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Atlanta area family not alone in crisis
Several celebrities facing dire financial situations, too


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/25/2008

Goooood morning, Harper family!

Your fabulously made-over home may be on the verge of foreclosure, but take some solace in knowing that you are not alone.

JOHNNY CRAWFORD / jcrawford@ajc.com
Foreclosure proceedings have been brought against Patricia and Milton Harper, whose Lake City home was famously and grandly refurbished by ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' three years ago.
 
AP
Former "Tonight Show" co-host Ed McMahon, 85, is embroiled in a legal battle to save his Beverly Hills mansion from foreclosure.
 
AP
Veronica Hearst, the widow of billionaire Randolph Hearst and step-mother of famed kidnap victim Patty Hearst, had her 52-room mansion in Florida foreclosed upon in February.
 
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According to a July 25 Bloomberg news report, U.S. foreclosure filings have increased by 121 percent over this time last year. The Harpers' luxury home in Clayton County, remodeled three years ago by ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition", is just one of the nearly 740,000 properties now in some state of foreclosure across the country.

Of course, the situation probably stings a bit more when there's notoriety attached. A national TV audience watched as the Harpers' multi-level house with the aid of "Extreme" host Ty Pennington and a volunteer crew that included Lake City mayor Willie Oswalt.

Perhaps the Harpers, who are making a splash in the news with the announcement of foreclosure proceedings against them, might feel better knowing they're in good (in an unfortunate way) company.

The foreclosure crisis in America gained its starkest light when if was recently revealed that former "Tonight Show" co-host Ed McMahon was poised to lose his Beverly Hills manse.

The luxury lifestyle web site,
Luxist.com even goes so far as to keep a running list of celebrities who've been caught up in the foreclosure maelstrom, including former baseball star Jose Canseco, media heiress Veronica Hearst, the King of Pop Michael Jackson, R&B legend Aretha Franklin, disgraced Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones and native Atlanta boxing champ Evander Holyfield.

Wake up and smell the chicory, America: Having been rich or famous won't necessarily keep the national foreclosure debacle off your doorstep.

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Comments

By Jim

Jul 30, 2008 4:44 PM | Link to this

I don't feel sorry for the Harpers at all because they are common thieves. They have proven that if you redistribute all of the wealth equally, in 5-10 years all of the old rich will be rich again, and all of the old poor will be poor again. This family stole the labor of 1800 people and are now proud of it.

By elainey

Jul 29, 2008 7:40 PM | Link to this

I still want to know what made this family "deserving" in the first place? Allowing a child to choke? The child's death was tragic. What the family deserved was to be prosecuted for neglect back then, and possibly fraud now. The show's producers selected an equally "deserving" family who also did nothing altruistic at all. They skipped their insurance premiums before a plane crashed into their home.

By Sabotian

Jul 29, 2008 6:00 PM | Link to this

Well said, mesue. Unlike a few select posters here, you got your point across without resorting to racism or off-topic posts. After somehow managing to lose a FREE mansion, I am sure the Harpers will get everything they deserve. Preferably to be homeless, penniless, and friendless. They had to fritter away a small fortune to end up in this situation. What the heck did they do to spend it all? They must have tried to spend it on real construction equipment. $450,000 does not go very far in buying a loader, dump truck, bulldozer, and such. Even if the equipment was previously used. However, it DOES go far if they were trying to do some small time contracting. In fact, 450k is more than some small contractors make in several years of work. He must have made some really bad decisions and was completely incompetent to run a business in the first place.

By mesue

Jul 29, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this

Ed McMahon is 85 years old and lives in an $8 million Mansion that he BOUGHT with his own earned money and has lived there many, many years. He wasn't GIVEN the keys to his house and a free and clear Deed along with $200,000 and a new car and scholorship funds for the children. there is a big difference here. The Harpers were given $780,000 in the form of a house, car, home maintanence fund totalling over $200,000 plus the college funds for the children that if the Harpers could get to it I bet it is gone also. Given all this and then borrow $450,000 and then not repay. Given the American dream and turned it into an embarrassing nightmare for all concerned.

But........ don't be surprised if ABC and their sponsors don't get together and come to the rescue and Bale the harpers out because of all the negative press and the fact that they did not MAKE the Harpers get financial planning from professionals. They did tell them too but they didn't insist or make them or provide it for them so....... when all is said and done...... Most will probably blame Ty and ABC. Why not............ come on....... ABC bale them out again just "One More Last Time".

No one to blame but the HARPERS for their own irresponsibilites...
Not ABC, nor Ty, nor Beezer Homes,,,, nor Sears.... just the HARPERS..... so there you go. No mention of race, creed, or color, just the facts!

I don't care who you are you don't take a GIFT and then throw it away. There are many many people out here that would have given anything to have the opportunity the Harpers had without throwing it away.

Deal with it!!

By hmmmm

Jul 29, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this

I have no empathy for these individuals. Their actions and motives were fueled by greed. Forget the BWM...let's go for the Ferrari. If ABC wanted to be altruistic, they should have taken the money and invested it into the damn community...

By Thinking Right

Jul 26, 2008 8:40 PM | Link to this

What? A moron in Clayton County did something, well... moronic.

Daryll Strawberry is given multiple chances to be the player he was born to be, but falls o something so stupid as cocaine.

We are all born morons. We learn from what we gather and muddle through the rest with what we have learned.

Apparently some are so inherently stupid to understand that when given an incredible windfall fortune, revert to the ignorant behaviors of their upbringing and pathetic decisions based upon presumably generations of bad decisions.

What an idiot!

By David Rateri

Jul 26, 2008 11:26 AM | Link to this

Creeping socialism where the entire community pays for the stupidity of one individual.

By Nicky

Jul 26, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this

I do not feel sorry for these people at ALL. I am a single mother of five i work hard everyday to make sure my family has not only what it needs but some of the things they want. With that being said this "mother & father" were on nation TV crying on how their children were being forced to live in a disgusting home that was falling down around them. X-treme Home Makeover comes in and gives them a NEW beautiful home and you take a loan out againist it? Not just a loan but a 450,000 dollar loan. Hell they didn't have money to fix up the first house they had. How was 450,000 suppose to paid back and why put a loan on the only thing you have that NOBODY could have taken away from you. HELL yeah put them out!!! Allow a family like mine a chance at the American Dream. DUMB A$$...(yes i'm mad)

By HIPAA Violation?

Jul 26, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this

Why isn't the loss of Grady patient info on the vendor laptop considered a violation of HIPAA regulations?

By sgt chris

Jul 26, 2008 7:33 AM | Link to this

How you relate people with poor judgement and no financial savvy to electing obama is beyond me, but yet and still, you can't have a discussion about anything without bringing race into it. Funny, that person didn't comment on ED MCMAHON. He's been on TV forever and STILL got his house foreclosed on, so what the best he can do? play the race card. I love the progress of this country

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