Armstrong buys another Texas home

AUSTIN, Texas (AFP) –

Disgraced US cyclist Lance Armstrong is pictured at the Team Livestrong Challenge in Austin, Texas on October 21, 2012. He has purchased an Austin-area home just days after he sold his luxury Spanish-style estate he has lived in since 2006, it was reported.

Disgraced US cyclist Lance Armstrong has purchased an Austin-area home just days after he sold his luxury Spanish-style estate he has lived in since 2006, it was reported.

The Austin American-Statesman described the home as being located in an exclusive sub-division. The newspaper did not reveal the purchase price in Tuesday’s report, but Austin real estate agents said it was valued at about $4.3 million.

There was also no record of whether Armstrong took out a bank loan to pay for the house, the American-Statesman said.

Last week, Armstrong sold his central Austin home for an undisclosed price. He bought the 7,850-square-foot home in 2004 and spent two years fixing it up.

Armstrong, who has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and abandoned by former sponsors after finally admitting he took performance-enhancing drugs, sold the property to Texas oilman, Al Koehler.

The house was listed at $10 million but Koehler said he got it for less.

Armstrong’s fortune is estimated at between $60 million and $110 million but he is facing a series of lawsuits that could cost him dearly.

The largest lawsuit is a whistle-blower case filed by former American teammate Floyd Landis in conjunction with the US Justice Department.

He is also being pursued by US insurer SCA Promotions which is seeking reimbursement of $12 million in Tour bonuses it insured.