Behind the unraveling of Nir Meir, a very interesting piece in the April 1 Real Deal, contains a couple of critical generalizations that, even in a publication generally supportive of developers, must have seemed so obvious that they required no footnotes.
Wrote Keith Larsen:
Embellishing the truth is second nature to many real estate developers. Meir went beyond...
...In real estate, developers boom and bust, stretch the truth and move money from project to project, aiming to eventually pay back investors and banks. Sometimes they get stuck mid-maneuver. For Meir, though, the game went well beyond that. Those caught in his web are now trying to understand how he played it, and why.
(Emphases added)
Also:Real estate was the perfect place for Meir. It’s a business of back rooms and see-and-be-seen galas. Condos are purchased through anonymous Delaware shell companies. Income statements can be manipulated to obtain larger loans. Appraisals are a joke. There are no disclosure requirements. As an investor, you have to trust the developer. If they screw you, too bad. Sue, but you’ll likely lose again.
....Outside New York, Meir was even more brazen. In 2017, an investor put $5 million toward a property in San Francisco. Meir sent fake brochures and permits showing progress on the project, according to the D.A. But HFZ never acquired the development rights.
Hmmm... a fake account of progress on a project? Kind of reminds me of this.
As to embellishing the truth, well, consider original Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner.
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