432 Park Avenue and, from left, Whitney Duan, who guaranteed the condo loan; and Jenna Goldman of Maverick Real Estate Partners. (Google Maps, LinkedIn and Communist Youth League)
The $ 30 million condominium high up on East 57th Street is empty, stripped of its furniture, and possibly abandoned. The mortgage on the 72nd floor at 432 Park Avenue is late, its sponsor appears to be in custody in China, and the owner's identity is uncertain.
Now the firm that owns the debt plans to seize the 4,000-square-foot lot on Billionaires' Row, where high-quality property purchases are often hidden behind layers of LLCs.
In a lawsuit filed last week, Maverick Real Estate Partners is trying to foreclose the three-bedroom apartment in hopes of "selling it quickly since the property is empty and / or abandoned".
Maverick claims the owner of Unit 72A, listed as Offshore LLC, has not made any mortgage payments since March, causing the loan to default.
In May, Maverick bought the $ 13.75 million mortgage from China Citic Bank, real estate records indicate. Just over $ 1 million of the main loan has been repaid, according to the lawsuit. But who exactly owes that money remains a mystery – it has been the case with other high-end property purchases on Billionaires' Row and the Manhattan area.
The unit that controls Unit 72A is registered with an Upper East Side unit at 200 East 65th Street, according to court records. That entity, in turn, is controlled by Eagle Harvest LLC, based on the city's property tax records. The identity of the people behind this company could not be determined immediately.
A Maverick attorney declined to comment on the case.
The court records also indicate that Weihong Duan – one of China's richest women – guaranteed the $ 13.75 million loan. However, according to Maverick's attorneys, Duan appears to be in the custody of the Chinese government on a case resulting from land deals with a former prime minister.
Duan has also loaned $ 5.8 million to the LLC that controls Unit 72A, Maverick court documents read. The financing was approved as a subordinated loan by the original lender China Citic in 2017.
Uncovering the real borrower of this loan has also proven difficult as Duan has signed financial agreements on behalf of the LLC that it provided the money to. Duan – also known as Whitney Duan – was unavailable at her last recorded house, a condo at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beijing.
The 432 Park condo is one of many ultra-luxury Manhattan residences with ties to foreign capital – some allegedly illicitly earned. In 2017, in nearby condominium tower One57, lenders forced a facility owned by a Nigerian oil tycoon who was separately investigated for money laundering.
Foreclosure in an ultra-luxurious Manhattan residence would be rare. Should Maverick also attempt to offload the unit and accept an amount well below market value, it could push back the condo board. However, the luxury market in Manhattan has rebounded in recent months and asking prices at 432 Park are returning to supertall status. The top floor penthouse was recently listed for $ 170 million, more than double its retail price five years ago.
The ambitious listing is considered good news at 432 Park these days. In February, the Times reported in detail about construction errors on the skyscraper.
Maverick's lawsuit does not rule out the possibility that other debts exist on the unit. It includes the 432 Park Condo-Board as a co-defendant – designed to keep the building from claiming the property to meet unpaid general fees.
The 432 Park condo board was not immediately available.
Contact Orion Jones
source https://seapointrealtors.com/2021/07/26/creditor-looks-to-foreclose-on-432-park-condo-owner-cant-be-found/
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