Bankruptcy auction of ‘The One’ mega-mansion delayed in hopes of finding buyers
The bankruptcy auction for one of the largest mansions in the United States was pushed back three weeks to allow more time to attract potential purchasers of the home, which has a $295-million asking price.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Deborah J. Saltzman granted an extension of the auction for the Los Angeles home known as “The One” last week after a number of would-be buyers needed more time to visit the property, according to court papers filed Friday and attorney David Golubchik of Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Golubchik, who is representing the property’s developer.
The online bankruptcy auction is now scheduled for Feb. 28 to March 3, and the transaction’s closing, which is subject to court approval, is set for March 21.
The idea was simple: Nile Niami would build and sell The One, the biggest and most extravagant new home in the country. Then things went sideways.
The no-reserve auction of “The One” was originally slated to occur the second week of February with a final closing date of Feb. 28. Creditors Yogi Securities Holdings and Inferno Investment Inc. filed objections to the plans this month.
Yogi, which is led by Los Angeles doctor and investor Joseph Englanoff, said the original time frame was too short to gin up buyers’ interest and get the highest price. Inferno, led by Julien Rémillard, made similar complaints, and noted that a planned 12% service fee charged by the auctioneer could “chill bidding.”
Concierge Auctions is running the process, and the property is also being marketed worldwide with an asking price of $295 million. The global marketing blitz includes listing the property online in the U.S. and China. One broker is traveling to Hong Kong and London in search of buyers, according to court papers.
Developer Nile Niami proposes using “The One” to back cryptocurrency as he fights to head off a February auction of his Bel-Air mega-mansion.
The property, built by Nile Niami through his development company Crestlloyd, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October to stave off foreclosure. Niami attempted to halt the auction last month and proposed creating a cryptocurrency, The One Coin, backed by the home. Niami’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the crypto plans.
Though the mansion’s $295-million asking price would set national records if achieved, the developer had been aiming higher. In a court filing, Crestlloyd pegged the market value of “The One” at $325 million, and the property was once listed for as much as $500 million.
The 105,000 square-foot, 20-bedroom home is outfitted with a bevy of amenities, including a 30-car garage, a nightclub, two restaurant-grade kitchens, four swimming pools and a two-story waterfall. The four-acre property is also surrounded by a moat to give the illusion that it’s floating on water.
