Trump Bails Out McMahon And I'm Puzzled Why
So.... Billionaire Donald Trump has agreed to "save" Ed McMahon from home foreclosure by buying McMahon's house (essentially paying off the $4.8 Million he owes to Countrywide) and then lease the property to McMahon? For those who haven't been keeping up with the horror, Ed McMahon, the former Johnny Carson sidekick, and sweepstakes pitchman, defaulted on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home, earlier this year, and has been fighting foreclosure. Apparently, even the wealthy, like McMahon, have been affected by the weak economy, and unsettling housing market, thanks in large part to subprime fever. McMahon had just 2 weeks left to sell his house before the bank repossessed it.
The man should have lost his house like so many other less fortunate Americans did, BUT, Trump simply couldn't let that happen. The kicker? Donald Trump doesn't even know Ed McMahon, stating, "I don't know the man, but I grew up watching him on TV... When I was at the Wharton School of Business... I'd watch him every night. How could this happen?"
Yeah Ed - how could this happen?
In reading this, the first thing I thought was to say, hey Donald, there are so many people facing similar dilemmas - people who are in far worse predicaments than Mr McMahon will ever know. There are some who have even killed themselves for fear of losing their property. Yes, it's true. So, why not take that $4.8 Million that you will be using to "save" McMahon from repossession, and instead invest in those average, everyday Americans, with homes worth far less than McMahon's, so that they don't lose their properties to foreclosure. I think McMahon will be just fine even if he did lose his home. He has lots of rich friends, and I'm sure he won't go wanting for very long... unlike John and Jane Doe who have a modest 3 bedroom home in middle America, with 4 kids, a midsize car or two, and who owe a fraction of what McMahon owes, but just aren't able to pay. In fact, with $4.8 Million, you could "save" a lot of people from losing their homes, as opposed to one privileged, washed up TV personality who, for some reason, couldn't manage his many millions well enough, and who I have absolutely no pity for.
Help those who really need to help Donald! You won't get a pat on the back from me for this supposed act of altruism!
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The sad truth is that Trump isn't into saving ordinary folk - he's a real estate mogul. What would he want with the average family home? I'd say a $4.8 million mansion is more in keeping with his property portfolio.
And, to be honest, sale and leaseback schemes aren't much of a saving grace. You may still be able to live in your home, but your rent payments are likely to be higher than the mortgage you couldn't afford in the first place. So he may still lose his house yet... probably when property prices pick up again and it's worth much more than the $3.4m Trump's paid for it. We'll see how sympathetic Mr Trump is then. My bet is that he'll offer to sell it back to McMahon at the new, improved price.
And with most regular sale and leaseback schemes, it's ususally a private arrangement between you and the leaseback company and not one that the whole world gets to know about - so you stay in your home for as long as possible and still save face.
Doesn't seem to me like Mr McMahon is really getting "saved" at all. Seems more like a drowning man clutching at straws... or maybe that should be bricks.
Ed McMahon probably would have been fine, had it not been for the fact that he BROKE HIS NECK and was unable to work for a long time. I'm sure he isn't destitute, but because of his now frail health, and limited ability to work, he probably can't maintain the lifestyle he had prior to his accident/fall.
Secondly, why do people always feel they can tell other people what to do with THEIR money? That trips me out. Donald Trump made his money and he can do whatever he wants with it. Folks need to get out of other folk's pockets. Like Oaktown 3-5-7 said: It ain't yo money! LOL.