R. Kelly, the infamous 46 year-old R&B singer, had the rug pulled out from under him when the bank foreclosed on his Illinois mansion Monday. R. Kelly allegedly borrowed a $3.5 million mortgage to build the sprawling estate in 1997, but when all was said and done, the home sold for a mere $950,000, according to a story on TMZ on Tuesday, March 19.
The 6 bed, 8 bath mansion is reported to be 20,000 square feet. It includes an indoor swimming pool, theater room and a private lake.
Kelly tried to forestall the foreclosure sale by listing it for $1.6 million a year ago, but it sat there in the then-stagnant real estate market.
The Chicago Sun-Times estimates the mansion at 22,000 sq. ft. and adds that it also boasts six half-baths, sits on 3 acres and contains 16 total rooms. It’s surrounded by an “imposing” iron fence and gate.
Click here to view photos of the property.
R. Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly in Chicago, is best known for his hit “I Believe I can Fly”, as well as the operetta “Trapped In the Closet”, a musical 33-chapter soap opera about the complex and tangled sex lives of its characters.
Kelly is considered, “one of the best-selling, highest-earning recording artists of all time”. Former spokesman Allan Mayer claims the singer is not having financial difficulties. However, the Sun-Times reported last year that he owed the IRS almost $5 million.
The house is located in the upscale Maynegaite Woods subdivision of Olympia Fields. The bank holding the mortgage claims the singer hadn’t made payments in over a year when they began foreclosure proceedings.
Kelly originally paid $1.5 million for the property, but tore the existing home down to build the current one. He took out a $3.5 mortgage on the property back in 1999, but according to court documents he still owed $2.9 million on it as of 2011.
Kelly’s lender on the estate, JP Morgan Chase, was reported to have offered the sole bid of $950,000 on Monday.
Once a judge signs off on the auction deal, Chase can ask a judge to have the sheriff evict the current owners, and eventually put the home back on the market.
Kelly’s business manager Derrel McDavid did not return requests for a comment.
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