A former successful deputy mayor has been forced to put his party building on the market after being declared bankrupt.
Former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer’s dilapidated six-bedroom, 13-car garage home in Sydney’s west is set to sell for millions in the coming months.
Joseph Hansell and David McGrath of FTI Consulting, the mortgage holders appointed by National Australia Bank to manage Mehajer’s assets, are preparing the house for sale.
The extravagant four-storey mansion, equipped with a pool, spa, Swarovski crystal chandelier and a Persian onyx staircase was first purchased by Mehajer in 2007 for $565,000.
Since then, the embattled former deputy mayor has spent 11 months in prison after being found guilty of electoral fraud and was declared bankrupt in 2018.
In 2017, he had already put the Lidcombe mansion up for rent for almost $3,000 a week.
The house and its owner attracted a lot of media attention after Mehajer held his wedding to former beautician Aysha Learmonth there in 2015.
However, during Mehajer’s time in prison, the property began to fall apart and Photos show the exterior reduced to rubble in 2019.
Former Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer’s six-bedroom, 13-car garage home in Lidcombe is up for sale
Joseph Hansell and David McGrath of FTI Consulting, the mortgage holders appointed by National Australia Bank to manage Mehajer’s assets, are preparing the house for sale
Mehajer has extensively renovated the mansion in the years since purchasing it, adding a spa and swimming pool, among other additions
The home’s highlight, a Persian onyx staircase that featured in a music video for American rapper Bow Wow, marked the beginning of Mehajer’s financial downfall
Mehajer was declared bankrupt in federal court after a liquidator’s petition, supported by the IRS, found he owed a Greenacre marble company $600,000 for work on his staircase.
The staircase also featured in the music video for American rapper Bow Wow’s single ‘Too Real’.
Mehajer had to pay not only the initial cost of the stairs, but also an additional $400,000 in other legal fees.
Mehajer had previously installed a $25,000 pool and spa in 2009.
During his bail hearing, Mehajer described his situation as “an absolute mess,” with frozen bank accounts affecting his business, family, employees and investors.
“I’m standing here between four walls and letting everything collapse… this is going to be a catastrophe,” he predicted.
Jason Boon of Richardson & Wrench, a specialist in inner-city Sydney real estate, estimates the property will sell for around $4 million.
It became recognizable after Mehajer’s extravagant wedding ceremony closed Frances Street and earned him a $220 traffic ticket.
On the day itself, he hired four helicopters, a fighter jet, a seaplane, luxury sports cars, motorcycles, a film crew and a group of drummers to celebrate the occasion.
The house received a lot of media attention after Mehajer held his wedding ceremony there with former beautician Aysha Learmonth in 2015
The extravagant four-story mansion, equipped with a swimming pool, spa, Swarovski crystal chandelier and a Persian onyx staircase, was first purchased by Mehajer in 2007 for $565,000
Since serving 11 months behind bars for election fraud, the former deputy mayor’s home has fallen into disrepair (the photo shows the front facade falling apart)
His former investment property has already been sold by FTI Consulting for $2.1 million.
He bought the property, also in Lidcombe, in 2013 for $857,500, but it had been demolished in recent years.
The vacant site has been purchased by Dooleys’ Concourse at Lidcombe Hospitality Development.