The Versace mansion will go to bankruptcy auction on Sept. 17, listing broker Jill Eber told The Real Deal.
Bidders will need to deposit $3 million into escrow and show proof of funds of $40 million, confirmed Eber, of the Coldwell Banker team The Jills. The estate, where fashion Gianni Versace was gunned down in 1997, has been listed for $75 million; the property had an original listing price of $125 million.
Fisher Auction Co. will handle the sale along with The Jills, according to Eber, confirming information first reported by the South Florida Business Journal.
The sale will take place at 10 a.m. at the storied mansion where Madonna was a frequent guest, now known as the Casa Casuarina.
The majority owner, telecom mogul Peter Loftin, has battled a foreclosure action by a company owned by the Nakash family, the founders of Jordache jeans.
Convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein admitted to funneling millions through his firm to acquire a 9.99 percent stake in the 19,000-square-foot property in 2009 and more to later keep the property running, wiring the money to Loftin’s Luxury Resorts LLC.
Nakash family investment vehicle VM South Beach bought a note from Loftin’s original lender, which makes them the stalking horse at the upcoming auction. They will be entitled to a credit bid of $32.7 million, Eber said, or whatever the value of the existing mortgage as determined by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurel Isicoff. — Emily Schmall