The Sacramento home of Rep. Laura Richardson was sold in a public auction two weeks ago for $388,000. The Southern California Democrat bought the house for $535,000 with no money down in January 2007 and owed nearly $575,000 to Washington Mutual when the mortgage was sold earlier this month at a significant loss to Red Rock Mortgage Inc.
Rep. Richardson denied the report in a written statement Wednesday, “The residential property in Sacramento California is not in foreclosure and has NOT [emphasis hers] been seized by the bank,” she said: “I have worked with my lender to complete a loan modification and have renegotiated the terms of the agreement — with no special provisions. I fully intend to fulfill all financial obligations of this property.”
And it gets better...
James York, the Sacramento broker who bought the three-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom home, rejected the idea that the home hadn’t been seized. The sale of the home was announced in March. “She’s walked away from the property,” he said. “I would be happy to resell her the home for the $535,000.”
Richardson didn’t vote on the housing rescue deal that passed the House of Representatives two weeks ago and in a statement attributed her absence to her father’s funeral. But Richardson did vote last fall in favor of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, which passed and prevents the federal government from charging income tax on debt forgiven as a consequence of foreclosure.
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And more.
"I'm Laura Richardson. I'm an American, I'm a single woman who had four employment changes in less than four months," Richardson told the AP. "I had to figure out just like every other"I'm Laura Richardson. I'm an American, I'm a single woman who had four employment changes in less than four months," Richardson told the AP. "I had to figure out just like every other American how I could restructure the obligations that I had with the income I had."
Cue the violins. She's a single woman who had 4 employment changes in 4 months. WHY was she buying a house? Moreover, why was she buying a house she couldn't afford? Her business is no excuse for neglecting her debt obligations.
Although others struggling with mortgages make far less, Richardson said it was "very misleading" to compare her earnings to the national median household income of around $50,000. The reason: Lawmakers are required to maintain two residences while other people don't have to, she said.
Yes, lawmakers must maintain 2 residences. It's a necessity required by their job. They don't have to buy 2 houses though. They can rent, like a lot of people do. They can buy a smaller house in whichever location they spend less time. Representative Richardson bought a $535,000 house. There is no reason she 'had' to do that. If prices are too high, a rental is actually a good idea. Now, the bank is saddled with a loan she is never going to pay. Just watch, as the Fed gets more involved in propping up the banks lopsided balance sheets, you and I are going to be footing the bill for this housing debacle.
Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, criticized Richardson for falling deeper into debt while choosing to spend more than $75,000 of her own money on her campaign—suggesting that it's more important to win a seat in Congress than to be fiscally responsible, a point Richardson disputed.
Sloan also said Richardson should not be in the situation she is while making a congressional salary, when homeowners around the country making $50,000 or less are struggling to pay their debts.
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