The childhood home of tennis champions Serena and Venus Williams has reportedly been spared from being sold at scheduled auction and will remain in the family… sorta.
The home has been at the center of the nasty divorce between Lakeisha Graham-Williams and Richard Williams, the famous tennis coach and father of the Wimbledon winners. But there are even questions as to if the couple is still getting divorced.
Divorce, Debt, & Deed Saga
The Christmas in July miracle came at the last minute, according to The U.S. Sun, saving the historic property after the women’s stepmother almost lost the headline grabbing property as a result of unmanageable debt.
Only problem is the details on how the property was actually saved seem sketchy. It seems they property has been purchased by someone with connections to Lakeisha.
Richard purchased the four bedroom, 10-acre spread at 12167 144th Place N. in 1995 for $355,000, according to Palm Beach property records. The house has two bathrooms and one half bathroom. Built in 1981, Williams added a tennis court to the residence in 1995 and Serena and Venus spent many hours rigorous training there.
The training paid off. Serena and Venus are history makers in multiple ways, still holding Olympics records. Venus has four gold medals and one silver, becoming the most decorated tennis player in history at the international competition. Serena comes in second with four gold medals.
Williams lost the property during his third marriage to Lakeisha.
Lakeisha allegedly forged Williams’ signature on title deeds to transfer the property to her name, securing a $279,000 loan from hard lender David Simon. Despite the allegation of forgery against Lakeisha, there has been no reports or arrests or a criminal complaint.
She did reportedly make partial repayments to Simon but defaulted on a $10,000 monthly schedule, prompting Simon to seek judicial intervention last spring.
The home was nearly lost when a judge ordered its auction on July 18 to cover debts Lakeisha accrued due to financial mismanagement and legal issues.
According to The U.S. Sun, a final judgment mandated the home’s sale in an online auction to settle Lakeisha’s $436,113 debt to Simon. The estate, valued between $1.4 million and $1.6 million, was expected to sell for less, with proceeds beyond legal fees and Simon’s repayment going to other creditors.
Judge Mindy Mora’s April 22 ruling to seize the mansion aimed to resolve the debt exceeding $600,000. Simon told the court that Lakeisha spent money on “fast food and frivolities” rather than repaying her debt. Simon went after Lakeisha relentlessly through the courts for seven years. During this period, Lakeisha held up the house sale judgment by filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy three times. Her last attempt failed in May due to non-compliance with the repayment plan.
The auction was stopped just 24 hours before it was to go live, according to The Sun.
The outlet reports that Palm Beach County records show that on Monday, July 15, a new warranty deed transferred the property to Hardy Firm LLC, registered to Darrious Christian, linked to Lakeisha’s family. Christian’s business address is tied to a home once owned by Betty Downing, whom Lakeisha identifies as her aunt in court documents, but there is no evidence of this.
According to The Sun, Lakeisha has worked with Downing for more than adecade on various failed businesses and property ventures, many of which have gone into foreclosure. There’s even more connection to Downing. Richard also had a business address at a Margate home once owned by Downing.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Richard’s family and Lakeisha lawyer for comment about how the house was saved, but there as no response.
So while it seems the house has changed hands, there is no word on if Lakeisha or Richard still has some hold on it.
