Trump Tower Tampa fated for foreclosure?
The fading hopes of Trump Tower Tampa just got fainter.
A Tampa bankruptcy judge has ruled that Colonial Bank, owed $3.5-million by tower developer SimDag LLC, can proceed with its foreclosure against the project’s riverfront lot at 100 S. Ashley Drive.
SimDag filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June, freezing the foreclosure action. But earlier this month Judge K. Rodney May granted the Alabama bank permission to pursue its case.
The 1.5-acre property, which SimDag said is worth at least $15-million, could be seized or auctioned by the bank as part of the foreclosure.
Trump Tower was supposed to be the region’s tallest skyscraper, but could never get a $200-million construction loan. Its namesake, New York mogul Donald Trump, canceled his licensing agreement with the project in September.
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Let me tell you something boys and girls, Donald Trump screwed all of the investors in this project. Ripped them off royally. He promised over and over and over again, that even it it took his own personal funds, he was going to make sure that Trump Towers Tampa was built. But, did the media catch that bait and switch that he pulled? Did the Feds investigate Donal Trump's fraud? What am I talking about? Well, Trump falsely made like he was going to take this project over and see it to completion, convincing investors to continue pouring their life's savings into it. He read the soils reports. He know that the property was unbuildable. He KNEW that he had no intention of ever taking over this loser project. As soon as he could drum up another "sucker", Mirabilis Ventures, Trump bailed. He bailed and claimed that "well, I guess I lost...I got out bid on my own project". Trump committed fraud, and he skated. Oh, and FWIW, I have no money invested in Trump Towers Tampa and no interest in it's success or failure whatsoever. I just know what happened and feel that the truth needs to be told. Trump, or Trump's cover-up boys need to keep reading the truth.
Thanks for listening. Undercover Trump-Towers correspondent signing off: Ricardovitz
Posted by: Ricardovitz | July 07, 2009 at 09:18 AM
"life savings"?
If you put you entire life savings into just a 20% down payment, where would you come up with the other 80%, plus interest, taxes and condo fees?
That makes no sense to me, but don't let me get in the way of your breathless hyperbole.
Posted by: Tino | July 07, 2009 at 01:55 PM
I heard the foreclosure was completed yesterday. Does anyone know for certain?
Posted by: Tampa Commercial Real Estate Broker | July 16, 2009 at 12:18 PM
"If you put you entire life savings into just a 20% down payment, where would you come up with the other 80%, plus interest, taxes and condo fees?
That makes no sense to me, but don't let me get in the way of your breathless hyperbole."
Now, are you just a dummy? Or, are you Donald Trump trying to chime in.
Assuming that you're just a dummy, then maybe you didn't realize that each investor didn't just lose a 20% down payment. Some folks invested in groups that committed to purchasing much larger numbers of units. These units weren't selling cheap, either - I believe that the starting price was around $400,000+/-. That means a loss of $80,000/unit.
Posted by: Ricardovitz | July 27, 2009 at 04:01 PM
Sorry, chump, but even if you paid the down payments on 10 units, you still have to come up with the other 80%. If it was their "life savings", where would that other money come from?
If your life savings were $80,000, why not just go to the track and put it on one horse? That makes about as much sense as this plan. If you gamble 100% of your "life savings" on something like this, you deserve what you get.
They gambled. They lost.
Posted by: Tino | July 28, 2009 at 08:03 AM
Nope. It wasn't gambling. Donald Trump repeatedly promised that Trump Towers Tampa would be built. He lied. He committed fraud. People lost their money.
When you gamble, you know that there is a better chance that you will lose your money than win money. When a Billionair says that he will stand behind a project and insure that it will be built, regardless of what happens, and average Joes buy into that - that's not gambling. That's paying for a product in advance and expecting that the product get delivered to you within a reasonable amount of time.
Posted by: Ricardovitz | July 28, 2009 at 11:49 AM
"Some folks invested in groups that committed to purchasing much larger numbers of units."
That right there, my friend, is gambling.
There is no sure thing in speculative real estate.
5% of your portfolio? Sure, use some play money to make things interesting. Using your "life savings" to make that speculative bet is pure, unadulterated stupidity.
Posted by: Tino | July 28, 2009 at 12:41 PM
"Now, are you just a dummy? Or, are you Donald Trump trying to chime in."
Classic.
Posted by: Frank Lee | July 28, 2009 at 01:43 PM
Hey, Trump, you in Jail yet? Them bank regulators caught up with you yet? Ain't they done figured out what you did? All them banks ain't got a lick of money 'cuz of you, Donald. Now, what you think 'bout that?
Posted by: Ricardovitz | September 14, 2009 at 03:56 PM