Madoff's Montauk Pad Hits Market

As of yesterday, there was no "for sale" sign planted at the end of Bernard Madoff's former driveway on Old Montauk Highway in Montauk, but word had spread that United States marshals had turned over the liquidation of the disgraced financier's abode to local real estate agents.

 

With over 60 years of combined experience, Raymond and Joan Hegner, senior vice presidents at the Corcoran Group who live in the same hamlet where Mr. Madoff once hosted lavish employee retreats, have won the rights to the sale.

 

Mr. Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for defrauding thousands of investors in June. U.S. marshals seized the Montauk house, along with one in Palm Beach and a New York City penthouse, on July 1. Cash earned from the sale of his assets, from his beach houses down to his fishing poles, will provide some restitution for the victims of his Ponzi scheme.

 

The contents of his Montauk house have been boxed and tagged by the F.B.I., and will probably go up for auction, according to the U.S. marshals.

 

Built in 1981, the four-bedroom contemporary is on the market for $8.75 million. Despite reports that the appliances and fixtures are outdated and that the place is only debatably enhanced with nautical and Native American decor, Ms. Hegner said she believes she will have no trouble selling it.

 

She said the "older home" has "a lot of character" and is unique in that it was built before zoning restrictions that would prevent a house from resting as it does along the ocean dunes.

 

Every room has a view of the ocean, and, according to Corcoran's Web site, the "once in a lifetime property" spans "182 feet along Montauk's Gold Coast," with "its own path to the most beautiful beach on the entire East End."

 

According to some other agents, however, the Madoff property is far from the most appealing oceanfront deal in the hamlet. In a strange turn of events, a neighboring oceanfront compound, also represented by Corcoran agents, has become the subject of a bidding war.

 

"It came on at $12.9 million, it got reduced to $9.5 million, and now it got changed again to $14.9 million, all within a matter of a couple of weeks," said Lynden Restrepo, a principal at Atlantic Beach Realty in Montauk.

 

She said that the market has taken a definite turn for the better after quarter upon quarter of dismal results. "Those properties are moving, and we've seen it. It has picked up here in the last three weeks," she said.

 

"I think we were all shocked that in this economy it went to such a high bidding war," said Theresa Eurell of Town and Country Real Estate of the property at 372 Old Montauk Highway, which is represented by Krae Van Sickle and Lylla Carter.

 

"But after seeing what's been going on in the last two weeks . . . we've had a lot of action, and we have some very serious buyers at the table right now."

 

Mr. Van Sickle said yesterday that the eight-bedroom house was in contract but would not disclose the final selling price. He mentioned two other properties he is representing that are priced similarly to the Madoff house, including an $8.9 million contemporary with 200 feet of oceanfront and a five-bedroom cooperative "that's got the kind of view of the sand that Madoff has, but it will be a lot more deluxe."

 

Last week, Ms. Eurell announced that Tuesday Weld, the "early 1960s teen queen of Hollywood," had put her oceanfront house, on Surfside Avenue, on the market for $7.75 million.

 

"What's great about her property is she has three structures, whereas his has one," Ms. Eurell said. "Many people that have seen Tuesday's would not even be interested in Madoff's because it's so close to the water. . . . She has three grandfathered structures, she's got the pool, guest cottage, and a studio/two-car garage."

 

Ms. Eurell was one of a handful of brokers who had vied for the rights to sell Mr. Madoff's house, which entailed a long process of meeting with U.S. marshals and submitting credentials and detailed proposals.

 

"To be honest with you, his home is totally outdated; it was done in the early '80s and is nothing to speak of," Ms. Eurell said. "It's not like he's selling a luxurious mansion by any means, it is very modest. Some people might want to go in there and just tear it to the ground if the town lets them."

 

However, with a limited inventory of oceanfront properties in Montauk, Ms. Hegner said she expected to get "at least" the asking price for Mr. Madoff's former pad. With "outrageous views" and a only few steps from the pool to the ocean, "it's one-of-a-kind," she said. As activity picks up on the East End, she said, there couldn't be a better time for the house to go up for sale.

 

"We were very fortunate to meet the criteria and honestly, I feel very honored," she said of snagging rights to the sale.