the possibility of getting back together, however unlikely.

Our source added: "Sadie may be rekindling her relationship with her old toyboy Kristian Marr, but there will always be a place in her heart for Jude.

"Jude has felt like a bit of a traveller since his split from Sienna 18 months ago, and he's ready for a fresh start.

"He lives alone at the Maida Vale house, so will be able to put his own mark on it. Each of his children have their own room, so they will be choosing how they will be done out.

"Installing himself in a permanent base is an important part of Jude leaving his bachelor lifestyle behind, and he hopes it will help him eventually find himself a permanent partner. He would like to have more children in the future."

Jude has rented the property for four years, and his delay in buying it earlier cost him at least £1 million. When he considered buying the house three years ago, he was told it would be £2.5 million.

He famously admitted in an interview that he was "skint", so maybe he could be a little more shrewd in the housing market in future, even if it's for the sake of just a million quid...