First, Sheree was axed from Bravo TV's Real Housewives of Atlanta, and now her mansion is now the chopping block. Currently, it is a shortsale but it's about to head to foreclosure...for circa $340k. (Ironic, since she dubbed it Sheree's Chateau and alledged it was a multi-million dollar home at one pt). All the sordid deets here. You know, I feel bad for her. I'll buy some charm bracelet from her jewelry line "She by Sheree." That will help her out. :-)
According to our Miami gossip sources, cosmetic dentist Karent Sierra is dealing with not just one but TWO foreclosures. What a toothache! Somebody pass her some novacaine!
 Richard Burton from HBO's The Wire is in hot water. Not literally, but figuratively! He refused to pay $1k in water bills b/c he suspects it is too high. Well, now a lien has been placed on his Baltimore home & he faces foreclosure. What!? $1k must be a drop in the bucket for a star like him, right?!
Via MediaTakeOut: NBA superstar Antoine Walker is finally coming clean on how he lost more than $110M . . in just two years. According to a documentary on ESPN, Antoine spent MILLIONS on women and toys - he dated Evelyn Lozada for many years. But Antoine claims that he blew MOST of his money on BAD REAL ESTATE DEALS. Here's what he said: 'Personally, I was involved in a lot of real estate projects with the banks where I was the personal guarantor of the loans,' he said. 'And when the recession hit back in 2007 and 2008, the banks went really hard after the money. There's probably like 7 to eight banks that we had loans with. And it kind of hit me all at once. I had to pay back the money.' 
How Does 1 of the Most Successful Producers Almost Get His House Foreclosed? Ask Jermaine Dupri!9/9/2012 Owing $194,000 to his bank, Jermaine Dupri just barely escaped getting his Atlanta estate foreclosed on Sept 4 by ponying up funds to stop the house re-po! Close call!
"Huffington Post Live" kicks off its Video Broadcast format. I think it's cool & hip, where talking heads are beamed in through their webcams, Google+ hangouts, skype. It's very now! (Who needs a TV studio anymore!) But what is interesting to me is that they launched HuffPost Live with a very specific real estate topic of all things (and of all people actor John Cusack?) called eminent domain. Clearly, housing is a hot subject! They are just getting started but I think the medium of live blogging is supposed to be more engaging. I don't think their discussion was very balanced. They should have taken some questions from tweets and viewers too. Oh, and a strong opposing point of view would have been nice too! FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a contributor to Huffington Post
Foreclosures surge for old Americans, reports the NY Times! "Foreclosures create unique challenges for older people...They are less able to find new jobs and more vulnerable to becoming homeless." This is horrible! Brings new meaning to "I've fallen, and I can't get up! "
 14 yr old Lady Gaga fan bought a house! As one of the hardest hit foreclosure markets, Florida is ripe for the picking to the point where even a 14 year old bought a place! Willow split the $12k cost with her mom, but she plans to buy Ma out soon. How does a gal who can't even drive make enough dough to purchase a home? NPR reports she earned it by helping investors sell off stuff from evicted homeowners left behind, post foreclosure. Our little Miss Donald Trump!
When I was 14, I was saving money to buy a discman.  I'm surprised to hear Kristen Bell lost her house! She's a fairly successful working actress (House of Lies, Gossip Girl, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Veronica Mar). But according to Real Estalker (who is usually spot on about real estate gossip), it seems Miss Bell abandoned her home.
It's unclear why she left it, but it might have something to do with taking a bigger bite than she could swallow so young. Yup she bought a $3M house at 22 yrs old. If you work in an unsteady career (like Hollywood!), don't bite off more than you can chew. Good luck Kristen!
 Comedian Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) has refused to bail out his diabetic mother whose house is going into foreclosure. Apparently, they have not spoken for 11 years. But then again, she owes just $25k, a mere fraction of Morgan's $8M fortune. On the surface, it seems callous but you never know what people are really like. Perhaps Mommie Morgan was Mommie Dearest?
Do you think you should bail out family no questions asked?  HSBC has been found guilty of negotiating in bad faith against Emiliano Pasillas, a Reno homeowner seeking foreclosure mediation. Nevada judge "reprimands" HSBC with a whopping $2500 in fines. Wow. Anyone who thinks the system isn't slanted towards big banks is delusional! For a big international bank like HSBC, $2500 is not even pennies. It's pesos for them! Adios!
Symbolically, this is a victory for the little guy. But in the grand scheme, what is the incentive for banks to behave if the judicial system just rolls their eyes at them?  Finally some good news for T.O.! After a failed public spectacle to impress scouts and a slew of bad PR over money troubles & baby-mama drama, Terrell Owens at last got a break. His Dallas condo narrowly escapes foreclosure. He bought it for $1.95M and sold it to a lucky shortsale buyer for $1.6M.
You're probably wondering, "Herman, what the heck do you know about baseball!?" and you are right. I don't know buttons from beans about sports (except rythmic gymnastics & synchronchized swimming). But Terrell used to live in my hometown Fremont. I was at his house once for a Nike photoshoot. Despite the rumors that he was a diva, he was actually a nice guy. Good luck, TO!  Zillow summarizes the real estate woes of the Real Housewives of (fill in the blank). I'm a total fan of these zany women who live larger than life (and larger than what their husbands can afford), but even stardom can't insulate these entertaining catty women from the housing crisis. What is more shocking to me is high number of real estate agents on the show who've been hit. There's Playboy Playmate Jeana Keough who had notices of defaults filed on 3 of her 4 properties! And then Tamra Barney who shortsaled her own house after slashing her house 30%. Lisa Wu Hartnell of Atlanta lost her $2.9M house to the bank for a mere $1.9M. All of them are agents! One real estate agent housewife they didn't mention was Gretchen Rossi of Orange County. (Fun fact: Gretchen, Slade & I were classmates during a weekend workshop. They actually were really nice.) Just goes to show that even if you are an agent (much less a reality TV starlet), it doesn't mean you're impervious to the real estate mess. The problem with "Keeping up with the Jones" mentality is that there will always be someone richer & prettier than you. It's a never ending self-inflicted psychological game. Be grateful for what you have & live within your means. See how your favorite housewives dealt with what so many other Americans are going thru here. Good luck ladies! I feel ya.   *"Can I get that stucco in GUCCI?" Oh my stars! I've seen peeps emblazon fashion logos on their cars, their wedding dress, & their fades, but this takes the cake! How would you market this house? House of Ghetto Gucci!? [via MediaTakeOut] * People with way too much moola, like David Copperfield, Tyler Perry & Celine Dion, are buying up islands like Chicken McNuggets! The rich are getting richer & the poor are getting poorer. Ugh, what else is new?! [via WSJ ] *Oh no! Female rapper Eve had to sell her LA mansion at a $400k loss. Poor thing! Just goes to show even celebs are not immune to this housing crisis. Click here for photos. [via MTO] *My article about the Airbnb PR debacle "Airbnb hits conference stage, ignores giant elephant in the room" I was flabbergasted the co-founded didn't say a thing on stage about this disaster! Past customers are coming out with horror stories too! [via AGbeat]  *Dolce & Gabbana finally have penetrated the posh Fifth Ave in NYC by snagging a lease valued at just under $300M. It's long overdue boys! The Italian duo shot to fame (at least in USA) for designing Madonna's Girlie Show outfits in 1993. (BTW, the dancer behind Madonna is my talented friend Carlton Wilborn. Both in Dolce & Gabbana garb) [via NY Post] *Google's "reverse redlining"? Read about Google's online exploitation of subprime borrowers & how Google hugely profited from the mortgage mess. [via Huffington Post] *Ever heard of buyer cash back incentives? Well apparently, those "Illegal Cash-Back Deals Worsened The Housing Bubble, Drove Up Foreclosures" according to this report. Those discounts/cash back set-ups always seem fishy to me. Now we know why! [via Huffington Post] |
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