In a New York City courtroom on Tuesday, Lawrence Moens, a powerful Palm Beach real estate broker, said in 2021 that former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and its 17.5-acre ocean-to-lake property He reiterated his view that the value would be just over $1 billion.
Mr. Mogens is one of several defense witnesses testifying for Mr. Trump in his ongoing civil fraud trial before Judge Arthur Engoron. A judge has already ruled that Trump and other defendants misled banks and insurance companies through documents that consistently overstated Trump’s assets, including his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. is making a judgment.
Engoron estimates the club’s value based on appraisals by Palm Beach County real estate appraisers from more than a decade ago, ranging from $18 million in 2011 to $27.6 million in 2021. These assessments take into account long-standing deed restrictions that prevent the property from being used for any purpose. Purposes other than private clubs.
County tax assessments were based on Mar-a-Lago’s annual net operating income as a club, rather than on residential resale value or rehabilitation costs. The county uses the operating income method to value Mar-a-Lago and other social clubs, which would provide Trump with tax benefits. This year’s property tax bill is $602,000, which would be about $18 million if Mar-a-Lago were appraised. For $1 billion.
But when compiling information for President Trump’s annual financial statements, Trump’s former executive Jeffrey McConney valued the Mar-a-Lago club as if it could be sold as a personal home. did.
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In 2019, Trump filed documents with the county stating that Mar-a-Lago is his primary residence. In 2021, Attorney John C. Randolph, general counsel for the Town of Palm Beach, told the Town Council that under the town’s zoning rules, private clubs can provide housing to “bona fide employees,” and President Trump recommended that he was eligible. designation.
President Trump has denied wrongdoing in the New York fraud case, saying the financial statements actually understated his assets and were accompanied by disclaimers disclaiming liability for mistakes.
Mar-a-Lago is ‘breathtaking’, Moens tells New York courtroom
Moen’s testimony Tuesday corroborated what brokers said in pretrial reports that ultra-wealthy buyers would pay top dollar for Mar-a-Lago.
“It’s breathtaking. It’s amazing to see it,” Moens said in court, showing videos accompanied by booming music, aerial shots of the grounds at sunrise and sunset, and the flag at half-staff. He showed the last footage of the American flag taken when it was raised. Regarding the death of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter on November 19th.
Moens’ 2011-2021 value estimates for Mar-a-Lago appear to reflect the steady price growth that is a hallmark of Palm Beach real estate.
In a pretrial deposition, Moen said Mar-a-Lago would have been worth $655 million on the open market in 2011. He said in his affidavit that the property’s value would have jumped to $1.04 million in 2021.
Moens’ estimate was more substantial than Maconie’s. McConnie valued the club’s assets at approximately $425.5 million in 2011 and pegged the value at $612 million in 2021.
At one point, while on the witness stand, Moens briefly answered a personal phone call from his father, who is in his early 90s. “Dad, I love you, but I have to hang up,” Moens said.
Messenger Adam Klasfeld posted about the case on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, writing after Mogens left the courtroom, “Mr. Engoron said the essence of this case is whether the property is overvalued. “It’s not a question of whether or not,” he said. The question is whether Mr. Trump and the other defendants used “false documents.” ”
“That’s not a fundamental issue for me,” Engoron said, and Klasfeld posted.
Mar-a-Lago’s values:How does Palm Beach County value Mar-a-Lago and other Trump local properties for taxes?
Mr. Engoron is a member of the fraud case brought against Mr. Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., his son Eric Trump, and others in September 2022 by New York Attorney General Letitia James regarding the finances of the Trump Organization. Presides over the penalty phase.
Also on Tuesday, the defense presented Miami-based real estate attorney John Shubin as a witness, citing a decades-old legal agreement in which President Donald Trump announced his intention to withhold use of Mar-a-Lago. Despite the documents, Mar-a-Lago said it could be sold as housing. As something other than a club.
“There is absolutely no prohibition on using Mar-a-Lago as a single-family home,” Shubin testified.
He pointed out that the property is both a club and a former president’s residence. Shubin also cited a 1993 agreement between Donald Trump and the town that stipulated that Mar-a-Lago would revert to private residential use if the club was “abandoned.”
“Anyone who buys it … is going to be in President Trump’s shoes,” said defense attorney Christopher Kise.
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The former president purchased Mar-a-Lago in 1985 as a personal vacation home, then restored it and opened it as a private club about 10 years later. The estate was built in the late 1920s by grain heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, who at the time was married to stockbroker E.F. Hutton.
Moens founded the brokerage firm Lawrence A. Moens Associates in 1982. During his career, he has participated in many of the most expensive sales in and around Palm Beach. In 2022, billionaire Netscape founder Jim Clark sold his ocean-to-lake property in Manalapan to Oracle software billionaire Larry Ellison for $173 million, the first sale in Florida history. Responsible for both sides of some of the highest value residential real estate transactions.
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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.
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Darrell Hofheinz is a Florida journalist for the USA TODAY Network who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes information regarding real estate news on the island. Emaildhofheinz@pbdailynews.comcall 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz.