The new owner of New York’s famed Flatiron Building may not actually be able to afford his purchase.Â
The building’s buyer, Jacob Garlick, won the Fifth Avenue landmark at a sale last week, but is already behind on payment.Â
New York real estate circles are in a tizzy over the industry outsider, who swooped in and scooped up the Flatiron Building for $190M this past Wednesday — only to miss a necessary $19 million payment by close of business Friday, the Real Deal first reported.Â
The terms of the 121-year-old structure’s sale required that Garlick, a managing partner at growth equity venture fund Abraham Trust, cough up 10% of his winning bid before the weekend.Â
Multiple sources close to the deal, however, told the publication he failed to do so, putting his possession of the iconic Manhattan building into question.Â
When reached for comment, Garlick told the Real Deal he couldn’t chat about either the deposit or the deal this week, but that he would be able to by next week.
The Flatiron’s possibly extremely fleeting owner might be able to have a little extra time with the historic structure thanks to a court-appointed referee, the outlet noted — but if he can’t secure an extension, the auction’s second-highest bidder will be allowed to buy the neighborhood namesake for the price of their last bid.Â
The second-highest bidder, former partial owner Jeffrey Gural of GFP Real Estate, told the outlet that, even granted the opportunity, he’s not interested in paying out $189.5 million for the former Fuller Building.
So, then, if Garlick can’t pay up and Gural passes on making a purchase, it’s back to the auction block for the Flatiron.
The new payment failure update is only the latest in the skyscraper’s ongoing legal saga: The reason it came to be on the auction block in the first place is because Gural and his fellow former co-owners came to a very expensive stalemate on what to do with the pricey property.Â
