Compass is suing spec mansion developer Nile Niami, alleging he failed to repay a $200,000 loan that was meant to help ready a massive Bel Air home for sale.
Compass Concierge, which fronts money to homeowners who are listing their properties, alleges its loan agreement on the 28,000-square-foot mansion at 627 Carcassonne Road expired in July. The brokerage, which appears to have loaned Niami the money in late August 2019, filed the suit Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Niami listed the mansion for $65 million in October 2019, but it was later taken off the market. Aaron Kirman of Compass was the listing agent on the property, and the Aaron Kirman Group still has the palatial property designed by architect Paul McClean on its website.
On Wednesday, a Compass spokesperson said that “while our policy is that we do not comment on pending litigation, in this particular matter we believe that a settlement is imminent.”
Niami could not be reached for comment.
The home — which is an off-market listing — has nine bedrooms, a hair salon, massage studio and meditation room among other amenities.
According to the suit, Compass provided advisory and consulting services to “assist with securing a contractor, negotiate competitive service pricings, and ready the subject property for marketing and sale.”
Compass said it was still entitled to the full $200,000 back if the home was not sold by July. The company asserts it has “not received any response to multiple written demands” to Niami.
The residential brokerage reinstated Concierge in June after pausing because of the pandemic.
An outsized character even by Los Angeles standards, Niami has attracted attention for his over-the-top properties, the most famous being a Bel Air spec mansion he marketed for $500 million and calls “The One.”
The developer also marketed a Beverly Hills mansion for $100 million, which he called The Opus, and whose eyebrow-arching promotional video included scantily dressed women adorned with gold paint and glitter. Joseph Englanoff, one of Niami’s lenders, bought the mansion in February for around $40 million.