Of course financial woes can affect people of all backgrounds, profession and incomes. Sometimes the issues become so big that homeowners find themselves unable to continue to make payments on their home. For most who are facing this action, it is a stressful and scary time. What if you were facing foreclosure on more than one home?
Believe it or not, professional football player Terrell Owens has dealt with the action on not one or two, but FIVE of his residential properties over the course of the past year. The properties are located in various cities throughout the country including a Trump Tower apartment in Sunny Isles, Florida.
According to the vice president of RealtyTrac, Owens is not alone. He stated that the number of foreclosure actions instituted on properties worth more than $1 million, rose 489 percent over the course of four years, starting in 2007 and ending in 2011. The change in the number of foreclosed homes under $1 million was much lower, 105 percent, during the same time period.
Not all of Owen’s properties actually were lost to the banks to which he owed money. Several of them, including the Florida abode, were successfully sold via short sales. In these situations, properties are sold to buyers for less than what is owed on the mortgage. Another tactic that is sometimes a good option when a foreclosure action is initiated is to file for bankruptcy.
Filing for bankruptcy immediately issues an automatic stay which halts a variety of legal actions including foreclosure. Under certain circumstances it may then be possible to work out a payment plan and ultimately keep one’s house.
Source: Forbes, “Foreclosure Woes Of The Rich And Famous,” Morgan Brennan, Aug. 15, 2012
Our firm handles similar situations to the one discussed in this post. If you would like to learn more about our practice, please visit our Florida bankruptcy and foreclosure proceedings page.