Real estate giant Stéphan Huot, hounded by more than a hundred investors and suppliers, has just put his luxurious residence in Quebec City up for sale for nearly $3.7 million.
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After unsuccessfully trying to sell his Lebourgneuf mansion for some $4.7 million two years ago, Huot put the residence back on the market just before the long Easter holiday.
“Majestic residence, nestled at the top of Lebourgneuf like a promontory overlooking the city. Looking like a castle on the outside, the interior will take you on a journey through the world from room to room,” reads the RE/MAX description sheet.
The sale of this house – which has three garages, a swimming pool, an elevator, six bedrooms, three bathrooms as well as independent accommodation – would have nothing to do with the financial difficulties currently experienced by the Huot Group, assures its spokesperson Florence Brouillard.
“He’s wanted to sell it for a long time,” she pleaded.
However, a company of a businessman who had invested colossal sums in the real estate empire registered a second mortgage on the residence, in 2017. Indeed, Michel Cadrin took this guarantee of one million dollars on the house, through one of his companies.
PHOTO D’ARCHIVES, DIDIER DEBUSSCHÈRE
Stephan Huot
Remember that our Bureau of Investigation revealed last week that 75 millionaires from Quebec and about fifteen from Montreal have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Huot Group, which has been in serious financial difficulty since mid-February. Aided by bankers and accountants, these lenders are now stepping up their efforts to save their money.
Heavily mortgaged
Huot’s residence would be “mortgaged to its maximum”, comments an investor familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity.
In addition to the sum lent by Michel Cadrin, the residence of Stéphan Huot – worth $2.265 million on the property assessment roll – has had a mortgage of $3.4 million from the Royal Bank of Canada since 2007, according to a public document.
Broker Pierre-Olivier Vear, who is leading this sale, says he is certain that Huot will succeed in selling his house despite the unsuccessful attempt two years ago.
“Those are things that happen. Houses in this price range there, there is not a large pool of buyers. And at the time, the owner was in no hurry to sell”, reports Mr. Vear, who is convinced that the current price will be able to arouse the interest of several buyers.
Could Stéphan Huot’s financial worries urge him to sell more quickly?
Pierre-Olivier Vear did not want to answer this question, contenting himself with affirming that he had the mandate to sell the house and that “if the sale can help in any file, so much the better”.
