A once high-ranking deputy mayor has been forced to put his party apartment up for sale after declaring bankruptcy.
Former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer’s ramshackle six-bedroom home with a 13-car garage in Sydney’s west is set to sell for millions in the coming months.
Joseph Hansell and David McGrath of FTI Consulting, the mortgage lenders appointed by National Australia Bank to manage Mehajer’s assets, are preparing the house for sale.
The extravagant four-story mansion equipped with a The pool, spa, Swarovski crystal chandelier and Persian onyx staircase were first purchased by Mehajer for $565,000 in 2007.
The former deputy mayor has since spent 11 months in prison after being found guilty of electoral fraud and declaring bankruptcy in 2018.
He previously put the Lidcombe mansion up for rent for nearly $3,000 a week in 2017.
The house and its owner attracted a lot of media attention after Mehajer held his wedding ceremony there with former beautician Aysha Learmonth in 2015.
However, during the time Mehajer was in prison, the property began to fall apart and Images showed its exterior was turned into rubble in 2019.
Former Auburn Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer’s six-bedroom, 13-car garage Lidcombe home is up for sale
Joseph Hansell and David McGrath of FTI Consulting, the mortgage lenders appointed by National Australia Bank to manage Mehajer’s assets, are preparing the house for sale.
Mehajer extensively renovated the mansion, adding a spa and pool along with other additions in the years following his purchase.
The highlight of the house, a Persian onyx staircase that appeared in a music video by American rapper Bow Wow, marked the beginning of Mehajer’s financial ruin.
The Federal Circuit Court declared Mehajer bankrupt after a liquidator’s petition, supported by the tax office, found he owed a Greenacre-based marble company $600,000 for work on his staircase.
The staircase also appeared in American rapper Bow Wow’s music video for the single “Too Real”.
Mehajer was ordered to pay not only the initial cost of the stairs, but also another $400,000 in legal fees.
Mehajer had also previously installed a $25,000 pool and spa in 2009.
During a bail hearing, Mehajer described his situation as “an absolute disaster,” with frozen bank accounts affecting his business, his family, his employees and his investors.
“I’m here between four walls and letting everything collapse… this is going to be a catastrophe,” he predicted.
Jason Boon of Richardson & Wrench, a property specialist in Sydney’s inner suburbs, estimated the property would sell for around $4 million.
She became recognizable after Mehajer’s lavish wedding ceremony shut down Frances Street and earned her a $220 traffic ticket.
That day, he rented four helicopters, a jet, a seaplane, luxury sports cars, motorcycles, a film crew and a troupe of drummers to celebrate the occasion.
The house attracted a lot of media attention after Mehajer held her wedding ceremony there with former beautician Aysha Learmonth in 2015.
The extravagant four-story mansion equipped with a pool, spa, Swarovski crystal chandelier and a Persian onyx staircase was first purchased by Mehajer for $565,000 in 2007.
Since spending 11 months behind bars for electoral fraud, the former deputy mayor’s house has begun to fall apart (pictured, the front facade is crumbling)
His former investment property has already been sold by FTI Consulting for $2.1 million.
He bought the property, also in Lidcombe, for $857,500 in 2013, but it had been demolished in recent years.
The vacant lot was purchased by Lidcombe’s Dooleys’ Concourse hotel complex.