Millions to be made in fast turnaround of Florida mansion

Weeks after buying an oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach County, the owner is putting the property back on the market for $US79m ($118m).

The oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach County.

Weeks after buying an oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach County, the owner is putting the property back on the market for $US79m ($118m).

Real estate investor Vivian ­Dimond purchased the unfinished home for an undisclosed sum in late July through her investment firm Bayshore Grove Capital. She has since completed construction of the Manalapan, Florida, estate, she said. Previously, lenders took control of the property after the former owner, a limited liability company tied to Nigerian energy entrepreneur Onajite Oko­loko, defaulted on loan payments, ­according to court and property records. The house had been on and off the market for years, listed for as much as $US115m.

Ms Dimond bought the property from the lender with a view to quickly reselling it for a profit, she said, though she declined to specify how much she paid. The price wasn’t publicly recorded as Bayshore acquired the limited liability company that held the property, as opposed to transferring the title. Mr Okoloko’s company purchased the land in 2017 for about $US12.4m, records show.

Located on an island, the roughly 0.6ha estate has frontage on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. The glassy contemporary home measures about 1850sq m with six bedrooms. There are large indoor and outdoor pools, and a concrete dock has a lift for boats and Jet Skis.

The 0.6ha property was bought by Bayshore Grove Capital.

Mr Okoloko is the former chief executive of the fertiliser company Notore Chemical Industries and has worked in the oil and gas industry. In a foreclosure suit brought last year, the lender accused a company tied to Mr Okoloko of failing to make interest payments and diligently pursue completion of the house. Mr Okoloko didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In the past, local real estate agents said, it was difficult for them to access the home for showings. Now, however, the listing agents said they expect the home to draw buyers.

“People are craving modern, contemporary homes with high ceilings, lots of glass, direct ocean views,” said Chris Leavitt of Douglas Elliman, who has the listing with colleague Toni Schrager of Brown Harris Stevens Miami. “There’s not a lot of that available.”

Ms Dimond said she priced the property in order to sell it quickly. “It’s going be a great deal for the buyer, because we don’t want to be out there for a long time,” she said. “Some brokers gave us an estimate to list it much higher, and I said no.”

Bayshore Grove is known for handling complicated real estate deals. In 2022, Ms Dimond brokered the sale of the site of the 2021 condominium collapse in Miami’s Surfside suburb.

“We specialise in properties that have issues,” Ms Dimond said. “If it is a problem child, it comes to us.”

Manalapan’s luxury real estate market has been on the upswing in recent months, buoyed in part by spillover from neighbouring Palm Beach.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL