Such is the curious case of Wise Ahadzi, a single father with two young girls, who vacated his house in Brooklyn, N.Y., when he could no longer afford to pay the mortgage. He apparently didn’t realize that he could remain in the home until the foreclosure was complete. In fact, the lender has recently confirmed that he is still the rightful owner of the property until the foreclosure process has run its full course.

Meanwhile, “Occupy” members targeted his house and vowed to fix it up and move in a new family, looking make a bold statement against the major financial institutions that the movement blames for the current economic crisis in the United States.

Ahadzi, according to the New York Post, was “livid” when authorities alerted him about the situation. He’s since pleaded with the protesters to fight for him, since you know, it is his house, but he was told “he doesn’t qualify” for assistance because he is not homeless — he moved to a “meager” two-bedroom apartment nearby while he sorted out his “mortgage nightmare.”

Unreal.

It’s unclear why authorities have not removed the protesters from the home and restored it to Ahadzi.

Regardless, Ahadzi is now fighting a two-front battle: Evicting the illegal squatters who laid claim to his property and negotiating a potential resolution on a mortgage in default to save a house in which other people illegally live.

And there’s no guarantee, when all is said and done, that he can win them both, if any at all.

Bizarro.

However, there are state-by-state averages, which Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) tracks each month. Nationwide, homeowners facing foreclosure are collectively 611 days late paying their respective mortgages.

The top places where foreclosures on average take the longest include:

• New York (767 days)
• Florida (757 days)
• New Jersey (708 days)
• Hawaii (681 days)
• Washington D.C. (676 days)

The top places where foreclosures on average take the shortest include:

• Wyoming (398 days)
• Nebraska (407 days)
• Alaska (411 days)
• Idaho (416 days)
• Arizona (418 days)

Homes in states that follow the judicial foreclosure process typically take longer to get through the system because the courts are so overburdened. Non-judicial states, therefore, are going to typically recover faster, according to Herb Blecher, a senior vice president for analytics at LPS, in a recent interview with BusinessWeek. com.

For more on the foreclosure laws in your state click here. To search foreclosed homes for sales in your area click here.

Co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, Damon Dash, is about to lose his duplex loft, which is located in a Tribeca, N.Y., “power building,” according to Curbed.com.

Dash, who purchased the 5,200 sq. ft. “stunner” in “The Atalanta” building for $3.875 million in 2004, currently owes his lender nearly $9 million after a refinance in 2006. He stopped paying the $78,000/mo. mortgage in late 2008.

Here’s a description of the property:

“This stunning 5,200 SF duplex loft boasts 20 foot ceilings in the living room, 4 bedrooms and 4 baths on TriBeCas best block. Add huge windows facing north and south, a mint kitchen and luxurious bathrooms, it leaves nothing to be desired. Located in the preeminent full service doorman building, the Atalanta, Must be seen!!”

The duplex is scheduled to be put on the auction block today (Wednesday, July 28, 2010) at 1 p.m. ET, during which a new buyer will emerge or the bank will claim possession of it.

Stay tuned.

For more on background on Baldwin’s bankruptcy and potential foreclosure action click here. To learn more about “The Restoration of Stephen Baldwin” click here.

(Tip via Zillow.com)

Madoff, Madoff, Madoff!

The former building in which infamous Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff bilked countless high-profile investors out of approximately $65 billion over two decades is “inching” toward foreclosure, according to the NY Post.

The tower at 885 Third Avenue in New York, N.Y., which resembles a tube of lipstick, “has fallen on hard times” and the bank that holds the note on the skyscraper is shopping its $210 million mortgage.

Renters, and a lack of tenants, including Madoff — who started serving a 150-year bit in federal prison in 2009 — appears to be the reason behind the building’s financial distress.

Howard Michaels of the Carlton Group explains what went wrong:

“It was an ingenious finance structure at the time, which was predicated on a significant growth in rent, which due to Madoff and market factors did not occur.”

Madoff and his crooked operation reportedly took up three floors of the building — all told 40,000 sq. ft. — at $49 per sq. ft.

(That’s $1.96 million in case you don’t want to do the math.)

There’s a battle brewing on Manhattan’s West Side between  “Jay-Z” (also known as Shawn Carter) and Highland (Highland) Capital Management LP — a bank located Dallas, Texas, that granted the superstar hip-hopper and his business partners a $52 million loan to build the J Hotel.

Despite his best efforts, it appears that the super successful businessman (he also co-owns several businesses, including The 40/40 Club and the New Jersey Nets) might not be able to freestyle his way out of losing millions on a deal that never got off the ground.

Literally.

The founder of Roc-A-Fella records and former CEO of Def Jam Recordings recently filed a lawsuit against Highland, according the Wall Street Journal, alleging that the bank is attempting to “bleed” him for more money by not settling the debt fast enough. In short, the longer the negotiations last, the more interest accrues on the massive loan.

To the tune of $20,000 a day.

Jay-Z — who is only responsible for the interest on the loan, not the principal — is seeking more than $3.7 million in damages. But, according to a statement from Highland, the claim is “merit less.”

Here’s a snip:

“Highland Capital Management believes the claims asserted by Mr. Carter are merit less and will vigorously defend itself and intends to pursue the obligations owed to Highland’s investors by the borrower, Mr. Carter and the other guarantors.”

It’s a hard knock life.

Associated Press reports that Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Realty, which purchased “Stuy Town” for a jaw-dropping $5.4 billion in 2006, couldn’t make a $16 million loan payment due Jan. 8, 2010.

As a result, the complex will be turned over to creditors. Tishman Speyer and BlackRock, meanwhile, will continue to manage the properties to ensure a smooth transition.

It sounds like a massive undertaking … just like the initial investment.

It’s perhaps the end of an era for the historic “Tavern on the Green,” which has operated in New York City’s Central Park for more than 75 years.

On New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31, 2009), the current owners — who are $8 million in debt and have declared bankruptcy — will serve their final suppers before handing the keys over to a new owner, Dean Poll, in 2010 and beyond. Poll was awarded a 20-year lease on the establishment earlier this year after promising to pump more than $25 million in renovations into the 27,000 square-foot landmark.

However, Poll may not have the intellectual rights to use the “Tavern on the Green” moniker, which is valued at about $19 million. In fact, a federal judge will rule on the issue next month to determine if it belongs to the LeRoy family (the current owners who have declared bankruptcy), according to the Associated Press.

In addition to the name, “everything that fills the current restaurant will be for sale starting Jan. 13, at a Guernsey’s auction,” including a century-old chandelier made of green glass, Tiffany stained glass, a mural depicting Central Park and “other over-the-top decor that has bewitched visitors for decades.”

Same name or not, the new Tavern on the Green (or Tavern on the Park if the name is off limits) will be completely different.

It will incorporate:

” … green building technology while a conservatory-style dining space will complement the original Victorian architecture. Poll also plans an outdoor cafe, bicycle racks and new public restrooms.”

Tavern on the Green was established in 1934. It is located in Central Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The old fashioned eatery was and continues to be an extremely popular haunt, raking in a reported $38 million in gross revenues back in 2007 — “the second highest-grossing independently-owned restaurant in the United States.”

Whether or not Poll’s new vision can restore the Tavern to its glory days and achieve similar success remains to be seen, but it’s safe to say that he’ll be under the microscope the moment the clock strikes midnight to start the New Year.

Oops! He did it again …

Former NBA superstar Latrell Sprewell is once again in the midst of foreclosure. Daily News reports that the ex-Knickerbocker is behind on a mortgage worth more $1.6 million, which he took out to finance a $5.4 million mansion situated on 3.3 acres in Purchase, New York.

If Sprewell doesn’t get current on the payments, he could lose the home in a Westchester County Courthouse foreclosure auction that is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2010.

Back in 2008, Sprewell nearly walked away from his home in River Hills home in Milwaukee, Wisc., when it went into default. He ponied up the debt at the last minute just before the Milwaukee Sheriff’s Department seized it.

His 70-foot-yacht, “Milwaukee’s Best,” however, was not as fortunate — U.S. Marshals auctioned the $1.5 million ship off for $856,000 after Sprewell did not fulfill his financial obligations.

Sprewell — who played 13 seasons in the league — earned an annual salary of $14.6 million in the final year of his career. In 2005, he infamously turned down a contract extension from the Minnesota Timberwolves worth between $27 million and $30 million for three seasons, saying “I’ve got my family to feed.”

He never played again once the contract expired because he didn’t want to “stoop beneath a level” he thought he was worth, according to his agent.

How times have changed.