One of the misconceptions of the ongoing turmoil in the housing market is that it has touched only those on the low end of the economic scale — those who bought “Shearson Lehman” homes and would not have qualified for a mortgage under normal circumstances.
If it makes you feel any better, the sad news is that everyone throughout society has been negatively affected in some way, even those in Orange County’s high-rent districts whom one would think would have the means to avoid the same hardships as those in the more affordable neighborhoods.
Today’s first example is the former home of actor Nicolas Cage.
In July 2005, Cage bought a house in Newport Beach with sweeping views of Newport Bay. Upstairs in the former Cage residence, residents and guests could see all the way down to Dana Point. Six years ago, Cage bought the home for $25 million. About two years later, he sold it for $35 million to someone not so famous but with a large bank account.
That is a nice return on one’s investment. Unfortunately, the new owner has put the home up for sale for less than he paid for it: The most recent listing for the home at 2692 Bayshore Drive is $28.5 million.
At that level, it is likely that the seller can afford to absorb the loss a lot better than the folks without the harbor and Dana Point views, but that’s still a lot of money to walk away from.
Then there is the case of one Peggy Tanous, a member of the cast of the cable reality show, “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” Tanous bought her home in Irvine in 2006 for $1.38 million. Five years later, she owes $1.31 million, actually $1,318,253 if you want to be exact. Last November, her bank filed a foreclosure notice and the house was set to be auctioned last March. Now, the auction date is Tuesday.
How bad did it get for Tanous? Unable to make the payments on the loan for their house, Tanous and her husband were also unable to pay the requisite property taxes either. Ultimately, the Tanouses got trapped into the same “buy high, sell low” predicament facing others and are living in a house that was worth an estimated $875,000 two years ago.
While Tanous may have the same real estate woes as the common folk in the county, she does not seem to have allowed it to affect the other areas of her life. She still drives around the county in a Bentley, has recently had some plastic surgery and also recently hired a known chef to cater a dinner at the house she may be losing.
Tanous is fighting the foreclosure of her home. Nothing like going out in style.
Another reality TV star, Alexis Bellino, dodged the foreclosure bullet last month with the short sale of her Newport Beach mansion.
Jim and Alexis Bellino bought their 4,200-square-foot home in 2007 for $4.56 million and just sold it for $3 million on a short sale.
While we cannot be happy about any of this, it still helps to know that rich or poor, or should we say, “perceived” rich or poor, there are many in Orange County whose struggles with the real estate meltdown are not over despite signs of improvement in the overall economy.
STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to smi161@aol.com.
