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The most expensive home in America, a Bel-Air mansion that costs $500 million, will have a “For Sale” sign in front of it soon enough! After the owner went into debt, the house went up for sale…
The Most Expensive Home In America
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Originally expected to hit the market in 2017 for a whopping $500 million, this 105,000-square-foot Bel Air megamansion, known unofficially as “The One,” has gone through some serious issues as of late. Years ago, the property developer, Nile Niami, called the mansion his “life mission” and “the biggest, most expensive home in the urban world.”
The home has everything that one could ask for: nine bedrooms, three kitchens, a four-lane bowling alley, a nightclub (yes, you read that right), a gym and salon, a 50-seat home theater, and even an underground garage for 50 cars, with two auto turntables! Love working out? Well, there’s also a running track and multiple pools. However, the most remarkable part has to be the moat that surrounds The One! Miami had also planned on creating a “jellyfish room” and ice bar, but both proved far too expensive to build. Meanwhile, every toilet and door is electric.
However, now, the home faces many problems and will likely sell for much less than $50 million…
Drowning In Debt
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As the demand for megamansions dropped, Niami plowed forward with his plans for “The One.” He even created an LLC, Crestlloyd, and borrowed more than $165 million to build and sell the house! Most of the money, a whopping $115 million, came in the form of loans from Hankey Capital, founded by Los Angeles billionaire Don Hankey. Other investors include Yogi Securities Holdings, which is in for over $36 million, and Inferno Realty and Maybach Corporation Holdings, which are each in for about $7 million each.
Things have not gone well for The One, however. As of this writing, the property owes $1 million in unpaid taxes and debt from air conditioning, concrete, and various tool companies. Ouch! Now, Hankey has given Niami a notice of default. Not long after, in July 2021, L.A. Superior Court “ordered the property be placed into receivership, putting The One in the hands of Ted Lanes of Lanes Management, who will be responsible for preparing it for sale.”
Will The One truly go for $500 million? Only time will tell…
Truly Unique
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Lanes will ensure that the final stages of the house are completed, and then will sell of the house to pay the lenders Niami defaulted on. “What I would love to see happen is that the house gets completed, the certificate of occupancy is awarded and we have an orderly sale that maximizes the value,” Lanes told CNBC. “Hopefully, there will be sufficient proceeds from the sale to fund the secured and unsecured creditors and for the equity to realize some value.”
Still, while the house was initially priced at $500 million, it seems unlikely to go for that much. But Lanes admits he has no idea how much The One will go for. “It’s not an easy property to price,” Lanes said. “It’s truly unique.”
