I'm addicted to American Idol. That's right, I said it. Since the popular reality talent show first debuted in 2002, I have watched each choreographed moved and every off- pitch note religiously. And thanks to my ever growing collection of US and People magazines, I have faithfully followed the contestants as they transitioned from their small-town lives into reality- star limelight. So you can imagine my disappointment when the blogosphere and gossip columns were blowing up this week with news that season three Idol winner, Fantasia Barrino, is the latest celebrity to have a home fall prey to the foreclosure epidemic. Fantasia is facing foreclosure on her home at 5500 Bevington Pl. in Charlotte, NC, according to several news sources.

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The New York Post reported that the gargantuan 6-bedroom, 6,500-square-foot house — which Fantasia bought last year for $1.3 million — will be auctioned off Jan. 12. The two-story stucco home is located in one of Charlotte's ritziest neighborhoods on a golf course. Currently valued at $1.1 million, the home boasts a large arched wooden front door and is decorated throughout with exotic art and a duel sweeping staircase greets visitors in its front hall, reports the Post. The singer also has a second home a couple miles from the one scheduled for auction in Charlotte, that was purchased in July 2004 for $740,000. Records show the second home is not in financial trouble.

The former Idol winner is accused of defaulting on a $68,000 loan from Florida-based Broward Energy Management, according to court papers. The company allegedly loaned Fantasia the money to pay back-taxes she reportedly owed the IRS. Fantasia has repaid $10,000 of the loan, according to the court documents. The Post reported that 'Fantasia took a $1-million mortgage on the property in Charlotte from the Bank of America.

With an autobiography appropriately titled 'Life is Not a Fairy Tale,' looks like Fantasia has a new chapter to add to her saga.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.

About three months ago, I blogged about an 'Extreme Makeover' home in Georgia that succumbed foreclosure. The owners, Milton and Patricia Harper, used the house at 5489 Ahyoka Drive in Clayton County, GA, as collateral for a $450,000 loan, the Associated Press reported.

Records at the law firm handling foreclosures for the lender, JPMorgan Chase Bank, confirmed at the time that the home was in foreclosure. The house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' demolished their old property and its faulty septic system.

Call it bad luck or the 'extreme jinx,' but another one of the popular reality television show's home is on the market for sale. After only three years of calling the sprawling Washington property home, the Kirkwood family has placed their McMansion — located at 1366 SE Spruce Road in Port Orchard, WA — up for sale, according to the Kitsap Sun.com.

Washington home for sale
The price tag for the 5-bed, 4.5-bath home was once $650,000, according to the Windemere Real Estate Web site, but the price has been reduced to $550,000, Dawne Kirkwood told the Kitsap Sun. The home, which was built in the fall of 2005, boasts three large cleaners and filters that keep the home's air cleaner than that of a hospital.

But unlike the 'Extreme Makeover' home in Georgia, the Kirkwood family is not being forced out by the bank. Despite her efforts to stay in the home, Dawne Kirkwood and her ex-husband, Michael, are selling due to their divorce. She has little choice, she told the Kitsap Sun, citing Washington's community property law. She and Michael divorced in August, and the law says property between the divorced parties must be halved.

Dawne also told the newspaper that because of 'back property taxes, money owed to lawyers, and life's expenses, selling the home has become their only option.' Dawne currently shares the home with her five children. Her ex-husband has since moved to Tennessee.

I guess you don't get more realistic than divorces and hefty property taxes in this day and age.

View more photos of the 'Extreme Makeover' Washington Home for sale.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.

On Donald Trump's realty television show 'The Apprentice,' the tough-talking, no-nonsense real estate tycoon has very little patience for excuses from his batch of whiny, ego-centric job candidates. But even the Donald makes exceptions.

Los Angles Times staff writer, Ann Brenoff, reported last week, that Trump has agreed to buy Ed McMahon's foreclosed Beverly Hills home for an undisclosed amount and allow the retired TV personality to remain on his property.

The Wall Street Journal reported in June that McMahon was $644,000 behind on a $4.8 million loan for a home in Beverly Hills. McMahon, who has lived in the 6-bed, 5-bathroom mansion for 18 years, was facing foreclosure within two weeks. The 85-year-old McMahon has told reporters that he fell behind on payments after he was unable to work due to a serious neck injury last year.

Struggling to sell
Recon Trust, a division of Countrywide Financial, filed a notice of default related to the loan of the home on Feb. 28. Earlier in the year, Forbes.com reported that McMahon's 7,000-square-foot Beverly Hills home was put on the market in July 2006 for $7.7 million. He had since dropped the price not once, but three times, and the property was last listed at $4.6 million. McMahon purchased the house in 1990 for $2.6 million, according to public records.

McMahon has been among a growing list of celebrities, facing foreclosure on their homes this year. In a similar gesture of goodwill from high profile Hollywood celebs, last month jazz vocalist Ernestine Anderson's home was rescued from foreclosure thanks in part to her musician friends, legendary songwriter Quincy Jones and contemporary jazz artist Diane Schuur. More than $43,000 poured in from donations from Anderson's fans and friends, just in time to keep her home off the auction block.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.

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While the recently passed housing-rescue bill will bring some much needed aid to some 400,000 cash-strapped homeowners struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments, the legislation may be too little too late for many others. That is, unless you're a famous jazz vocalist with some prominent friends willing to lend a helping hand.

The Associated Press reports that, 'Jazz vocalist Ernestine Anderson's home has been saved from foreclosure — for now, thanks, in part, to music legend Quincy Jones and contemporary jazz artist Diane Schuur. More than $43,000 poured in — including donations from Jones and Schuur — after recent news stories about the Seattle jazz legend's financial woes, Carmen Gayton, a friend of Anderson's family, told the AP.'

Will donations be enough?
The 79-year old, four-time Grammy nominated musician missed more than $30,000 in back-payments and taxes on the home. Located in Seattle's central district, Anderson's property is in an area of the city where more than 200 homes face foreclosure, the AP reports.

The home, which has been in Anderson's family since 1946 (the singer bought it from her parents), was initially scheduled to be auctioned on July 11. But thanks to the kind contributions from fans and friends, the proceedings were halted.

The recent donations, however, may not be enough to decrease the monthly payments on Anderson's principal loan balance of more than $450,000. According to AP, a financial manager is working pro bono to look for ways to restructure Anderson's loan, which has monthly payments of more than $4,400. James Kelly, president of the Urban League of Seattle, told the AP that counselors will try to find out how Anderson got a loan that now asks for a monthly payments that are triple her income. Gayton said Anderson's monthly income, which is $1,000 from Social Security and some additional funds from her limited live performances, should have never qualified her for such a loan.

Predatory lending
Unlike other celebrities such as Jose Canseco and Michael Jackson, who landed themselves on the foreclosure hit list this year, Anderson's situation is a prime example of the predatory lending practices that have fueled the foreclosure crisis in this country and unfairly robbed thousands of hardworking families out of their homes. These types of lending practices often target the elderly who are on fixed-incomes and already struggling to make their current mortgage payments. While some of these subprime loan products promised cheaper monthly payments initially, many naive home buyers fell victim to hidden fees and inflated adjustable-rate mortgages they could never afford to pay with their allotted income.

Anderson luckily got to save her home, but for the millions of Americans who didn't have a Quincy Jones to turn to, foreclosure was unavoidable. Soaring foreclosure rates in this country tell a bigger story than just percentages and figures. They are about the families who no longer have a home of their own, because of unscrupulous lending practices and the failure of an entire industry to properly monitor themselves.

People can donate to 'The Ernestine Anderson Fund' at any Bank of America branch.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.

Cateogry:Celebrity Homes

Just when I thought I wrote my last post about a celebrity losing his home to foreclosure, the gossip blogs report of yet another knock-out punch. On Thursday, gossip news site TMZ reported former heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield may soon loose his opulent $10 million estate in suburban Atlanta.

The four-time heavyweight champ defaulted on the $10 million loan to Washington Mutual, and according to another report from SportsIllustrated.com, a legal notice that ran Wednesday in a small local newspaper said Holyfield's estate will be auctioned off 'at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash' at the Fayette County courthouse on July 1. The 54,000-square-foot home — located on Evander Holyfield Highway — has 109 rooms, including 17 bathrooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley.

In 1997, Holyfield reportedly amassed $34 million in his highly publicized bout with Mike 'Ear Biter' Tyson. While I'm sure boxing promoters, agents, and who knows what other shady cronies, scavenged around Holyfield for a bite of his fat check, I'm sure the fighter was able to pocket a good chunk.

The foreclosure auction is just part of a series of financial windfalls that the 45-year-old boxer is currently fighting. Holyfield faces a federal lawsuit seeking repayment of $550,000 in loans allegedly made to him in late 2006 and 2007 — money he used to pay for landscaping on his 235-acre estate. In a separate case, the boxer failed to make about $6,000 in child support payments to one of the mothers of his nine children.

Holyfield has told reporters that he doesn't plan on retiring from boxing until he's the undisputed champ. But at this rate, the only thing undisputed about him, is his losing record.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.