Oh the irony! Cash in the Attic host (and debt expert) goes bankrupt

By Beth Pinsker Posted 5:00PM 01/15/09 Credit, Banking, Saving Money

Lorne Spicer has filed for bankruptcy in England, where she is known for telling other people how to raise cash and get out of debt. According to the Sun, the 43-year-old TV host used her married name to submit the paperwork, trying to avoid the negative publicity. The host of Cash in the Attic, Car Booty and Beat The Bailiff also writes an online column for the BBC on budgeting and how to get out of debt.

Celebrity Foreclosures

DMX's Arizona home is under foreclose as the rapper is in jail on charges of animal cruelty, drug possession, and theft. He paid $600,000 for the house in 2003, which was put on the market by a local bank for $429,000. Police raided the property in August 2008 to find an illegal dog fighting kennel and graveyard of burned and maimed pitbulls. DMX will be sentenced on January 30, 2009.

Bryan Bedder, Getty Images

Judy Vardon, who was featured in a 2004 episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with her husband and blind, autistic son, may be facing foreclosure because the family cannot afford the mortgage payments on their home.

Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images

'Extreme Makeover' House I
Sadie Holmes of Altamonte Springs, Fla., does charity work from her house remodeled two years ago on ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.' Early October reports said Holmes could lose the house over a $29,000 county lien placed on the property after months of code violations racked up.

Hilda M. Perez, Orlando Sentinel / MCT

'Extreme Makeover' House II
The Harper family home in Clayton County, Ga., which was rebuilt on an episode 'Extreme Makeover' in 2005, went into foreclosure this summer after the family used the house as collateral for a $450,000 loan and couldn't meet the payments.

Michael Buckner, Getty Images

American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino is not facing a bank foreclosure, but may nonetheless lose her $1.3 million Charlotte home when a company she owes money puts it up for auction in January.

Leon Bennett, WireImage

Damon Dash
Foreclosure proceedings began in August against the hip-hop mogul over unpaid mortgages on two Manhattan apartments. Eastern Savings Bank says the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder and his wife owed more than $7 million on the properties.

Gary Gershoff, Wire Image

Ed McMahon
The former "Tonight Show" personality made "a confidential deal" in August to sell his Beverly Hills home after falling behind on payments.

Matt Sayles, AP

Scott Storch
The hip-hop producer went into foreclosure in July on his $10 million Miami mansion, according to The Palm Beach Post. He also had his Ferrari Scaglietti and his prized motorcycle, a Bones Bike, repossessed.

Wilfredo Lee, AP

Vin Baker
The former NBA player has also been stung by the wave of foreclosures sweeping the U.S. Baker's 9,300-square-foot Georgian brick colonial Durham, Conn., home -- which has six bedrooms, a two-lane bowling alley, basketball court, guest house and pool -- was auctioned for $2.5 million in July.

Charles Krupa, AP

Ernestine Anderson
The jazz vocalist faced a foreclosure on her Seattle home. Public records showed that she was more than $30,000 in arrears in payments and penalties.

Jonathan Ferrey, Getty Images

The Sun quotes one of her columns: ""Make a budget and stick to it. Putting the numbers down on paper will show you just where all the money is going. Set a limit on how much you are going to spend - and stick to it."

Seems like she did not follow her own advice.

The trouble seems to stem from Spicer opening up an art and antiques shop in her home town of Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, where she had to put down a substantial investment, but was trying to raise money for charity. Perhaps there's not so much money in selling other people's attic treasures...

Spicer can recover quickly from bankruptcy if she follows some of her own advice. On her list is this key nugget: Get another job. She's a prolific and popular person. While her reputation as a debt expert may be tarnished, she could still take on something like a game show or a news program. She'd be back in financial security in no time.