| The Rhea County News Paper |
| "Rhea County's REAL Information Source" |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Rep. Laura Richardson has an unusual perspective on the housing
foreclosure bills moving through Congress: One of her own homes was threatened with
repossession after she failed to pay the mortgage.
Richardson, a Southern California Democrat, bought a two-story home in a leafy, upper-
middle-class neighborhood of Sacramento in January 2007, just months after winning a
seat in the state Assembly.
She bought the three-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath home in the state capital for $535,500. The bill
collectors started knocking soon after, according to records reviewed Wednesday by The
Associated Press.
The city utility department placed a lien on her property in June 2007 for $154 in unpaid
bills, according to documents at the Sacramento County recorder's office. In December,
she received a default notice on the mortgage from the collection agency of Washington
Mutual Inc., her lender. At that point, she owed $18,356.
At the time, she had left the Legislature after a quick rise from the Long Beach City Council
and moved to Washington after winning a special election to fill a vacant congressional
seat. Richardson on Wednesday blamed the frequent job-shifting for financial problems
related to the Sacramento property.
A default notice in March this year put the "unpaid balance and other expenses" at
$578,384 and said her 1,639-square-foot house would be auctioned at a trustee sale.
County records show the property was sold to a company called Red Rock Mortgage Inc.
of Sacramento for $388,000 — although the county assessor's office continues to list
Richardson as the owner. No listing could be found for Red Rock.
That sale was officially recorded Monday, according to the records. But Richards said the
home was not in foreclosure and had not been seized.
"I have worked with my lender to complete a loan modification and have renegotiated the
terms of the agreement — with no special provisions," Richardson said in a statement
Wednesday. "I fully intend to fulfill all financial obligations of this property."
Richardson's chief of staff, Kimberly Parker, told the AP that the mortgage on the home had
been sold but that the house had not. The collection agency referred inquiries to
Washington Mutual, which did not return a call.
A real estate agent's lock box hung Wednesday from the front door of the 1926-vintage
house.
Records at a Sacramento County tax office also show Richardson is delinquent in paying
$8,950 in property taxes.
Richardson moved from the Long Beach City Council to her Assembly seat in 2006, and
the next year won a special election to represent a heavily Democratic congressional
district that includes Long Beach.
Congressional records show Richardson did not cast votes May 8 on three bills related to
the Foreclosure Prevention Act. In her statement, she said she was away from Washington
because of her father's funeral.
"I understand that these homeownership issues are a reflection of what many Americans
are going through as they fight to keep their homes and to remain financially stable,"
Richardson said in her statement.
foreclosure bills moving through Congress: One of her own homes was threatened with
repossession after she failed to pay the mortgage.
Richardson, a Southern California Democrat, bought a two-story home in a leafy, upper-
middle-class neighborhood of Sacramento in January 2007, just months after winning a
seat in the state Assembly.
She bought the three-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath home in the state capital for $535,500. The bill
collectors started knocking soon after, according to records reviewed Wednesday by The
Associated Press.
The city utility department placed a lien on her property in June 2007 for $154 in unpaid
bills, according to documents at the Sacramento County recorder's office. In December,
she received a default notice on the mortgage from the collection agency of Washington
Mutual Inc., her lender. At that point, she owed $18,356.
At the time, she had left the Legislature after a quick rise from the Long Beach City Council
and moved to Washington after winning a special election to fill a vacant congressional
seat. Richardson on Wednesday blamed the frequent job-shifting for financial problems
related to the Sacramento property.
A default notice in March this year put the "unpaid balance and other expenses" at
$578,384 and said her 1,639-square-foot house would be auctioned at a trustee sale.
County records show the property was sold to a company called Red Rock Mortgage Inc.
of Sacramento for $388,000 — although the county assessor's office continues to list
Richardson as the owner. No listing could be found for Red Rock.
That sale was officially recorded Monday, according to the records. But Richards said the
home was not in foreclosure and had not been seized.
"I have worked with my lender to complete a loan modification and have renegotiated the
terms of the agreement — with no special provisions," Richardson said in a statement
Wednesday. "I fully intend to fulfill all financial obligations of this property."
Richardson's chief of staff, Kimberly Parker, told the AP that the mortgage on the home had
been sold but that the house had not. The collection agency referred inquiries to
Washington Mutual, which did not return a call.
A real estate agent's lock box hung Wednesday from the front door of the 1926-vintage
house.
Records at a Sacramento County tax office also show Richardson is delinquent in paying
$8,950 in property taxes.
Richardson moved from the Long Beach City Council to her Assembly seat in 2006, and
the next year won a special election to represent a heavily Democratic congressional
district that includes Long Beach.
Congressional records show Richardson did not cast votes May 8 on three bills related to
the Foreclosure Prevention Act. In her statement, she said she was away from Washington
because of her father's funeral.
"I understand that these homeownership issues are a reflection of what many Americans
are going through as they fight to keep their homes and to remain financially stable,"
Richardson said in her statement.
- EDITOR'S NOTE: People in Rhea County will soon be feeling the
painful pinch of impoverishness (if they are not already feeling it)
IF they (YOU) do not take control of YOUR city and county
government, period. They say a cow will stand in a barn that is
burning down to the ground, and for some unknown reason, the
cow refuses to leave the barn choosing to stay and bellow out in
agony. What is it that is within YOUR mind that allows for such
similar reasoning and behavior?
| Calif. congresswoman's home threatened with repo By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer |
