The house in Rancho Mirage that was thought to be purchased by President Obama sold for $3.5 million to a couple from Omaha with no apparent ties to the commander-in-chief.
Talk of a potential presidential purchase began when Barack and Michelle Obama spent a long weekend in June at the Thunderbird Heights home of their friend, White House interior designer Michael Smith. A contemporary home for sale nearby went into escrow a month later.
The Nebraska buyers required the listing agents to sign confidentiality agreements and made the purchase through a trust, fueling speculation that the Obamas might be the new owners.
Based on Obama’s tax returns, which are public information, he would certainly have qualified for a loan on the house, said Ira L. Meltzer of Luxury Mortgage Corp., which made the loan on the 8,232-square-foot contemporary. With mortgage interest rates still near historic lows, he added, “we would have encouraged him to take a loan and stimulate the economy.”
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