FORECLOSURES OF THE FORMERLY RICH BUT STILL FAMOUS

Average Joes like me sometimes think celebrities exist in a different world than the rest of us – so they don’t get affected by mundane everyday events like recessions and foreclosures.

Well, Forbes magazine recently set me straight on that – by publishing an article on the top Celebrity Foreclosures (you can view the article at http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/02/gotti-canseco-dykstra-foreclosures-business-celebrities.html).

Now, most of these aren’t what you call high-level stars. You can understand how somebody like steroid poster boy and former baseball star Jose Conseco might have fallen on hard times – forcing him to walk away from his $2.5 million, 7,300-square-foot home. Or former Mets and Phillies star Lenny Dykstra, who is on the verge of losing his $18.5 million mansion in Thousand Oaks, California after a disastrous investment in a company that published a sports magazine meant only for pro athletes (that’s one way of keeping the subscription list small!).

And maybe you can understand how Victoria Gotti, daughter of the late Gambino family crime boss John Gotti, could fall behind by $650,000 on her mortgage on her $4.2 million dollar Long Island estate – the one showcased in her reality TV show, “Growing Up Gotti.” After all, Daddy isn’t around any longer to rub out the loan officer.

And you can certainly understand how Michael Jackson almost lost his beloved $25 million dollar Neverland ranch – and why he’s launching a European tour to pay back the equity company that stepped in and saved it for him. Too bad – now that would have been the ultimate REO home!

Or so you’d think. The real REO champion, Michael’s giraffes and Ferris Wheel notwithstanding, is the beachfront Florida mansion of Veronica Hearst, the widow of publishing legend Randolph Hearst. That palatial 52-bedroom home, valued at 45 million, was sold at a foreclosure auction for $23 million.

But don’t feel too bad for her. It was a second home.

You know where to meet all the real REO stars – that’s at www.ASREOS.com, the home of the first trade organization for REO agents, brokers and contractors founded by REO experts. All our members are the best and brightest in the REO business – so stop by and check out all the exclusive tips, tricks and tools designed specifically for REO pros!