Posts from the "foreclosure" category
Ed McMahon, Evander Holyfield at Risk of Foreclosure
The mortgage crisis spares no one, or so it seems.
First came news that pitchman Ed McMahon had defaulted on his $4.8 million mortgage with Countrywide. He explained his situation to CNN’s Larry King this way:
If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that. And, you know, things happen.
![Holyfield: \"Not broke, just not liquid.\"](http://blog.smarthippo.com/wordpress/wp-content/holyfield_evander.jpg "Holyfield: \\"Not broke, just not liquid.\\"")
Then came news that heavyweight champion Evander Holyfeld was also at risk of foreclosure due to his defaulting on a $10 million loan from Washington Mutual.
In the case of McMahon, being famous does have its advantages, however. He claims to have been trying to sell his home for two years with no takers. But after news broke of his ordeal, interest in purchasing him home — asking price $6.25 million — is up. In case you’re in the market, Trulia has details regarding the property.
California’s Next Mortgage Crisis
With California being particularly hard hit by falling home prices (a 26% drop in February compared to the previous year), Slate suggests the next wave will be prime borrowers simply walking away from mortgages that no longer make financial sense.
Lenders had no reservations about selling borrowers loans with rising payments that would be poisonous in a rising market. Now it seems borrowers have no reservations about leaving those lenders with the risks they begged to take.
You can read the full article here.
Mortgage Foreclosure Scams Targeted by FTC
With foreclosures up 75% in 2007 over the previous year, it didn’t take long for con artists to find a way to profit. In testimony to a U.S. Senate committee yesterday, Federal Trade Commission officials described scams in which borrowers typically pay thousands of dollars but end up losing their homes and the money.
This video by Freddie Mac describes what foreclosure fraud looks like and how to spot it:
The FTC has launched investigations in seven geographic areas. If you’ve been the victim or a target of mortgage fraud, you can file a complaint online or by phone in English or Spanish by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.