Loan on large Bronx buildings trades for $31M

From left: Bob Knakal, David Simone, 530 East 169th Street and 480 East 188th Street (buildings credit: PropertyShark)
From left: Bob Knakal, David Simone, 530 East 169th Street and 480 East 188th Street (buildings credit: PropertyShark)

The defaulted $36.5 million loan on the Robert Fulton Terrace and Fordham Towers in the Bronx sold for $31 million, a release from the brokerage Massey Knakal Realty Services said.

The note was secured by the 17-story Robert Fulton Terrace at 530-540 East 169th Street in Morrisania and the 15-story Fordham Towers at 480 East 188th Street in Belmont. A release from Massey Knakal said the note “was sold in a transaction valued at $31 million.” The note buyer was not identified.

The properties are owned by a group headed by real estate investor Mark Karasick, which purchased the buildings in 2007 for a reported $41.3 million.

The two properties were appraised at $47.3 million in 2007, but documents available on the website of the loan’s special servicer LNR Partners, show the appraised value was reduced by $17.8 million on August 7 of this year — yielding a new appraised value of $29.5 million.

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The LNR site also says the lenders lost $14.4 million on the note sale, which closed September 21, but a source familiar with the transaction said that likely included penalties and interest above the $36.5 million value. LNR did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Robert Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal, first brought the notes to market nearly two years ago, at the end of 2010. Knakal and company first vice president David Simone were the exclusive brokers on the sale.