Madoff, Epstein may be canceled but their real estate isn’t
Buyers look to buy property at discount prices due to owners sullied reputations
Just because Bernie Madoff, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein have terrible reputations doesn’t mean that carries over to the real estate they owned.
Some see an opportunity to acquire — at significant discounts — properties owned by people who have done terrible things, Air Mail reported.
In 2010, Al Kahn, the licensing executive behind Pokémon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was quick to snap up the penthouse at 133 East 64th Street previously owned by disgraced financier Bernie Madoff, who had just pleaded guilty to running the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Khan paid $8 million, 20 percent less than the asking price.
“I thought the place was undervalued,” Kahn told the outlet. “I checked out other apartments in the building and the area, and they were going for significantly more than this one was going for. I thought it was a good opportunity to make a profit.”
It was. Following a divorce, Kahn’s ex-wife Patsy sold the penthouse in 2014 for $14 to real estate investor Lawrence Benenson, who also bought the adjacent apartment for $4 million. Benenson recently tried to sell the property for $18.5 million, but pulled the listing in January after not receiving any offers.
More recent examples include a Bel Air mansion owned by Lori Loughlin — who was facing jail time due to the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal — selling in 2020 for $18.7 million, $10 million less than its asking price, and a New York City townhouse owned by Jeffrey Epstein selling for $51 million in 2021 after being listed for $86 million, the outlet said.
Buyers care less about the reputations of the previous owners and more about getting a bargain.
“They’re savvy people,” John Gomes, of Douglas Elliman, told Air Mail. “They know how long to wait. They know how low to bid, and they know when to pounce.”
Not all properties are treated equally. Some buyers distinguish between a previous owner who committed a crime away from a home versus one where the illegal acts took place.
Developer Todd Michael Glaser in March 2021 bought sex offender Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion, where Epstein trafficked girls, for $19 million. Glaser demolished the mansion and, seven months later, sold the lot to venture capitalist David Skok for $26 million.
— Ted Glanzer
Read More:
https://therealdeal.com/miami/2021/03/12/jeffrey-epsteins-palm-beach-house-sells-for-19m/
https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2023/01/13/bernie-madoffs-ues-penthouse-is-pulled-off-market/