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UPMC doctor is buying AHERF mansion
Friday, September 17, 1999 By Rona Kobell, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The former Sewickley Heights home of ousted Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation CEO Sherif Abdelhak is being sold -- to a UPMC doctor.
Dr. Philip R. Schauer and his wife, Patricia, are expected to close on the six-acre estate next week. Philip Schauer, a surgeon, works at both UPMC-Presbyterian and UPMC-Shadyside. The couple now lives in Wexford.
The Schauers agreed to pay $1.095 million for the home and already put down a $140,000 deposit.
The purchase of the former Abdelhak estate is tinged with irony -- Abdelhak was fiercely competitive and built the Allegheny empire with a goal of surpassing UPMC.
It also comes as UPMC seems to be encroaching on the turf of the former domain of the Allegheny Health system and its flagship hospital, Allegheny General.
Earlier this week, UPMC announced former AGH neurosurgeon Joseph Maroon was joining its neurosurgery department, along with two dozen other AGH doctors. It also disclosed that it paid $6.22 million for two North Side properties in which Maroon holds a financial interest.
That deal puts UPMC in the position of becoming AGH's landlord -- one of the properties houses AGH's media and corporate communications staffs, the other the AGH Back Institute and Maroon's practice.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge M. Bruce McCullough approved the sale to the Schauers in August, ending a bizarre back-and-forth that was supposed to be the easy part of the arduous AHERF bankruptcy case.
At the home's first auction in April, Brighton Heights couple Ronald and Laurette Burleigh bid $1.08 million for the home. Attorneys believed the matter was behind them until Ronald Burleigh's $100,000 deposit check, which the court required, bounced.
The Burleighs then failed to attend two scheduled closings. Burleigh tried to convince the court that he was waiting for word on the value of precious metals he was using for collateral. But after giving the couple several extensions, the judge finally gave up and in June, fined them $275,000 in penalties.
The Burleighs have yet to pay and McCullough has said he thinks it unlikely that they ever will.
The court held an auction in August, attracting three bidders.
The Schauers' winning bid was $260,000 higher than the opening bid, placed by a Hudson, Ohio, resident.
"We're thrilled. We sold the property for more than Burleigh was going to pay for it," said Alan Sable, the attorney handling the closing.
Agents at Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, which acted as the selling agent throughout the process, also breathed a collective sigh of relief. The initial collapse of the sale "left a lot of people hanging in limbo," said Ron Guthrie, manager of Howard Hanna's North Hills office. "It was nerve-wracking."
Many in the real estate business watched in disbelief as the Burleigh saga unfolded. Bouncing an earnest-money deposit on a home is unheard of, says Raymond N. Baum, who has practiced real estate law for 30 years. Because most buyers apply for mortgages, "a broker takes a look at [the application] and says, 'We know enough about the buyer.' "
Brokers such as Howard Hanna, which is also in the mortgage business, have even more reason to inquire about mortgage financing.
In this case, it seems everyone learned some lessons. All three buyers were required to submit proof of their financial assets -- tax returns, financial statements and letters from various banks. Instead of a $100,000 personal check like Burleigh had written, the trustee required $140,000 in certified funds.
"We made sure the people who were bidding presented evidence they could finance the transaction," Sable said.
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