donaldtrump

We've certainly chatted about this Montana millionaires' resort over the past six months as it filed for Chapter 11 and then finally for bankruptcy. Now, with bids to purchase the property due in the next month, offers are emerging with interest even expressed from Donald Trump. Although Trump isn't aggressively pursuing the Club, considering its many extensive issues, he is investigating the possibility of associating the Trump name with the golf and ski resort. If the club isn't purchased, what then?

Investors in the Donald-Trump-branded Baja Mexico project have sued Trump now that the project has folded. I'd been expecting this since November when we wrote about the troubles for the Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico and received comments from burned investors. The project was not being built by Trump but he lent his name to the project and condo buyers say they invested based on the value of that name. Those who bought into the project have lost all their invested money, a reported total of $32 million on units that ranged in price from the mid $300,000s to over $2 million. No one seems to be sure exactly where the money went. CBS News has an interview with Ivanka Trump who says she is sorry for those people that lost money but that she and her father are "in the same boat" in terms of being taken in by the developers. Ivanka is named in the lawsuit along with her father and her brother, Donald Trump Jr. as well as the project's developers, Irongate Development, its partner company Punta Bandera Investors USA, and its real estate brokers S&P Destination Properties.

This isn't the first time Trump's selling of his well-recognized name has gotten him in trouble. Last June, condo buyers filed a lawsuit against the developers of the Trump Towers complex in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. for using the Trump name to attract buyers. That project is also not being developed by Trump and per the terms of the agreement Trump's name can only be used temporarily and could be changed once the buildings are completed. Based on this information and a fear that the condos will be worth less without the Trump brand, buyers sought cancel sales contracts worth over $100 million and to have around $20 million in deposits returned. Donald Trump was not named in the suit.

Trump has put his name on everything from vodka to office furniture but lawsuits like these as well as the troubles that have befallen his Trump-branded Atlantic City casino empire are eroding that name's prestige.

All is not well in the world of the Donald. As Bloomberg reports, Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka stepped down from the board of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. as the company faces a possible bankruptcy next week. Trump, who was chairman of the board, now says he has no idea whether or not there will be a bankruptcy filing. It seems likely. Trump Entertainment has to make a $53 million bond payment by February 17th. The company has already extended this due date four times sine the grace period was up at the end of last year. If an agreement can't be reached either the company will file bankruptcy or the bondholders could force it into involuntary bankruptcy.

Donald Trump still controls 28 percent of the stock. He offered to buy the rest of the company but was turned down by bondholders. Trump Entertainment's three casinos have already been through bankruptcy twice and Trump is reportedly not too happy about having his name attached to a company that could be going down the tubes. The company which was once worth $842 million is now worth just $7.3 million, a mere pittance in Trump terms.

Also at issue is the continued implosion of the Atlantic City resort economy. Gambling fell by 7.6 percent in 2008 as some gamblers stayed away and others went to casinos in other states. Major casinos in the area have either stalled out mid-construction or had to make deep layoffs. The Borgata cut 400 jobs in November and the $2.5 billion Revel casino project may be delayed for at least a year. Even without massive debt, Trump's three Atlantic City casinos would be facing a tough time. Given the economic climate and the amount of money owed it seems they may be doomed.

It was only in November that Donald Trump finally got approval for his billion dollar golf resort development in Scotland but there are already rumors of trouble. At the tail end of 2008 a flurry of reports came out saying that the housing component of the resort, 500 luxury homes, was on hold due to the global economic crisis. But an George Sorial, managing director for international development for the Trump Organization says this is untrue. He says the project was always going to be done in phases and the residential part was already planned to be the last part. He says that it is schedule this way because the A90 road needs to be widened in order first in order to avoid potential traffic issues. In fact, he says it's a great time to be building because labor is plentiful and the cost of materials is going down. Some wonder though, given Trump's recent troubles, if this isn't just a lot of bluster.

For a couple of years, I've thought of Donald Trump's Trump Ocean Resort on the Baja Mexico coast as a sign that the northern part of the Baja peninsula was becoming a more upscale destination. It seems I may have spoken too soon. Now the three-tower destination resort many never even get off the ground. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the developers of the Trump Ocean Resort in Baja California have lost their financing for the project and it may be some time before a new lender can be found.

Those who bought into the project put 30 percent down on units that ranged in price from studios in the mid-$300,000s to $2.5 million for a penthouse may not be able to pull out their money. The towers were supposed to be ready for occupancy by the end of this year but those who bought in have now been told the completion date is slated for 2012. Angry buyers are considering filing a class-action lawsuit for breach of contract. The Trump Organization is a licensor of the project and not the developer but the Trump brand name was an assurance for those who invested their money in the potential development.

If there's anything I've learned it's that you don't bet against the Trumpster, he usually get what he wants. And yet I thought he was going to be out of luck when it came to claiming a slice of Scotland to build a golf course. After a long struggle, however, Trump has been granted approval for his planned £1 billion golf resort in Aberdeenshire from the Scottish government. Environmentalists have been fighting the development because it impinges on protected sand dunes. Last November, the project was rejected by a local council committee but Trump was in Scotland earlier this year to fight for his development. Since then the project has been reviewed by the Scottish government and it has been deemed that there is a large enough economic and social benefit to justify the construction. Trump still has to gather capital and all the land necessary, things that have been proven to be easily surmountable obstacles for him in the past.

I usually save Ann Brenoff's Hot Property column in the L.A. Times for the Sunday Real Estate Round-Up but this is too interesting not to share as soon as possible. Donald Trump has offered to step in and buy Ed McMahon's Beverly Hills home and allow McMahon to continue living there. Trump said in an interview with the Times that although he didn't know McMahon personally he grew up watching him on television and felt that it was an honor to step in and help.

McMahon who is 85 and suffered a debilitating neck injury last year was facing foreclosure within two weeks on his Beverly Hills home. McMahon bought the home in 1990 for $2.6 million and has had it on the market for several years. Most recently it was listed at $4.6 million as shown in the Hilton & Hyland listing. McMahon had defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans with Countrywide Financial Corp.

Trump isn't giving McMahon a free ride. He plans to buy the home from the lender and lease it back to McMahon. According to the Times, McMahon's listing agent, Alex Davis of Hilton & Hyland flew to New York to make a personal pitch to Trump to save McMahon's home.

UPDATE: The LA Times reports that listing agent, Alex Davis, has said there is a second anonymous would-be buyer and so the property is now in a "multiple offer situation."

Donald Trump's project on the Palm Jumeriah development in Dubai may have quite the penthouse up for sale. Property developer Nakheel has announced that they expect to sell a penthouse in theTrump International Hotel & Tower on Palm Jumeirah for more than $30 million. Designer Kelly Hoppen has designed two penthouses in the tower which will have 399 residences and townhouses total.

Trump has released his standard hyperbolic statement, saying that he believes " Palm Jumeirah is on course to become one of the world's premier tourist destinations." He also said he is planning to reserve a property in the tower for himself. The 62-story, stainless steel and glass Trump International Hotel & Tower will be the tallest structure on Palm Jumeirah and should be completed in the summer of 2011. It will stand as the gateway to the palm-shaped development, straddling the center line of the Palm Jumeirah, making it the gateway to the heart of the development.

Just how much is the Trump name worth? The plaintiffs in a lawsuit by buyers of luxury condominiums say that condos in buildings that carry the Trump name are worth 36 percent more than units in similar building without the name. The lawsuit was brought by around 80 condo buyers who are suing the developers of the Trump Towers complex in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. for using the Trump name to attract buyers. As Law.com reveals, the suit says that Trump's name can only be used temporarily and could be changed once the buildings are completed. Based on this information and a fear that the condos will be worth less without the Trump brand, buyers are asking to cancel sales contracts worth over $100 million and to have around $20 million in deposits returned. The name Trump appeared on the promotional material but not on any of the condo documents or purchase contracts. Donald Trump, who is not named in the suit, has been quoted as saying that he was "honored" by the lawsuit doubtlessly because it backs up his own decades-long campaign to turn his last name into a valuable brand.

Donald Trump is still fighting for his dream of having a golf resort in Scotland. Today he was in Aberdeen fighting for the right to build his $2 billion golf course complex. The development is planned for a 1,400 acre site in the dunes dunes on the Menie Estate at Balmedie. Environmentalists says the resort will destroy an area of natural importance but local businesses are looking forward to increased tourism dollars. His plans were narrowly rejected by the Aberdeenshire Council late last year. Trump has since been spotted real estate shopping in Ireland but it looks like he's not ready to let his Scottish dream die quite yet.

Trump spoke passionately about the site and his scheme to create two championship golf courses, a luxury hotel with 450 bedrooms, and approximately 1,000 timeshare condominiums and 500 luxury homes. He touted his matrilineal connection to the land (his mother is Scottish) and said that the development would create the "world's greatest golf course." The AP reports that the discussion got heated. David Tildsley, representing the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said that Trump had ignored the advice of his own consultants on the environment. Trump replied that he knows more than his consultants and said he considers himself "an environmentalist in the true sense of the word."

A decision is expected sometime in July.

I would have taken bets that Donald Trump wouldn't get his $100 million price for the home he's been trying to sell in Palm Beach, Florida for two years but I would have lost. The Palm Beach Post reports that Trump has sold the property he bought in 2004 from Abe Gosman for his desired price. Trump bought the home for $41.35 million and spent another $25 million in a renovation headed by Kendra Todd, winner of the third season of The Apprentice. He first put it on the market for $125 million which made it the most expensive home for sale in the U.S. but even Trump knew that price was optimistic and predicted three years ago that it would go for $100 million.

The home has nine bedrooms, a ballroom and a conservatory as party of its 62,000 square foot expanse. It also has a 48-car garage. Believe it or not, the unnamed buyer might tear down the huge mansion and subdivide. The waterfront property has been a prized piece of land for over 100 years and has the current house, Maison de L'Amitié, was only built in 1990. The property is appraised at $58 million by the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office, meaning the 2007 tax bill at $980,033, is higher than the price of many homes in America. Trump's sale comes after a rash of big home sales in Palm Beach including Jones Apparel Group founder Sidney Kimmel who recently sold his home in the area for its $81.5 million list price.

The details of Ivana Trump's weekend wedding are pretty amazing but what might be the most interesting is how similar the wedding is to her ex-husband's wedding back in 2005. After all, Donald and Ivana each married a much younger spouse at the very same location, the Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Ivana wore 450 carats worth of LEVIEV diamonds including a 71.76 carat diamond necklace and 6.39 carat oval-cut diamond earrings on her wedding night. Trump's wife Melania wore a $200,000 satin and rhinestone Dior gown and Fred Leighton jewels for their wedding. Ivana's wedding cake was 12 feet tall and weighed in at 770 pounds. Donald's last wedding included a seven-tier cake that weighed over 200 pounds. Donald Trump's guests were entertained by a 36-piece string orchestra that was local whereas Ivana had a 24-piece orchestra flown in from Paris. Donald had more celebrity guests but the Ivana got serenaded by Neil Sedaka. Let's just call this one a draw and say that though they may be divorced the ex-Trumps certainly have a lot in common.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Donald Trump is asking a truly stunning amount of rent for one of his unsold Park Avenue penthouses: $200,000 per month for a three-bedroom condominium, shown above, that is listed at $45 million. The listing is here.
--We first heard rumors of this back in December but now it seems that it is official that the listing for Oscar-winning producer Marty Richards' apartment went to contract. It's selling for somewhere just below its $22.7 million asking price. The buyer is said to be fashion-show mogul Elyse Kroll. Her 23-room townhouse is on the market for $29.75 million. The listing is here.
--Hopedene, a fabulous mansion on Newport, Rhode Island's famous Cliff Walk has hit the market. It's our estate of the day later today.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Steven Croman who has been named to The Village Voice's 10 Worst Landlords List, has picked up a townhouse at 7 East 75th Street,paying $14.5 million to a family that had owned the house for decades. (The home's facade was used as home on the TV show The Nanny). Croman says he has no plans to make it into a single family home or to raise rent for existing tenants.
--Writer and Oprah scapegoat James Frey has picked up a $985,000 one-bedroom apartment which is next door to his three-bedroom apartment at 505 Greenwich Street.
--One of New York city's most coveted homes, Brooke Astor's 778 Park Avenue duplex may soon be on the market. Agents from five of the city's top brokerages met in the 778 Park duplex's library to audition for the listing which could be as much as $46 million.

From The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Bear Sterns Chief Executive Alan D. Schwartz has taken his Purchase, New York house off the market and is renting it instead. The home was listed for $4.5 million. Bear Chairman and former CEO James Cayne closed last month on a $27.4 million purchase of two adjacent apartments at the Plaza in New York.
--Allman Brothers Band drummer Claude "Butch" Trucks has cut the asking price on his Palm Beach, Fla., house again this month to $3.995 million, down 17% from the original $4.8 million. The listing is here.
--In Manhattan, a few new high-profile condo buildings with unusual designs are selling at high prices for downtown neighborhoods. At 100 11th Ave., an irregular, glass-faceted tower designed by France's Jean Nouvel, 70% of the building's 72 original units have sold since sales began in April. Eight of the nine units at Shigeru Ban's "Metal Shutter Houses" development have sold at full asking price of up to $10.25 million. Herzog & de Meuron's 28-unit green-glass 40 Bond building still has one original unit for sale after two years on the market, in addition to several resale listings.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--via WSJ Private Properties, retired quarterback Drew Bledsoe is selling his home in Westlake, Texas. He already lives in Bend, Oregon. The listing is here.
--Sitcom actress Jaime Pressly has paid $2,250,000 for a new five-bedroom home in Sherman Oaks.
--British TV presenter and Simon Cowell girlfriend Terri Seymour, has paid $4.6 million for a home in the Bird Streets area of the Hollywood Hills. Pictures of the beautiful contemporary home are here.
--A modern home in the Hollywood Hills that once was owned by actress Milla Jovovich has been listed for $2,399,000. The virtual tour is here.
--Michael J. Fox has paid $6,300,000 for a new six-bedroom house in Quogue, N.Y.
--Charlotte Bobcats shooting guard Jason Richardson has listed his five-bedroom home in Oakland, CA for $3,100,000. The listing is here.
--O magazine editor-at-large and Oprah BFF Gayle King has closed on the purchase of a $7,100,000 condo in Manhattan.
--Rumor has it that Jessica Simpson may have purchased a large house in Nashville, Tennessee but so far she has denied this.
--Danny Masterson has sold his four-bedroom, Spanish-style house in the Beachwood Canyon area of Los Angeles for $1.2 million.
--via TMZ Tom Arnold has listed his five-bedroom, 4,211-square-foot house in Tarzana for $2,275,000. The virtual tour is here.

From the Real Estalker:
--The $81.5 million Sidney Kimmel home in Palm Beach may have already gone to contract for a number over $75 million.
--Actor Enrique Murciano has listed his home in Los Angeles for $1.795 million. The listing is here.
--via NY Daily News, Mary J. Blige has paid $12.3 million for a home in Saddle River, NJ that was originally listed at $17 million.

From the LA Times: Hot Property:
--Another look at the home that DJ Paul Oakenfold has put on the market for $10 million. It was our estate of the day in February.
--Hotelier Jason Pomeranc has purchased a former Hollywood Hills home of actress Sandra Dee and singer Bobby Darin for about $3 million.
--Frank Sinatra's Palm Desert hideaway,Villa Maggio, has hit the market for $4.995 million. The compound sleeps up to 22 people and there is a helicopter pad, movie theater and outdoor dance floor. The listing is here.
--Actress Dedee Pfeiffer, sister of Michelle Pfeiffer, has listed her home in Mandeville Canyon for $1.195 million. It looks like the three-bedroom home with hot and cold Japanese-style dipping pools has already gone to contract. The listing is here.
--Actor Gregory Harrison has listed his southern Oregon home at $5.9 million. We covered this home as an estate of the day back in January but were unaware of its celebrity provenance

Donald Trump's billion-dollar Scottish golf course may be on hold, so he has turned his rapacious attentions to Ireland and the remains of the Mountpather House. The 170-acre estate once boasted one of the finest country houses in Ireland but now the 18th century country house has fallen into disrepair. The elegant facade remains but the home's roof was removed over 30 years ago so the owners could avoid paying tax rates on the property. The fireplaces and interior fittings have either been removed or have collapsed leaving a crumbling shell of a home.

Mountpather House is just one of several properties that Donald Trump's representatives have looked at while scoping out the right spot for Trump's Irish golf course development. The estate is located in an area with other esteemed golf courses and is located around 40 minutes drive away from Belfast and two hours from Dublin. The property is listed at £8 million (around $15.62 million). I'm almost hoping Trump snaps this one up but only if he restores the old house rather than razing it.

[Thanks, Lana]

It's a bad week for Donald Trump, a Scottish council has rejected a plan from the Trumpster to build a $1 billion golf course and resort complex in idyllic seaside area north of Aberdeen. Trump's losing out to the birds, rare birds which make their home in the sandy dunes of the coastal area. Opponents of the development said that the development would damage the habitat of the Lapwings, Redshanks and Skylarks. Proponents of the plans said that the new development would be a big boost to the local economy. The Aberdeenshire Council's Infrastructure Committee battled for hours over Trump's plans before finally rejecting them. This news was particularly shocking to Trump since the council's Formartine area committee approved the golf course in a 7-4 vote last week. This latest vote (pardon the pun) trumps the first one. It is not known yet whether Trump will appeal the vote or if he will simply move on to create his golfing dream in another European country. The project was to have two 18-hole courses, a 450-bedroom hotel, 950 vacation homes, 36 golf villas and 500 larger homes.