Donald Trump’s childhood home sells for $1.3m
US President Donald Trump’s childhood home has been sold at a steep discount.
US President Donald Trump’s childhood home has been sold at a steep discount after the previous owner allowed it to fall into disrepair and become overrun by feral cats.
The New York City property — where the young Donald lived until he was four years old — was snapped up for $US835,000 ($A1.3 million) by a Brooklyn-based LLC called 1388 Group, the New York Post reports.
According to the outlet, the price of the Queens house is less than half of the $US2.14 million ($A3.3 million) it previously fetched in 2017.
The residence was purchased in an all-cash deal by Michael X. Tang, a lawyer who reportedly buys real estate on behalf of overseas Chinese investors.
RELATED: Trump unleashes on Meghan in wild spray
‘Hate’: Ivanka lifts lid on leaving Donald Trump
During a photographer’s recent visit to the property, the front door — which for a time served as a backdrop for a life-size cutout of Trump as the previous owner wooed tourists — was wide open, revealing interior walls that had been stripped to the studs.
Construction workers were filling a graffiti-covered dumpster with planks of wood and other debris.
A neighbour said one worker told him they were gutting the house and that the new owner was a known flipper.
According to property records, the new owner took out two mortgages worth $US931,500 ($A1.4 million) to pay for the house and renovations.
The mortgage lender is listed as Accolend, which advertises “fix and flip” loans on its website.
The seller in the off-market deal “just needed the money,” a source close to the transaction told The Post. The seller’s lawyer declined to comment.
RELATED: ‘Betrayed Queen’: Meghan, Harry threat over Trump
Incredible real estate portfolios of Donald Trump’s children
The buyer’s Brooklyn-based lawyer, Jincong Wu, didn’t respond to The Post for comment.
Built in 1940 by the president’s father, the late real estate developer Fred C. Trump, the two-storey home has been neglected and has remained vacant for years — aside from a colony of feral cats.
“A beautiful house was left abandoned and no one took care of it for all this time,” a hacked-off neighbour who requested anonymity told The Post.
“No one occupied it, no one used it and it was left as an eyesore and we, the community, had to take care of it.”
That included paying a few weeks ago for upkeep of the lawn, the neighbour said. Before the renovation work began, the house had been plastered with “vacate” and “water shut off” notices, The Post previously reported in November.
In addition to its dilapidated appearance, the house’s basement is full of mold after a water pipe burst, the neighbour added. The cats have been cared for by volunteers.
The house had changed hands on December 16 2016 — five weeks after Trump’s first White House win — for $US1.4 million, nearly double the $US782,500 it had previously sold for in 2008.
Three months later on March 23 2017 — the day of Trump’s first inauguration — it was flipped for a whopping $US2.14 million, more than double the price of comparable homes in the area.
When it was listed for sale that year, the house was “thronged by visitors who spoke Chinese and pulled up in droves to take pictures,” the New York Times reported in a December 2020, citing neighbours.
The paper added that “Trump’s image as a successful businessman has drawn him strong admiration in China.”
The buyer, which called itself “Trump Birth House LLC,” reportedly offered the home as an $US815-a-night Airbnb rental.
Guests could sleep in a bedroom with a plaque that noted it was where “President Donald J. Trump was likely conceived,” the paper reported.
In 2021, Paramount Realty USA, representing Trump Birth House LLC launched an unsuccessful crowd-funding campaign to raise $US3 million to buy the house and donate it to Trump.
“Love Trump? Thank President Trump by contributing to this campaign to buy his childhood home in his honour!” according to the GoFundMe Page.
Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
Originally published as Donald Trump’s childhood home sells for $1.3m
Publican’s movie star hideway up for sale
A publican’s unique home, which has just played host to a Hollywood heavyweight, has come to market in Woollahra with price expectations of $16m.
Grim video exposes sad Aussie truth
A viral shocking video has exposed the dire reality for some Australians in 2025.
Aussie billionaire’s luxury estate sets a new sales record
Aussie Amart furniture founder John Van Lieshout has sold his country estate for a new record price, with the property snapped up by a well-heeled local family.