sheldonm Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 (edited) updated 9:31 a.m. ET, Tues., July. 1, 2008 SEATTLE - Jazz vocalist Ernestine Andersons 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 legends financial woes, said Carmen Gayton, a friend of Andersons family. The money to stop the foreclosure was delivered Monday, Gayton added. She declined to say how much Jones and Schuur had donated. But Gayton said Anderson, 79, needs more money in order to be able to decrease the monthly payments on her principal loan balance of nearly $460,000. Gayton added that a financial manager is working pro-bono to look for ways to restructure Andersons loan, which has monthly payments of more than $4,400. Gayton also said Anderson will try to sell a second house next door to the home shes trying to save. Slide show The week in celebrity sightings Damon, Affleck, Alexander show their poker faces, Neil Young rocks Roskilde, Kevin Costner goes back to Durham and more. more photos Anderson, who once sang with the likes of Jones and Ray Charles, was more than $30,000 in arrears in payments and penalties last week. Gayton has said Andersons monthly income is $1,000 from Social Security, and at her age, her performances are limited. After 30 albums and four Grammy nominations, Anderson is one of Seattles most respected names in music, part of a jazz scene the flourished in the city well before grunge and alternative rock took the stage. Donations ranging from $5 to $5,000 streamed in after her story broke, Gayton said. Were incredibly grateful for all the people who went to the bank or mailed a check, she said. Anderson is one of dozens of people facing foreclosure in her Central District neighborhood. More than 200 houses face foreclosure in Andersons zip code, according to Realty Trac, a Web site that tracks foreclosures. © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Edited July 13, 2008 by sheldonm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 (edited) ...her principal loan balance of nearly $460,000... I'm sorry, but how recently did she purchase this house?? -- and just how big is this house??? I know houses are expensive on the coasts, but my aunt and uncle live in Seattle and live in a fairly large three (or four?) bedroom house in a nice neighborhood (overlooking Puget Sound even), and the TOTAL value of their home can't be much more than $460,000 (if that, more like $350,000) -- though it was paid for probably 15 or 20 years ago. So, my point is, it sounds like this Ernestine Anderson bought WAY more house than she could possibly afford, whether that was 10 years ago, or 3 year ago. How does someone who's 79 years old owe THAT much on a house?? (NOTE: if she bought the house thinking she had enough in the bank, only to have had severe health problems that depleated over half her savings and/or equity, then that I can understand.) Edited July 13, 2008 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValerieB Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 believe it or not, i think the house was bought by her parents in the 1940's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 So the debt is from some kind of equity release scheme and it looks like she's been poorly advised or something like shafted. I'm sorry to hear this. Ernestine's Sue album from 1963/4 completely turned me out when I got it a couple of years ago. And she was still singing well when Houston Person produced her most recent album, "Love makes the changes" in 2003. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 ...her principal loan balance of nearly $460,000... I'm sorry, but how recently did she purchase this house?? -- and just how big is this house??? Six bedrooms according to this article . Can't imagine why she needs that much space . believe it or not, i think the house was bought by her parents in the 1940's! I'm guessing that's the 1000 sq. ft. bungalow near her principal residence that she currently has up for sale for $ 325,000 . Had she planned better she wouldn't have had to rely on the beneficence of others to save her principal residence , for she could have extracted some of the equity she no doubt has in that second house . So the debt is from some kind of equity release scheme and it looks like she's been poorly advised or something like shafted. According to this article , she refinanced just last year , no doubt as you surmise , in an effort to monetize some of the outsized home equity gains occasioned by the real estate bubble . Looks like another prime example of the kind of lending practices that won't be seen for a generation , now that (lending) predator has become prey . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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