After the furore over NAMA’s off-market sales in county Cork and after the off-market purchase of a NAMA debtor’s property by then-NAMA employee Enda Farrell, perhaps we should be pleased that one of NAMA’s properties is in fact being offered for sale on the open market where there might be some reassurance from the transparency of open advertising and tenders. Yet it seems even here there are pitfalls.
A property bought by a consortium led by 68-year old Paddy Kelly (pictured above) in Sarasota, Florida was apparently advertised for sale by a local estate agent – or “realtor” in American. But the realtor did so without the permission of NAMA which now controls the loans originally extended by Anglo. The Herald Tribune newspaper in Florida reports that a realtor called Florida Growth Realty had advertised the property for sale but withdrew the listing when contacted by the Tribune.
The property in Florida (indicated above) is subject to at least one legal action. In September 2011, it was reported that a Florida developer, Mark Famiglio was suing NAMA because he claimed he had an agreement to buy the property. That action appears not to have been resolved yet. It has also now emerged that a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands called Bussoleno Limited has come on the scene claiming that the Paddy Kelly consortium owes it USD 10m from an unrecorded mortgage on the property, an alleged mortgage which pre-dates the Anglo loan to the consortium.
According to the Tribune, NAMA has retained a realtor called HFF to deal with the property, so it may come on the open market yet.
Happens quite a bit,he was “shopping” the deal around.A little unusual to actually advertise it or say put up a sign on site w/o owners permission.We made a offer for fun,with a broker,on a property we already owned!
They are called bucket shops,or much worse,but at least someone is trying to get a few dollars back for the Irish state.
Anglo and now NAMA is doing very little here,other than incurring costs,the market is quite frothy with historical low interest rates.
This property should have been foreclosed long time ago,it extinguishes all those ambulance chasers,cleans up title and put up for sale.
HFF were jilted by Anglo on their US loan sale in favor of Eastdill,perhaps this is the cuddly toy,or toaster for coming second.
Sarasota has bounced back quite well,but still a secondary market.
Realtor-pic on card.
Broker-no pic.
This little realtor is illustrating a bit of the famous “can do” spirit,pretty harmless actually,it’s still on their web site too!
Nice pic. of gentleman paddy,perspective buyers are well advised to seek him out and have a chat.What a waste to have a gentleman like him sidelined and out of the game,due to Victorian attitudes in Ireland towards debt.If NAMA had any street smarts they would set up quietly an ad hoc advisory committee, with the likes of Paddy,at this point the shouting and screaming between NAMA abd its clients has to be almost over.
I have to agree with John here. HFF are one of the best brokers in the USA. They sold the bank of Ireland’s US loanbook and were disappointed not to be given Anglo’s to sell. They have been appointed by NAMA to sell Sarasota, but are concerned about the litigation surrounding it.
John is correct – Paddy Kelly could probably sort it out in his sleep if his negotiating expertise and connections with the various parties was utilised by NAMA. Unfortunately, NAMA’s head is not in that space yet – which is surprising seeing that NAMA is preparing to sell a large amount of its loan portfolio and is appointing the largest debt broker in the USA to auction it. An announcement can be expected within the next three months.
The reality has to be dawning on NAMA. It needs inward investment of €8 billion in equity if it is to sell circa €25 billion of assets over the next 7 years. That statement begs the question – Which of the Irish banks will provide the €17 billion of senior debt? Walter Mitty is alive and well…… and living in NAMA.
@NWL if any public interest,can have someone from Fla. office pop by pick these up,cant locate case number but should be straightforward enough.
‘Steven Hutton, Bussoleno’s attorney, pointed to a series of depositions as grounds for why the case should go to trial. The depositions were of top bank officials and Paddy Kelly, who led Irish American Management Services Ltd.”
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120531/article/120539895?p=2&tc=pg
http://12circuit.state.fl.us/judicialmagistratelist/sarasotacounty/leeehaworth.aspx
Had some dealings with Paddy Kelly towards the end, down the four goldmines. (Not my client btw.) An absolute gentleman to deal with.
I see that the bogus broker is quoting $30 million for the site. It is worth about $15 million even with the rise in the Florida market. The development proposed on the site is too dense. The upper section of the land is off the water and is only suitable for multi-family housing. The quayside section is situated between the Ritz Carlton and the Sheraton on a marina and is a prime site for high quality residential condominiums. It is not a retail site. Retail in Sarasota is found on the shore at St Armands Circle.
HFF in Miami are the best commercial agents in South Florida, so NAMA picked well here. However, the legal confusion in relation to the Title will be beyond them and this site is unlikely to be sold for some time yet.
A little help from Paddy Kelly would go a long way to solving the problem, but I can’t see NAMA asking – which is stupid from the viewpoint of recovering as much as possible for the taxpayer. Commercial thinking does not emanate from Treasury Buildings. They are still at the beginning of the learning curve.
Florida courts closed next few days,High Holidays or Rosh Hashanah,but the Anglo depositions may be worth a read.
Had many a fun evening on the ‘circle’,bit of litigation wont deter US players,naturally they will beat NAMA up over the price,but the litigants appear a bit flaky,to say the least.
Ritz still struggling to flog its apartments,but the common charges/association fees are insane.HFF is actually not actively marketing the site,all public schools closed here so an odd working day,with some companies closed etc. difficult to reach some people,more info. next few days.
if NAMA gets into double figures here CASH,take the money and run…
Its a disgrace that they don’t utilize Paddy’s expertise,he’s probably forgotten more about RE than most NAMA employees will ever know,one of the true gentlemen in the ‘game’,pretty sure he would be more than will to assist here.
@JG,
Bussoleno Limited is a cover for Rene Garaud (not sure about the spelling), a long time associate and friend of Paddy’s. He owned the majority of the site originally. He fell out with Paddy’s other partners because of the property implosion here. He remains on good terms with Paddy – which is why Paddy would be useful in solving the problem.
Bussoleno’s claim probably has some substance. The others are spurious and the claimants have been know to pull this stroke before in order to get paid some “nuisance money” to go away.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Although appointed, HFF have not been given the starting pistol yet because of the legal mess.
@JG, P.S. On the value – I agree with you about the double figures. Lucky to achieve them. $15 million very bullish. $20 million not a chance. $30 million off the wall.
Despite of the recovery in South Florida, very few banks in the States are interested in lending on “dirt”. It is still a cash market.
@WSTT thanks,did a little digging around,was one other Irish developer also involved who had a recent disastrous flirtation with some charlatans from the middle east .”Word” is that Rene may perhaps be shall we say a little under-capitalized himself,could just be nasty gossip,you know how it is,trying talk up the deal.
Totally agree the chap with the rather unusual contract/option to buy,can be show the door quickly enough, torturous interference suit do the trick nicely.
More next few days,a very large contingent of the RE community are on holidays….
A smart buyer or seller would want Paddy and Rene in the tent,as opposed to litigating,the number he was looking for appears negotiable and possibly some of it could be back ended.
@JG, Your first paragraph spot “on the money”. All of it. :-)
@ JG, When you pick up the court papers you might find that the offshore party could be vulnerable to potential IRS interest. Imagine them in the middle of it!
In the spirit of the day,oy vey!
A little scurrilous of me to be spreading that type of gossip,but potential buyers will most like profile the players in the current deal.
Fair play to Paddy for staying in Ireland,facing the music,and not letting the begrudges get him down.I would have taken the Flynn/Grehan route myself, lots respect for Paddy.
Pity,NAMA or Anlgo have no use for an old hand like this,the amount of expertise he could bring is astounding,no worries ethically unlike some the current and x employees.