Mariaaaaaaaaaaa
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Divorce and the Housing Crisis
There's one more story I can't resist commenting on and that's this one about couples who are having a hard time splitting up in this economy. In some cases, the couples were counting on the equity in their homes to start anew but now there's no equity. In other cases, each partner is trying to stick the other one with a house that can't be sold.
But it's Josh Kaufman of Cleveland who really caught my attention. It won't be real hard to figure out why Mr. Kaufman is getting a divorce after you read this. It seems Mr. Kaufman viewed the whole split as a "business" arrangement and, as his wife couldn't afford to buy the house from him, he just waited her out until the house lost so much value that eventually he didn't have to pay her a thing. Not one dime for the house that was appraised at one time at $1.5 million. There was "no emotion involved" says Kaufman. And, after all, he was just looking for a way to turn a "negative situation around." Now that's a real prince of a guy.
Here's the full story on Kaufman:
"Josh Kaufman and his wife bought a new 6,500-square-foot house outside Cleveland on five and a half acres, with four bedrooms and two three-car garages, that was worth $1.5 million at the height of the market. When they divorced in June, Mr. Kaufman knew his wife could not afford to carry the home. The longer the divorce process continued, the more the house depreciated; by the time he assumed the house, its appraised value was half what the couple had put into it; he did not pay her anything for her share.
“From a negotiating standpoint we knew that she couldn’t afford to stay in it,” Mr. Kaufman said. “It appeared as an opportunity to turn the negative situation around. There was no emotion involved. It was a business decision on what made most financial sense. It wasn’t an attempt to take advantage of someone.”
Still, his lawyer, Andrew A. Zashin, said, “He bought this house at a bargain basement price.”
Here's hoping the next Mrs. Josh Kaufman reads the New York Times, either that or has the sense to keep the house in her name and hire a really, really good lawyer.
But it's Josh Kaufman of Cleveland who really caught my attention. It won't be real hard to figure out why Mr. Kaufman is getting a divorce after you read this. It seems Mr. Kaufman viewed the whole split as a "business" arrangement and, as his wife couldn't afford to buy the house from him, he just waited her out until the house lost so much value that eventually he didn't have to pay her a thing. Not one dime for the house that was appraised at one time at $1.5 million. There was "no emotion involved" says Kaufman. And, after all, he was just looking for a way to turn a "negative situation around." Now that's a real prince of a guy.
Here's the full story on Kaufman:
"Josh Kaufman and his wife bought a new 6,500-square-foot house outside Cleveland on five and a half acres, with four bedrooms and two three-car garages, that was worth $1.5 million at the height of the market. When they divorced in June, Mr. Kaufman knew his wife could not afford to carry the home. The longer the divorce process continued, the more the house depreciated; by the time he assumed the house, its appraised value was half what the couple had put into it; he did not pay her anything for her share.
“From a negotiating standpoint we knew that she couldn’t afford to stay in it,” Mr. Kaufman said. “It appeared as an opportunity to turn the negative situation around. There was no emotion involved. It was a business decision on what made most financial sense. It wasn’t an attempt to take advantage of someone.”
Still, his lawyer, Andrew A. Zashin, said, “He bought this house at a bargain basement price.”
Here's hoping the next Mrs. Josh Kaufman reads the New York Times, either that or has the sense to keep the house in her name and hire a really, really good lawyer.
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