The Hull, Massachusetts home of John F. Kennedy’s grandfather sold at auction at a steep discount Tuesday for the price of $950,000. The home had been fraudulently purchased by Jamie Edelkind who was sentenced for 5 years in jail. He was convicted of using phony mortgage and payroll documents. The assessors office appraised the land for tax valuation at 1.3 million dollars.
Ernesto Caparrotta was the winning bidder for the eight-bedroom, 7,163-square foot mansion on in Hull, once owned by two-term Boston Mayor John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, two agents said. Caparrotta, who is building 16 luxury condos on Hull’s waterfront, did not return a call to comment on his plans, but he told WBZ-TV he hopes to “restore it and then decide what to do with it.”
Bidding started at $750,000. The auction was held in the driveway of the Nantasket Avenue property and lasted just three minutes.
“Everybody was surprised that they let it go for $950,000,” said Tom Grimshaw, a partner at Century 21 Homes by Heritage in Weymouth. “Usually if they don’t get the price they want, they don’t sell it.” A federal judge ordered the landmark property be sold after sentencing homeowner Jamie Edelkind to five years in prison.
Edelkind was convicted last year of using phony mortgage and payroll documents to borrow $3.3 million to buy the house in 2000. He later defaulted on the loan. Lehman Brothers subsidiary Aurora Loan Services of Colorado was owed $2.3 million, and could have rejected bids it deemed too low. via Boston.com.
More information on Edelkins Fraud at the Patriot Ledger.
[...] post last week on The Real Estate Bloggers recounted how the former summer home of President John F. Kennedy’s grandfather sold for a bargain [...]
I had to read that thrice to make sure I didn't misread. How could they sell off a house and lot that huge for a relatively very low price? I would've added at least one more zero at the end of that figure to be honest.