Dalan files pre-foreclosures totaling $27.5M at Croman rentals, part of $140M loan portfolio purchase

Dalan Real Estate filed four pre-foreclosure actions on Monday and Tuesday alleging defaults in four loans covering six Manhattan rental properties Croman Real Estate owns that have a combined debt of $27.5 million. The actions were filed in New York State Supreme Court on March 10 and 11, 2025. The complaints allege maturity defaults in two of the loans, and allege technical defaults in the other two loans.
Case LINKS
20-22 Prince LLC, $13.75M
Major Mott St. Corp., $5.75M
420 W 51 LLC, $4.65M
1978-82 Third Ave LLC, $3.35M

Dalan Real Estate, led by CEO Daniel Wrublin, purchased these loans in October 2024 as part of a package of 12 loans totaling about $140 million from Axos Bank secured by 20 properties with 346 apartment units owned by Steven Croman, including Croman’s personal residence, a 49-foot-wide, 15,416-square-foot mansion in Lenox Hill on East 72nd Street. Last fall, Croman told The Real Deal that he was current on the loans.

Court filings represent the position of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete.
None of the four complaints allege payment defaults, instead two allege maturity defaults, and two allege technical defaults triggered because other loans in the portfolio were in default.

The largest of these four loans was for 20-22 Prince Street, a walkup building with 48 residential units in Nolita that has 22,902 square feet of built space. The complaint does not allege a direct default on this loan. But it does allege a default. 

The owners “are in default under the Prince Street Loan Documents by virtue of S. Croman’s default, as a borrower or guarantor, under certain other loan documents entered into in connection with three other loans held by Plaintiff.”

“Section 8.14 of the Prince Street Loan Agreement provides that an Event of Default exists thereunder if Guarantors’ default, fail to perform, or otherwise materially breach any other agreement with Lender. Guarantors’ default under each of the Defaulted Loans constitutes an Event of Default…”

The Prince Street notice of identifies the defaulted loans as the 72nd Street mansion, 1978-1982 Third Avenue, and 420 West 51st Street.

The complaints filed for two of those loans, Third Avenue and for 51st Street, cite maturity defaults, according to each complaint and notice of default. The situation with the 72nd Street mansion is not known since no pre-foreclosure has been filed on that property, as of publication of this article.

The complaint for 221 Mott Street also does not allege a direct default, and also cites defaults at the 72nd Street mansion, 1978-1982 Third Avenue, and 420 West 51st Street as the trigger for the default at 221 Mott Street.

The complaint for 1978-1982 Third Avenue alleges a maturity default because of Croman’s “failure to pay the entire unpaid principal balance, accrued and unpaid interest, and all other obligations due under the Third Ave Note as of the Maturity Date [August 1, 2024].” The same language was used for 420 West 51st Street, which is in a maturity default since the loan was not paid by the due date, August 1, 2024, the complaint says.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.