The father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid “can’t afford” to tear down his Bel Air mansion, according to a report.
Mohamed Hadid, who has been featured on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alongside ex-wife Yolanda Hadid and close friend Lisa Vanderpump, was ordered by a California judge to demolish the controversial “Starship Enterprise” home.
Hadid’s neighbors sued the property tycoon over his half-moon-shaped hillside abode, claiming the hulking house was illegally built and unstable.
Hadid began dismantling the 30,000-square-foot home, per a court order, but no longer has the funds to finish the demolition, he says. Hadid claims he can’t even pony up the $500,000 fee to hand the teardown over to a receiver, his lawyer said in a Santa Monica court Wednesday, according to the Daily Mail.
“He doesn’t have the money,” lawyer Bruce Rudman told LA Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan.
A lawyer for Hadid’s neighbors pointed out Hadid seems to be able to afford other large purchases.
“It’s amazing to me because he just bought a multimillion home in Beverly Hills,” Ariel Neuman told the court, the British tabloid reported. “We don’t accept this explanation. We don’t accept Mr. Hadid’s word for anything.”
Karlan was spotted surveying the half-destroyed property alongside Hadid last week, after ordering the removal of the home’s illegally built third floor and pool deck.
The judge said he was alarmed by the home’s structure.
“If these piles failed and if this house came down the hill, I am positive in my mind that it would inflict severe damage on the properties below, if not destroy them,” Karlan said in court. “Are these piles structurally safe? What would happen if there was a 6.0 earthquake?”