High-end foreclosures

With 1 in 483 households in the US facing foreclosure, it is clear that we ordinary people are not the only ones affected by the housing crisis. It’s just as easy to create a mountain of debt by borrowing against a multi-million dollar estate as it is for a moderately priced home. Here are some of the celebrities added to the nation’s growing list of foreclosures.

Sadly, former Tonight Show host Ed McMahon is facing foreclosure on $4.8 million worth of home loans on his Beverly Hills estate. Plagued by bad press, this luxurious home overlooking Coldwater Canyon and Mulholland Drive has been listed for $6.25 million for the past two years. Initially, McMahon struggled with a mold infestation that he claimed killed his dog and affected his and his wife’s health. He then fell and broke his neck and was out of a job for 18 months. How would any of us deal with a delinquent mortgage and loans totaling $4.8 million after being unemployed for so long? Ed, take this as a sign, maybe it’s time to downsize and retire.

Evander Holyfield, a former heavyweight boxing champion, is facing foreclosure on his estate in Atlanta, Georgia. This 104-bedroom, 54,000-square-foot home worth about $10 million is going up for auction on July 1.

Jose Canseco, a former major league baseball player, recently lost his 7,300-square-foot home in Encino to foreclosure. As he put it, “It didn’t make financial sense for me to keep paying the mortgage on a house that was basically owned by someone else.” He didn’t mention how much the house was actually worth, but he did owe the bank $2.5 million for the house.

Michael Jackson – In 2007, after borrowing against him, to the tune of $23 million, the ranch valued at only $6 million faced foreclosure. Recently, however, a private equity group bought the loan at Neverland Ranch and is discussing the option of a Las Vegas casino concert as payment.

In May 2008, NBA star Latrell Sprewell’s $600,000 home was foreclosed on. This came just a few months after his 70-foot yacht, “Milwaukee’s Best,” was also repossessed. Sorry Latrell, maybe you shouldn’t have turned down the $21 million contract extension Minnesota offered you.

Grammy Award-winner Aretha Franklin received a foreclosure notice against her Detroit mansion after failing to pay a $162.14 tax bill dating back to 2005. Last we heard, the bill was settled.

Veronica Hearst, stepmother of SLA hostage Patty Hearst, faced foreclosure on her 28,000-square-foot, 52-bedroom villa in Palm Beach. Her delinquent mortgage payments totaled about $33,000,000. It is hard to believe that the deficit was allowed to get so high before the bank stepped in.

Nicole Murphy was unable to make the payments on the 11,158-square-foot mansion she was awarded in her 2006 divorce settlement with Eddie Murphy. Last October, the house was put on the market for the bargain price of $6,500,000.