Michael Jackson may lose his merry-go-round and the rest of his estate due to nonpayment of mortgage. 

“There are plenty of lenders willing to work with him. The real estate market is very bad right now and Jackson is being affected just like many other Americans,” the source said.

I wonder if the [maybe] Bahrainian had a subprime loan when he bought the Neverland Ranch.  Maybe he had an ARM.  Or maybe he’s been laid off work or had a major medical problem.  But not to worry!  The same source says it’s unlikely that Jackson will allow the home to be foreclosed when he just caught up with the taxes on it a few weeks ago. 

Speaking of taxes… Slarti posted a while back that property taxes may be going up.

I don’t know what this will mean in your household, but in ours, reappraisal means our annual taxes go up. Most of the time, pretty substantially. It’s like a tax hike without anyone having to take the political hit for instituting a tax hike.

Meanwhile, the foreclosure market is alive and well in Spring Hill.  Local agent Rodney offers some advice about buying a foreclosure:

Yes. There are alot of foreclosed properties on the market. However, there are alot of existing and new homes that have significantly come down in price as well.  …AND…

Most home owners who have fallen in foreclosure over the last 2 years, owe just as much on the house as it’s worth. In reality, the banks want as much of their money back as possible. So, don’t always assume it will be an even better deal than an existing or new home.

I read not-too-long-ago that the Tennessee Bankers Association has asked the state to set up a database that will track foreclosures in the state.  The link in the Tennessean is lost behind a pay-for-a-password-archive, so you bloggers who hate bloggers who regurgitate the news have lucked out!