Melissa Caddick estate: Sydney comwoman’s Eastpoint Tower penthouse apartment in Edgecliff has sale price slashed

The luxury penthouse owned by notorious Sydney con artist Melissa Caddick has been heavily discounted after recently being withdrawn from auction.

The spacious 19th-floor apartment at Eastpoint Tower in the eastern suburb of Edgecliff was reduced from $5.5 million to $4.8 million earlier this week.

The decision by Richardson & Socket listing agents Tim Muckenschnabl and Paul Kantor comes after the home’s auction scheduled for Oct. 10 was canceled after two months of intensive marketing.

The penthouse was listed by receivers of the fraudster’s estate who were working to liquidate Caddick’s assets and return the $25 million she stole from her victims.

This announcement follows the recent sale of an unrenovated two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on level 15 of the complex for $4.1 million. The Daily Telegraph reported.

Caddick initially gave it to his parents in 2016, but was obtained by authorities following a lengthy legal battle over ownership.

Caddick’s parents, Ted and Barbara Grimley, left the property in a “dilapidated” condition, according to the receivers.

Caddick originally purchased the home for $2.55 million in 2016.

Prices in the area have skyrocketed since then, leading some to believe the apartment would sell for more than $5 million, almost double what Caddick paid.

The sale of Caddick’s penthouse is expected to generate a “significant return for investors” who are still reeling from his scam, court-appointed receiver Bruce Gleeson previously said.

“The sale of this escrow asset is really important because it means we’re going to be able to generate another significant return for investors, and that’s always been our goal… particularly when in many Ponzi schemes it “There is no return to investors or a very small return”, the director of the insolvency firm Jones Partners told the Sydney Morning Herald.

A previous registration said the three-bedroom, two-bathroom property offers “uninterrupted views from the city skyline and across Paddington”.

The receivers worked for months having installed new carpets and lighting as well as having painted the interior of the house in order to maximize their returns at auction.

The penthouse is on the top floor of the tower and includes a giant roof terrace and three closed garages.

Anyone who moves in will also have access to a sauna and swimming pool and will be less than a minute from the Edgecliff shopping complex.

Just a short elevator ride away, the complex has Coles and Aldi supermarkets and specialists like a financial advisor and podiatrist right under the building.

The luxury three-bedroom penthouse sits atop Eastpoint Tower (above) in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The price had fallen from $5.5 million to $4.8 million earlier this week.

Edgecliff’s Eastpoint Tower became known for its high-flying homebodies, one of whom flew a leather couch up to the 19th floor and another, former Olympian Scott Miller, who attempted to install an escort company in the building.

Other notable residents include former car dealer Neil Sutton and the late Lady (Florence) Packer.

Previous penthouses in the building sold for $5.1 million in 2018 and $4.8 million in 2019, but that was before the pandemic.

“Over the last 12 to 18 months we have seen prices rise,” Mr Gleeson continued.

Caddick’s primary residence in Dover Heights sold for $9.8 million earlier this year.

The sale of Caddick’s last property had been blocked by her parents, who told the receivers that they had given their daughter $1 million for the mortgage.

Mr and Mrs Grimley struck a deal with their daughter that they could live the rest of their days rent-free in the dream home in exchange for a 37 per cent equity interest.

The penthouse has three bedrooms and two bathrooms and has access to a swimming pool and sauna within the tower complex.

It turned out that Caddick had squandered the million on jewelry and private jets, instead of paying off the mortgage.

After lengthy litigation, the two finally agreed to vacate the property after being offered a $950,000 return of their daughter’s assets.

Once finalized, the money raised from the auction will go directly to the victims of Caddick’s scam.

Mr Gleeson hopes the turnover will be fast enough to make a nice Christmas present for recipients, who could get the funds processed before the end of the year.

Following the sale of this house, Mr Gleeson’s team will seek to complete their work on the estate by May or June 2024.

A first payment of $3 million was already made to 55 creditors in August.

Caddick’s affairs have caused headaches for federal police and creditors since his disappearance on November 12, 2020, from his Dover Heights home.

Before her disappearance, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission had issued a warrant for her arrest for numerous Corporations Act violations.

The night before she disappeared, Australian Federal Police were among the last to see Caddick alive after executing a search warrant at her home at 7 p.m.

The scammer was found to have taken $23.5 million in investor funds, which she used to fund her lavish lifestyle.

Caddick had previously gifted the house to his parents, Ted and Barbara Grimley (pictured), but it was confiscated by authorities in a bid to return funds stolen from Caddick to his victims.

She had spent the money on luxury goods like cars, art, jewelry and her two multi-million dollar properties.

The mystery of her disappearance deepened further when two men walking along Bournda Beach on the state’s south coast found a foot belonging to the missing crook.

An arrest warrant was issued for Caddick on February 22, 2021, just a week before his remains were found washed up on a beach 400km south of Sydney.

The remains were confirmed to belong to Caddick when scientists were able to extract DNA from the foot, found in a decrepit ASICS shoe.