Celebrity foreclosure: Jose Canseco loses Encino home

You can't make this stuff up: Former major league baseball player Jose Canseco,  pictured, "said on Thursday he had lost his California mansion to foreclosure -- one of the first celebrities to publicly admit being a statistic in the U.S. housing crisis," the Associated Press said.

In comments to the TV show "Inside Edition," Canseco says, "It didn't make financial sense for me to keep paying a mortgage on a home that was basically owned by someone else."

More from the Associated Press: "Canseco, 43, one of the most flamboyant U.S. baseball players until his retirement from the major leagues in 2001, told the celebrity TV show 'Inside Edition' that it did not make financial sense to keep his 7,300-square-foot home in the Los Angeles suburb of Encino. 'Inside Edition' said it had foreclosure documents showing Canseco owed a bank more than $2.5 million on the house.

Sports headline: Jose walks.

More to come on this item. But don't hold back on your thoughts and comments. Something tells me this item is a setup in search of a punch line. Go for it.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Hat Tip: Seattle Snoop

Comments

[Greg]

Selling real estate in Beverly Hills I can tell you with utmost certainty that Canseco's home does not constitute the hi-end. Anyone in the biz will tell you hi-end starts at about 5 million and in the best parts of LA and the westside sales in some neighborhoods are outperforming last year. Above 10 million and the stats are even better.

This is just an example of a celebrity lousy at managing his money like countless others.

[jb]

Mitchell
- A generation ago, I dont think bankers were stupid enough to give 0% down, they made you have some skin in the game. The promissory note is NOT a promise to pay the loan, it is an agreement to pay the loan or allow the bank to take the house.

The bankers have all the ability to control this but instead had to make that profit on the mortgage fees at any cost to get the huge annual bonus. I hope they all go down - everybody walk.

[el guapo]

So the "high end" is $5M-$10 now? Why stop there? Why not make it $50M? I'm sure the ultra high end is holding up well. 99.9% of Los Angeles or anywhere else doesn't care if a $5M house is holding up. It's irrelevant to everyone but famous entertainers, ball players and CEO's of Fortune 100 companies. I'm sorry about giving you a hard time. Don't get me wrong, if you are making commission on $10M homes, more power to you. It's just that you're overshooting a bit, IMO.

Anyway, the relevant point is that it made more sense to walk away from a $2.5M home rather than try to sell it. You don't have to like the guy, but he made a business decision. If you are a social pariah, what's a ding on the credit score?

Peter, you may want to poll this question: How much is a ding on your credit report worth to you? $10K, $50K, $100K, etc.? Or put another way, how "under water" do you have to be to walk away? Might be interesting to see a dollar value attached.

[Mike S]

Greg I wholly agree with you. It is the 'apparently' rich who fall under that threshold that will receive their comeuppance.

The truly rich I've known care little about appearances. They enjoy what they enjoy and understand true wealth is living without such worries.

Mike S.

[Nancy]

There are foreclosures in Beverly Hills. I live in Beverly Hills. There are four foreclosures on my block. These people didn't buy them with low down payments. They generally took out a second or equity line when their equity positions got big. The economy tanked, business slowed, their mortgage payments got bigger, equity went to zero...and they lost their home in foreclosure or they sold it right before a trustee sale at a huge loss. Better to sell now that stay in a house upside down with huge payments when the home value will just keep going down. Take whatever money you can get out of the home sale and invest in recession proof investments like oil, gold... I'm a real estate appraiser and sales agent.

[denriddy]

What inning is this? In any case, Canseco took a walk, but was called out at home.

[Jeff]

Banks used to loan money differently and Americans thought of their homes differently.That's why someone like Conseco will walk away from his responsibility. Homes used to be somewhere you thought you were going to stay. And payoff the mortgage. Houses are now just commodities to traded up and counted on to appreciate in value. And borrowed against.
I'm not at all surprised that Conseco walked away; he probably had an advisor tell him was a good idea.
If you have any amount of money or assets (like Conseco) your FICO score counts less as someone will still loan you money if you need it.

[Ziggy]

Hey Jose,

Sorry you s*** at managing more income than most of us will ever DREAM of.

Ain't reality a B***h??????

[mark g]

New words for an old standard:

Jose can you flee by the dawn's early light?
What so proudly we failed at the twilight's last refi?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the equity fight,
O'er the ramparcels we appraised were so gallantly inflated?
Angelo Mozillo's orange glare, subprime bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our Fed was not there.
Oh, say does that price discovery banner yet wave
O'er the land of jingle keys and the home of the walk away?

Applause... go team!

[Ryan]

Los Angeles apartment guru Mark Verge of WestsideRentals.com got quoted today on a foreclosure piece in the Wall Street Journal, "The Accidental Renters."

Crazy how this affects everyone, apparently the rental market especially!

[max]

Some comments here suggesting the high end is not being hit. Not so - I notice a $53m gigantic home in Holmby Hills reduced 25% to $40m last week, and it's been on the market for about 17 months now. And in Venice, a $13m property in Oakwood has dropped to $9m.

It's happening folks....

[me]

The mortgage company should sue his worthless ass. He borrowed the money; he damn well better pay it back.

[paul]

hi jose I am your friend wonderfull person I hate to see you like this position you had it all I think you made wrong dicision on the past about over spending $$$
good luck mr.jose see you soon

[Monica]

JAG WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS IS YOU ARE A REALLY JEALOUS PERSON
Jealousy is an ugly thing. You have to feel good about other people's misfortun so that you could feel good about your self. I am sure you are a broke loser who love to see people with money suffer. YOU ARE SO EVIL.
This is coming from a person that is not rich.

[kate]

For what it's worth....probably not much....Jose put $1M down when he bought the house. That's all. :-)

[Arizona Loan Modifiers]

so sad to see everyone bash a bash brother