See which stars are losing in the real estate market here. BY PAT SUMMERS. Guitarist Slash Overpaid $500K for His Home and is Suing.
See which stars are losing in the real estate market here. BY PAT SUMMERS. Guitarist Slash Overpaid $500K for His Home and is Suing.
View Housing Market Watch RSS feedEven celebs are feeling the pinch as with the worsening housing downturn. Some are actually facing foreclosure and may lose their homes to the subprime mortgage crisis. See which stars are losing in the real estate market here.
BY PAT SUMMERS
Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash bought a $6.2 million Hollywood Hills home in January 2006. When he could get only $5.7 million from a buyer in December 2007, he determined that he'd paid too much for the home.
The loss led Slash to file a lawsuit against his real estate agent. The guitarist claims that the house isn't what the real estate agent described. Among his chief complaints: the house is too small and lacks privacy.
Normal citizens who don't make mortgage payments aren't the only ones who can wind up facing foreclosure. Both former NBA star Latrell Sprewell and tabloid trainwreck Michael Jackson are learning that painful lesson firsthand.
Sprewell had his 70-foot yacht repossessed last year and this could also happen to his home if he doesn't come up with money fast. Citizen's Bank filed a foreclosure suit on Sprewell's $405,000 home last week. According to court documents, Sprewell hasn't made his $2,593 per month mortgage payments since last September.
Michael Jackson's famous Neverland Ranch is also at risk. As of November 2007, Jackson owed back mortgage payments of more than $200,000 on his $23 million home loan. There is a rumor that this default has been put on a back burner so that jackson can find someone to refinance his loan.
Famous or not, a slumping housing market doesn't provide the best selling opportunities. Celebrities including Ed McMahon and Avril Lavigne are currently struggling to unload their multi-million dollar mansions.
Carson sidekick Ed McMahon has been trying to sell his Beverly Hills home since July 2006. McMahon, who originally put this house on the market for $7.7 million, has by now reduced the price three times. The home is now selling (or rather, failing to sell) for $5.7 million.
Lavigne has been trying to sell her $6.9 million house since February 2007. The young singing star received two offers, but both of these fell through before closing. The list price has now been reduced to $5.8 million.
Latin singing sensation Ricky Martin recently gave up hip-swiveling to take up real estate flipping. He did make some money on it over the last few years, but the days of quick profits could be over.
Martin is currently selling two (at least) mansions in South Florida. The first one was purchased for $16,250,000 in April 2007 and was put back on the market that December for $22,500,000.
Martin also re-listed a Miami Beach home for $19,500,000. Since the same home didn't sell five months earlier when it was on the market for $16,900,000, there's not much chance that he will flip it at a higher price now.
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Real estate reality television shows are everywhere these days. Each show has a slightly different premise, but nearly all of them have one thing in common: happy endings. Do these TV programs showcase the true reality of the housing market?
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