foreclosure

A New Low Price For Le Reve, Georgia's Most Lavish Foreclosed Mansion

Filed under: Estates

Last month we mentioned that Le Reve, the once $50 million estate for sale in Forsyth County, Georgia was in foreclosure. It has now had yet another price cut down to a new low of $16.75 million. Real estate agent Troy Stowe put it bluntly in a piece on WSOC-TV, saying "now, our new strategy is, the house needs to go." The new listing trumpets the fact that the home has been reduced by $32 million as well as indicating that the home is now bank owned.

La Reve was the home of Hubert and Norma Humphrey who designed their lavish seven-bedroom home with a private bowling alley, its own golf course, a massage room and a huge movie theater that is a replica of Atlanta's Fox Theatre. There is also a train room that is a replica of the old Central Georgia Railroad from Atlanta to Macon to Savannah that Hubert Humphrey worked on for 17 years as a train conductor. This incredible edifice has 82 rooms, two elevators and 62 televisions. The grounds include a heated swimming pool, pool house, spa, private playground, stables, tennis court, formal gardens and a guest house. The home, which is approximately 47,000 square feet on 72 acres was listed at a stunning $45 million in 2008 just two years after it was completed for a price of nearly $50 million total.

Gallery: Le Reve

Tags: foreclosure, georgia real estate, le reve

Florida's Foreclosure King David Stern Putting His Assets Up For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

Foreclosure lawyer David Stern is putting his luxury assets worth tens of millions up for sale according to a comprehensive piece by the Orlando Sun-Sentinel. The newspaper tracked down the many possessions of the lawyer who built Florida's largest foreclosure legal practice. Stern took a $58.5 million payout last year and his company DJSP Enterprises which provide paperwork services to his law firm is traded on the Nadaq stock exchange.

The company has faltered in recent months and around 1,000 DJSP employees have been laid off since last fall. Stern's firm was once one of the largest foreclosure firms in Florida but there have been claims of fraudulent court documents being filed in foreclosure cases. It is now one of seven foreclosure law firms being investigated by the Florida Attorney General's Office.

Stern has listed two properties on South Florida's Hillsboro Beach and the Sun-Sentinel article says that what is believed to be his Italian-built superyacht, the 130-foot yacht, Misunderstood, is listed for sale for $18 million at The Yacht & Brokerage Show on Miami Beach. Together two properties on Hillsboro Beach which have enviable ocean-to-intracoastal lots are listed for a total of nearly $20 million. A Vail ski house belonging to Stern's wife is also on the market for around $6 million.

Even if he sells those properties he still has a $15 million mansion in Fort Lauderdale and a penthouse condo in the Ritz Carlton on Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Tags: david j stern, david stern, florida real estate, foreclosure, plantation florida

Georgia's Massive Le Reve Estate in Foreclosure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Our friend Kenny at Homes of the Rich alerted us to the fact that Le Reve, a massive estate in Cumming, Georgia, that was our estate of the day back in 2008 is now listed as bank-owned and under foreclosure. La Reve was the home of Hubert and Norma Humphrey who designed their lavish home with a private bowling alley, its own golf course, a massage room and a huge movie theater that is a replica of Atlanta's Fox Theatre. There is also a train room that is a replica of the old Central Georgia Railroad from Atlanta to Macon to Savannah that Hubert Humphrey worked on for 17 years as a train conductor. This incredible edifice has 82 rooms, two elevators and 62 televisions. The grounds include a heated swimming pool, pool house, spa, private playground, stables, tennis court, formal gardens and a guest house. The home, which is approximately 47,000 square feet on 90 acres was listed at a stunning $45 million in 2008. In January 2010 we saw that price carved down to $28 million. Now it can be picked up for $18 million.

Gallery: Le Reve

Tags: cumming, foreclosure, georgia real estate, le reve, luxury home, luxury real estate

Luxury Asheville Gated Community Sold In Foreclosure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

A luxury gated community in Asheville, North Carolina has been sold after foreclosure. The developer of The Thoms Estate lost the property in foreclosure to winning bidder, lender BB&T Corp. was the winning bidder for the Beaverdam property in a foreclosure auction and will look to sell it. The Thom Estate was a 83-acre development that was planned to have as many as 132 homes but only five lots were ever sold. The remaining property was deeded over to BB&T on June 14. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that a gatehouse, streets and other infrastructure are already in place on the property. A new owner could just go ahead and develop the property although given the current real estate market that might be a bit of a risk.

The city had approved plans for the development in 2007 and a ban on new gated communities was enacted just a few weeks later. At the time of foreclosure the development company, The Thoms Estate LLC, owed the bank $9.1 million on an $18 million loan and hadn't made a payment since February 2009. Lots were once $300,000 and $400,000 and a model home had a price of $2 million. The property was going to have a lot of public amenities including a manor house, labyrinth, artists studio, koi pond, fitness center, greenhouse, a restored barn for summer events and more.

Tags: foreclosure, gated communities, gated community, north carolina real estate

Foreclosed Dallas Hotel Gets New Owner

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Le Meridien Dallas North Hotel has a new owner. The Dallas Morning News reports that HEI Hotels & Resorts of Connecticut bought the hotel last week at a foreclosure auction. The luxury hotel has remained open during the transition. It was listed for foreclosure for several months. The former owner APHM-ND LP of California defaulted on original $32 million loan. The new owners bid $17 million for the property.

The 258-room hotel has been designed with a chic and contemporary decor. Each room has a 42" HDTV, iPod docking station and Jack Pack, providing you the ability to view your laptop screen from your 42" TV. All rooms feature wireless and hardwire internet access and laptop-sized safes with electricity. The Le Méridien signature beds are outfitted with Frette sheets and rooms offer full size sofas and sitting areas. The hotel has a 24-hour business center, fitness center, indoor heated swimming pool/whirlpool, fine dining restaurant, atrium bar and concierge services.

HEI Hotels & Resorts of Connecticut has picked up a total of four hotels in 2010 and owns a large portfolio of properties managed by Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Embassy Suites and Hilton.

Tags: dallas, foreclosure, hei hotels, hotel foreclosure, hotel foreclosures, hotels, le meridien

Anguilla Resort Heads Into Receivership

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

More resort woes in the Caribbean. The Wall Street Journal reports that Credit Suisse, which represents investors in the Temenos resort on Anguilla, has taken over the project and appointed a receiver to manage it. The resort, which was supposed to have a 32-room hotel and 78 villas offered for sale in the millions, carried a $180 million mortgage. The luxury development was the brainchild of entertainment mogul Robert F.X. Sillerman, who began planning the resort in 2002 and put $180 million of his own money into the project in addition to the monster mortgage. Construction was stopped in 2008 and it is said that the project will need another $125 million for completion. The receiver will be charged with finding a deep-pocketed savior for the project to either finish the resort or take over completely.

Sillerman has had a long career in the entertainment world. In the late 1970s he and a partner created a company that bought up radio and television stations. He used cash from that first venture to build SFX Entertainment into a huge promoter of live entertainment. That company was later sold to Clear Channel for $4.4 billion in 2000. His latest company is CKX, Inc., which we recently wrote about in December. The company bought controlling interest of Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2004 including Graceland and has been working on a major redevelopment project for the 100 acres surrounding the Tennessee home. CKX is also the parent company for Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment which owns the "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance?" franchises.

Like the Four Seasons Barbados project I mentioned last month, this one also had its share of celebrity investors and other well-heeled buyers, some of who paid deposits of up to 40 percent on idyllic vacation homes. Buyers include bestselling author Dan Brown and television producer Simon Fuller.

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Tags: Anguilla, caribbean, foreclosure, hotels in trouble, HotelsInTrouble, receivership, resorts in trouble, ResortsInTrouble, temenos

Whistler Blackcomb Facing Foreclosure Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Next month's Winter Olympics have been anticipated for years in Whistler. But one resort is facing an unexpected snag, foreclosure. Whistler Blackcomb, which will be hosting part of next month's games may end up being auctioned off in the middle of the Olympics. The owner, private equity firm and hedge fund Fortress Investment Group, has failed to make payments on a $1.7 billion loan. The company bought resort operator Intrawest for $2.8 billion in 2006 back when everything was smooth sailing in the real estate world.

Flash forward to now and Fortress is trying to refinance the loan and lenders to Fortress have been publishing notices of foreclosure in places like the Wall Street Journal announcing a public auction of the assets of Intrawest which includes a bunch of winter resorts sprinkled across North America. The auction date of February 19 puts the sale of Whistler Blackcomb smack dab in the middle of the Olympics. Intrawest is said to be negotiating with the lenders but plans to continue with business as usual and the auction likely won't affect the running of the event. Intrawest properties also include the Whistler Sliding Centre, shown at right, which is the site of the Olympic bobsled and luge events.

The Globe and Mail reports that Intrawest ULC has sold its Panorama Mountain Village resort as part of its effort to stave off the auction. Panorama is located in eastern British Columbia and neither the buyer nor the price have been revealed. Intrawest already sold Copper Mountain in Colorado last November.

Tags: foreclosure, fortress, hotel foreclosure, HotelForeclosure, hotels in trouble, HotelsInTrouble, intrawest, OlympicGames, olympics, whistler, whistler blackcomb, WhistlerBlackcomb, winter olympics, WinterOlympics

Mansion at Peachtree Faces Foreclosure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

It is one of Atlanta's grandest new developments but the Mansion on Peachtree may be in deep financial trouble. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the project is facing foreclosure. The project developer has said that a 30-day foreclosure notice is expected tomorrow unless something else happens. Last week Clark Butler, president of City Centre Properties LLC and Mansion Centre Development LLC said that he was in discussion with lenders to work out a deal. If no deal is reached iStar Financial, the primary lender, would receive the property. First Citizens Bank is a secondary lender holding the mezzanine debt. The Atlanta Business Chronicle article reports a total debt of $187.4 million which is above the original estimated price of the project, $165 million.

The Mansion at Peachtree is home to luxury condos and a five-star hotel operated by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. The building also includes NEO, a contemporary Italian restaurant, the fourth location of Craft from restaurateur Tom Colicchio. Craft Atlanta and the 29 Spa. The project was announced to great fanfare back in 2006 but by the time it opened in 2008 the Atlanta real estate market was already mid-slump. Some people who wanted to get into the project couldn't sell the homes they already owned and the high prices of the condos dwarfed the prices of some homes in the area. Last June a penthouse in the mansion sold for $4 million but it was originally listed at $10.2 million. Tourism continues to be fairly sluggish in Atlanta so the project has been hit from two angles. The developer insists that its a great project, just one that launched at an unfortunate time.

Tags: atlanta, buckhead, foreclosure, hotel foreclosure, HotelForeclosure, hotels in trouble, HotelsInTrouble, mansion on peachtree, MansionOnPeachtree

Another Potential Foreclosure For Latrell Sprewell

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Sports

Last year was a bad one for former NBA star Latrell Sprewell who saw his yacht, the 70-foot "Milwaukee's Best" repossessed and his $405,000 home in River Hills, Wisconsin facing foreclosure (Sprewell later settled this debt). This year doesn't seem to be bringing Sprewell much more luck. His Purchase, New York home is scheduled for a sheriff's sale at the Westchester County Courthouse on January 7, 2010.

LoHud.com reports that Sprewell purchased the 3.3-acre property in January 2000 for $2.3 million. He got a 30-year mortgage from Washington Mutual Bank for $1.612 million in 2004 and first failed to make payments starting in April 2008, around the time his other financial troubles began. The home was the site of an alleged domestic dispute in 2006. Sprewell was accused of attacking his girlfriend, Candace Cabbil, in front of their four children but prosecutors agreed in 2008 to drop the charges if Sprewell stayed out of trouble for a year.

A listing on Sotheby's Realty has the house at $3.8 million. It has seven bedrooms, a complete gym, pool and spa, basketball court, four-car garage and a recording studio. Listing pictures reveal large televisions, spiky metal sculptures and large open spaces.

Gallery: Latrell Sprewell in Purchase, New York

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Tags: celebrity foreclosure, celebrity foreclosures, celebrity real estate, CelebrityForeclosure, CelebrityForeclosures, CelebrityRealEstate, foreclosure, latrell sprewell, LatrellSprewell

Denver Ritz-Carlton Condos To Be Sold In Trustee Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Another hotel and condo complex is in foreclosure. The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Denver, Colorado is in foreclosure and condo units will be liquidated in a trustee sale next month according to Globe St. Goldman Sachs was the lender on the project which had sold only one of the 25 residential units.

The project's 25 residential condominiums and two ground-floor commercial condominiums will be sold as one property in a sealed-bid auction next month. The hotel and the condominium are located in what was once an Embassy Suites hotel. The condominium units are on floors 15-19 of the 38-story building with apartments above. The condos share a private owners' lobby with direct elevators, an owners' lounge and board room, and a dedicated concierge. The Globe St. article says that the location across from the Greyhound Bus station and the lack of balconies made the units a hard sell. They were once priced at as much as $800,000 to $4 million but more recently were priced from $500,000 to $3 million.

The Denver Business Journal reports that Chicago lender Transwestern Mezzanine Realty Partners III's lawsuit against individual owners of downtown Denver's Ritz-Carlton Hotel will go to trial next July. Transwestern is suing Ritz owners Steve Roitman and Jim Cobb of Denver-based energy and real estate company BWAB Inc. and hotel developer Charlie Biederman for $9 million in defaulted debt on the hotel. According to the article The Ritz's Forza athletic club building and condominium component have been in foreclosure since June for nonpayment of the $28.8 million balance due on a $95 million mortgage loan.

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Tags: colorado, denver, foreclosure, ritz-carlton

'Rain Man' House In Foreclosure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The home where the 1988 movie 'Rain Man' was filmed has had a hard year. The home in ~~East Walnut Hills~~ the East Walnut Hills area of Cincinnati, Ohio has been foreclosed on and yesterday was the last day of an estate sale. The 14-room home was owned by Roger Ach and the foreclosure process began over the summer. It was set to be sold in a sheriff's sale in July but ownership was transferred from Ach to a trust controlled by his attorney, Charles Hertlein. Recently the Hamilton County Municipal Court signed an eviction notice on the home which is valued at $1.2 million.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Ach was foreclosed on by Cinco Family Financial Credit Union after he failed to pay the credit union $1.4 million for two mortgages with Cinco. This appears to the be the second round of foreclose for Ach on this house. The Enquirer says that in 2003 he was was sued for foreclosure and the house was sold at public auction to an attorney for a company owned by former Cincinnati Reds owner Carl Lindner, a friend of Ach's family. It was was transferred back to Ach in 2007 when Ach took out the mortgages with Cinco.

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Tags: foreclosure, ohio, rain man, RainMan, real estate, RealEstate, roger ach, RogerAch

Continue reading “'Rain Man' House In Foreclosure”

Hotel Jerome Facing Foreclosure Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

I'm sorry to hear this news, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that another grand resort has hit hard times. Aspen's historic Hotel Jerome, has been scheduled for an auction. The hotel, which opened way back in 1889, was purchased in 2007 by a pair of investors, Elysian Worldwide LLC and Lodging Capital Partners LLC. The deal was financed with a $48 million mortgage provided by Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Inc. Now an entity identified as Jerome Property LLC has said that the owners failed to pay the mortgage's $36.3 million balance. The foreclosure filing was recorded on September 24 and the foreclosure auction will be held in January unless something changes.

Meanwhile, the hotel, which is managed by Rock Resorts, remains open and is preparing for the busy ski season with a bunch of special offers and packages. The hotel is one of Aspen's most beloved landmarks and the J-Bar is a popular destination famous for the Aspen Crud, a milkshake and bourbon concoction that is a bit like a Mudslide that punches you in the gut.

Gallery: Hotels In Transition

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Tags: aspen, colorado, foreclosure, hotel foreclosure, hotel jerome, HotelForeclosure, HotelJerome

Former Olympian Faces Foreclosure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Another sad tale of a former athlete facing financial woes has surfaced. Cindy Brown is an Olympic gold medal-winning basketball player who also played in the WNBA and around Europe. Now the former player is losing her fight to keep her Southern California home, a home she bought way back in 1989 in the town of Villa Park.

The talented player was an All-American at Long Beach State( the 60 points she scored against San Jose State in 1987 remains the NCAA record for most points scored in a single game) and a member of USA Basketball's team that won the gold in Seoul in 1988. Although she made good money as a player, as the OC Register points out, she would have made far more if she was a male player. Because there was no professional team in the United States back then she played in France, Italy, Israel, Japan and Spain, usually earning more than $100,000 a year. In 1996, Brown took a pay cut to come back to the United States and play in the American Basketball League. Later she played for the WNBA's Detroit Shock and in Utah before retiring in 2000.

Starting last year, locals began to complain to the city that Brown was not maintaining the yard on her five-bedroom home. Brown tells the OC Register that her neighbors made false assumptions about her and did not like the fact that she is African American and a lesbian. She also said that she was unable to take care of the lawn because she had lost over $1 million in a real estate scam and was on the brink of foreclosure. She has been selling everything she can and has been trying to find work but earlier this summer the Villa Park City Council declared Cindy Brown's house a public nuisance. In July, city workers took over and put drought-tolerant plants in Brown's front yard at a cost of $5,500. The city obtained a warrant to come and water the property and the total city bill for fixing Brown's lawn eventually came to $12,516.

Brown has said that the city and local authorities refused to help her and has filed a civil suit, listing 100 defendants. Earlier this week the city approved putting a lien on Brown's property. Brown says her home, which is listed with an estimate debt of more than $910,000, is scheduled to be auctioned this weekend.

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Tags: basketball, cindy brown, CindyBrown, foreclosure, olympics, villa park, VillaPark

Foreclosed Malibu Home Is Sweet Temptation For Bank Exec

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

I was ready to sneer at the Wells Fargo & Co. executive who helped herself to a foreclosed Malibu beach house that she was supposed to oversee but then I got a look at the property. Such temptation! I can understand why the woman might have been tempted to invite a few friends over to the $12 million beachfront home.

The owners, who had lost money in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, surrendered their fantastically-turned out estate in the pricey enclave of Malibu Colony. The secure community provides a welcome retreat for celebrities, movie execs and other affluent individuals. The fantastically wealthy area functions a bit like a small town where everyone knows each other. Residents in the community noticed the Wells Fargo exec throwing parties in the home and wrote down the license plate number of a Volvo sport-utility vehicle they say was parked in the home's garage. A check of state motor vehicle license plates by the LA Times found the vehicle was registered to Wells Fargo senior vice president Cheronda Guyton.

The 3,800-square-foot, two-story modern home is not on the market but the property website lists it as price available on request.

Gallery: Malibu Colony Road

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Tags: foreclosure, malibu colony, MalibuColony, wells fargo, WellsFargo

Luxury Golf Course Facing Foreclosure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Real Estate Developments

Keeping a golf course in the middle of the desert maintained is no easy or inexpensive task and now it looks like one luxury golf course may be fighting foreclosure. The Desert Sun reports that the private Stone Eagle Golf Course in California's Palm Desert may be facing foreclosure. The course is part of the community called The Retreat at Stone Eagle where homes can sell for several million dollars. The course was created by LDD Desert Development Inc.. Bill Powers, president of Pacific Western Bank, confirmed to the Sun that a Notice of Default was filed against Stone Eagle Golf Course. Ted Lennon, the president of LDD has said that he is working with the bank and golf course members to alleviate the situation.

The news article also says some members have been approached with a request to pay $100,000 each to help keep the golf course on track. The cooler months are prime golfing season in the desert and the turf is currently being prepped and announcements of tournaments were recently released. The comments on The Desert Sun article are pretty interesting, no one is exactly shedding a tear for the course's predicament. Some say it should never have been built and should be given back to local wildlife, others say it should be made public so locals get a chance to play.

Gallery: Travel + Leisure Golf's Top Golf Communities for 2009