As a Real Estate Agent, I was shocked…but not surprised to read this information. A long time Top Producer in the Luxury Real Estate industry is John McMonigle, McMonigle Group Inc, has filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. A victim of the real estate market or simply “play big, fall hard!” attitude?
McMonigle has represented many of So Cals “Gold Coast” properties for more than a decade. He and his team have been the bastion of high end real estate … his numerous listings brandish the posh Orange Coast publications advertising pages…showing off spectacular estates with staggering ocean views…with average sales prices ranging from $20Million to $40Million.
Times are tough…and we wish all the best on John’s quick recovery.
Breaking news form the OC Register…
Newport Beach real estate agent John McMonigle, who drew national attention selling some of Orange County’s most expensive mansions, announced Sunday that he has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Federal bankruptcy court records show that McMonigle filed bankruptcy as an individual on Friday.
In a brief statement distributed at 6 p.m. Sunday, McMonigle said:
“In a necessary move brought about by an ongoing stalemate with uncooperative lenders in an unrelated real estate development business, John McMonigle, founder and principal of Newport Beach-based luxury real estate firm, McMonigle Group Inc., has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
“We have worked hard with our lenders to try to restructure and work out this debt with little or no cooperation. The filing will allow us to maintain a laser-sharp focus on our real estate sales brokerage business, McMonigle Group Inc., which will continue normal operations.”
The lender, OneWest Bank, has declined in the past to comment on the case.
McMonigle, 46, didn’t provide details about the bankruptcy or why he filed for Chapter 7, in which all of a debtor’s assets are sold off to satisfy debts.
The court file lists McMonigle’s assets as ranging from $1 million to $10 million, but his liabilities range from $50 million to $100 million. The file lists the estimated number of creditors in the case as ranging from 200 to 999.
The news is the latest development in a series of setbacks that began when a lender cut off funds for a Newport Coast mansion McMonigle is building that once was priced as high as $87 million but now is being listed for $37 million.
The Villa del Lago mansion, built by McMonigle’s Monarch Estates. The 12-acre mansion is listed for $37 million.
Lenders have filed default notices on four McMonigle properties, including the $37 million Villa del Lago mansion and the McMonigle Group headquarters building.The lender also has sought to have the court seize control of the mansion. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for June.
In an earlier court filing, McMonigle was quoted as telling a creditor that he and his development partners at Villa del Lago “had run out of money.”
In addition to Villa del Lago, McMonigle once sought $75 million for the Portabello Estate, a beach-front mansion in Corona del Mar. The home eventually sold, with the final price reportedly at $34.1 million.
The McMonigle Group made Coldwell Banker’s list of top U.S. sales teams for several years in a row based on the dollar value of the homes he sold. However, the group split from the real estate chain last year and formed an independent brokerage.
