Real Housewife of NJ’s Teresa Giudice in Foreclosure

Nearly $11 million. That’s the amount of debt that Real Housewives’ of NJ Teresa Giudice and her husband, Joe, are facing, and includes the foreclosure of their Towaco, NJ mansion (above), which is used in the Real Housewives’ series. They have filed for bankruptcy and are undergoing credit counseling.

How did the Giudice‘s get into this much debt? Simply, it’s a matter of spending more than they earn, which is allegedly $79,000 a year. Here’s a laundry list of some of their debt, courtesy NY Post:

  • Credit card debt — $104,000 (including $20,000 on credit cards for Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus).
  • Car payment — $1,280/month for their Cadillac Escalade (they defaulted on payments).
  • Fertility clinic — $12,000
  • Real estate — $2.6 million for eight mortgages on three homes (two were taken by lenders)
  • Business investments — $5.8 million
  • Phone bill — $2,300
  • Home repairs — $85,600

This isn’t the first time a member of the Real Housewives’ series has faced real estate problems. There was Tamra Barney’s short sale (Orange County); Sheree Whitfield’s foreclosure (Atlanta) and Jeana Keough’s loan modification (Orange County); Lisa Wu Hartwell’s foreclosure (Atlanta); and Lynn Curtin’s rental payments (Orange County). Did we miss anyone?

Update (6/23/10): Yes, we did miss someone, because she’s new on the Housewives’ scene: Elvira Grau and her husband, James, owe nearly $300,000 in taxes, including a lien against their Cresskill, NJ mansion, according to the NY Post.

Update (7/21/10): Add “jail” to the possible list of problems Teresa Giudice now faces.

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