Mystery investor buys Donald Trump’s childhood home in hopes of flipping it
Hoping to cash in on Trump-mania, an anonymous New York investor scooped up the President Elect’s childhood home in Jamaica Estates, Queens in the hopes of bringing it to auction next month and turning a profit. Mansion Global got the news from auctioneers Paramount Realty USA, who say the bidding will take place on January 17th. Previous reports have estimated that the six-bedroom, Tudor-style home that Trump’s father Fred built could fetch up to ten times its most recent $1.2 million ask, or a whopping $10 million.
The home at 85-15 Wareham Place first hit the market in July for $1.65 million when its owners, restaurateurs Isaac and Claudia Kestenberg, decided to list it amidst their divorce. They chopped the price to $1.2 million, then took it off the market, and finally began auction discussions with Paramount, ultimately calling it off in mid-October in hopes of garnering more interest. The mystery investor reportedly closed on the property earlier this month, and he must have offered the pair a nice sum for them to forego the auction themselves.
As 6sqft previously reported, the residence “is listed as [Trump’s] address on his 1946 birth certificate (he was born at nearby Jamaica Hospital)” and he “lived in the house until his father Fred built a larger house nearby on Midland Parkway” sometime around 1950. It takes up 2,000 square feet and has a nice fireplace in the living room, a formal dining room, screened-in patio, mahogany floors, a finished basement with a bedroom and full bath, and a five-car driveway leading to a two-car detached garage.
Major NYC broker Dolly Lenz said recently, “The house has at least tripled in value if not 10 times in value…Now that he’s [president-elect], it’s worth a lot more. It’s a huge deal. And there are lots of wealthy people who buy trophy homes as one-offs. Think of all the billionaires who could turn this into a museum.”
[Via Mansion Global]
RELATED:
- Headed for auction, Trump’s childhood home could fetch Queens couple $10M
- Jamaica Estates Home Where Donald Trump Grew Up Asks $1.65M
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Photos courtesy of Laffey Fine Homes from a previous listing
