rant · moment 8 of 21
The Land Lease Scam at Carnegie House on Billionaires' Row
from #235 - Covid Kai | The Tim Dillon Show · #235
3 min
Tim details how he almost bought a suspiciously cheap $215,000 condo at Carnegie House on Billionaires' Row, explaining what a land lease building is, citing Trump Plaza's $190 million land buyout, and admitting he was an easy mark as a salesman.
- Land lease buildings don't actually confer ownership of the land, only the structure, and monthly dues can double, triple, or quadruple with reassessments every five to ten years.
- Trump Plaza made a forty-year deal in the 1960s-70s to pay 1.9 million for land, but when it expired, the bill jumped to 190 million as Manhattan land values increased.
- Trump Plaza residents collectively raised 190 million dollars to keep their units rather than lose everything when the land reverted to the owner.
- Carnegie House on Billionaires Row is selling one-bedroom apartments and studios for 99,000 to 100,000 dollars because residents are racing to unload them.
- Carnegie House is a land lease building with only about 100 such properties in the city, meaning residents pay ground rent on top of maintenance fees, real estate taxes, and operational costs.
- Ground leases reset every 5, 10, or 15 years and can dramatically increase monthly payments when the building and property are reappraised.
- Tim almost bought one, thinking he was finding a smart investment, but would have been the perfect mark for a real estate agent to manipulate.
- Real estate agents know Tim would dismiss warnings about future rate increases because he's focused on the present moment and looking like a big player on Billionaires Row.
land lease buildingsCarnegie HouseTrump Plaza