The home that Venus & Serena Williams grew up in is at the center of their stepmom Lakeisha’s nasty bankruptcy battle — and photos shown in court reveal the property is not only crumbling but filthy inside.
RadarOnline.com has obtained snaps of the 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 3,422 sq. ft. property in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The images were submitted in court as part of an appraisal of the home.
43-year-old Lakeisha is married to the tennis superstars’ father Richard Williams. She filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in February attempting to save the home from foreclosure.
The home has been the center of controversy for some time. Richard originally bought the home with his ex-wife Oracene Price in 1995 for $335k.
Serena and Venus’s family moved from California to Florida in 1991.
Richard and Lakeisha got hitched in 2009. He filed for divorce in 2017 and accused her of forging his name on property documents.
Venus and Serena’s dad said Lakeisha transferred the home in question into her name solely without telling him.
In the bankruptcy petition, Lakeisha listed assets totaling $682k and liabilities totaling $491k. The biggest creditor was lender David Simon.
David filed a $472k claim over the property over a loan Lakeisha defaulted on. The battle over the comes has been raging on for months.
The lender filed a report in Lakeisha’s 2021 bankruptcy that was written by an appraiser. The inspector went out to the property in July 2021 and took a series of photos.
The photos reveal the property in a state of despair with the shingles falling off the roof, the A.C. compressor covered in rust, electrical wires exposed, sinks strained with rust, cabinets full of items, and a leak in the roof.
Recently, David’s lawyer fired off a subpoena to both Lakeisha and Richard. His attorney wants to grill both about the home.
The Chapter 7 bankruptcy has yet to be finalized and Lakeisha’s battle to save the home from foreclosure is far from over.
Richard was reportedly diagnosed with dementia. Last year, it was revealed Richard’s health is declining and his son Chavoita Lesane is taking care of him. His son has power of attorney over him.
