Documents filed in Michael Cohen’s court case have revealed that his client and Fox News host Sean Hannity has quietly amassed a real estate portfolio spanning nearly 900 residential units across several states.
Records show that Hannity used multiple LLCs to build a real estate portfolio with at least 877 residential units that he bought for a total of nearly $89 million, the Guardian reported.
The portfolio includes luxury mansions and rentals for low-income families. Dozens were purchased at a discount in 2013 after banks foreclosed on previous owners amid the financial crisis.
Hannity’s real estate attorney, Christopher Reeves, wrote in an email that he would “struggle to find any relevance” in Hannity’s highly confidential property holdings.
“I doubt you would find it very surprising that most people prefer to keep their legal and personal financial issues private,” Reeves said. “Mr. Hannity is no different.”
Representatives for Fox News declined to comment to the Guardian, but Hannity has talked about his views on real estate investing on air.
“I’ve said many times on my radio show: I hate the stock market, I prefer real estate. Michael knows real estate,” he said a few hours after Cohen’s Manhattan court appearance.
Hannity has purchased properties in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Vermont. Among the most valuable properties in the portfolio is a pair of two large apartment complexes that Hannity bought in 2014 for $22.7 million. The complexes are in areas of Georgia that have higher poverty rates and lower median incomes than the national averages.
Hannity funded the purchases with $17.9 million in loans he obtained with the help of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. But the television host didn’t disclose that fact in June when he had HUD Secretary Ben Carson on air and praised his department’s and the Trump administration’s privatization proposals.
Hannity’s mortgages were replaced late last month with $22.9 million in loans that were rewritten with HUD and a new bank.. There was no indication that Carson was personally involved in the new financing, according to the Guardian. But he does have the authority to allow Hannity to convert the rental complexes into condominiums in 2019.
Beyond his investment properties, Hannity also also personal homes in Long Island and in Naples, Florida. [Guardian] – Rich Bockmann