O. J. Mayo Loses River Hills Home

Gate to O. J. Mayo’s River Hills McMansion. Photo by Michael Horne.

The Village of River Hills, with its large homes and five-acre lots, has been a popular destination for professional athletes, particularly Milwaukee Bucks players. When Giannis Antetokounmpo bought his mansion in October 2018 from former Buck Mirza Teletovic, he was the third consecutive team member to own the place, with Michael Carter-Williams being the first. (See House Confidential: Greek Freak’s $1.8 Million River Hills House.)

Another former NBA player with a River Hills connection is Latrell Sprewell, who lost his home in a 2009 bank foreclosure, as we’ve reported.

That event made him an exception among his peers, who tend to pay their bills. That is, until May 5th, when U. S. Bank won a $1,137,302.42 default judgment on the unpaid balance of the $1.26 million loan that Ovinton J’Anthony Mayo, better known as O. J. Mayo, had taken out in 2013 when he purchased a 9,000-square foot home for $1.8 million. Mayo has until October to redeem the property from his creditor. As we shall see, this appears unlikely.

According to the bank, Mayo stopped making payments on the residence in April, 2018.

Unpaid Judgment an Early Sign of Woes

House Confidential paid a visit to the Mayo residence in October, 2014 (See:  O. J. Mayo‘s River Hills McMansion). At the time, we noted an early sign of financial troubles:

Mayo makes a reported $8,000,000 annual salary, yet this lofty sum is subject to garnishment according to court records, due to a contractor’s lien of $2,043. The default judgment was issued in June in favor of plaintiff DLL Tile and Stone. The Bucks will have to take the sum out of Mayo’s paycheck — not that he would notice it.

The sum owed to DLL Tile & Stone remains uncollected, as does a $19,000 judgment owed to a charter airline for an unpaid private jet trip between Houston and Los Angeles in July, 2014. It has been estimated that the 31-year old Mayo earned some $45 million during his 8-year NBA career. It is pretty certain those days are over.

When the bank tried to serve Mayo with its foreclosure summons, it was told he was playing in China. He recently signed with Hunan Jinjian Miye, in a second-tier league in that Asian nation, located well out of reach of Milwaukee County process servers. Mayo did not provide a defense to the foreclosure actions in court. He made no appearance, nor was he represented by counsel.

Drug Issues Loom

Mayo left the Bucks in 2016. At season’s end in July, 2016, he was suspended and dismissed from the NBA for a period of two years for violating the league’s drug policy. He was one of two players in the league suspended for marijuana use. However he was the first player to also be “dismissed” in nearly a decade. This is a more serious penalty that is mandatory in cases involving amphetamines, cocaine, LSD, PCP, heroin, codeine and morphine, and most likely not simply marijuana use. In 2011 Mayo missed 10 games after a suspension for testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone, an over-the-counter steroid. The private jet operator also accused Mayo of using “illegal narcotics” in the cabin during the unpaid jet trip. Yet there was more to come during his suspension period.

A 2018 Milwaukee County Marijuana Bust While Suspended

Mayo would have been allowed to apply for reinstatement to the league after serving his two-year suspension, but he certainly tarnished his chances for a return when he was cited by the Milwaukee County Sheriff‘s Department on February 23rd, 2018, charged with a violating a county ordinance prohibiting the possession of 26 grams or less of marijuana.

The charge, to which Mayo was found guilty due to a no contest plea, carried a forfeiture of $484. This is one judgment he paid.

It has been estimated that Mayo’s overall troubles may have cost nearly a hundred thousand times that amount in future earnings and endorsements. Today he can’t pay the tile setter, the private jet owner or the mortgage.

No Change in Home’s Value

On the plus side of the balance sheet, U.S. Bank Trust Co. did receive a down payment on the property of over a half million dollars, and Mayo’s remittances knocked down his balance to just over $1.1 million.

On the other side of the ledger, it was the bank, and not Mayo, who made the $45,386.20 property tax payment to the Village of River Hills on April 15th of this year. The sum includes interest of $1,302 and $651.48 in penalties.

Since Mayo purchased it the property’s assessment remains unchanged. The five-acre lot is valued at $430,000, while the improvements are valued at $1,370,000, for a total assessed valuation of $1,800,000.

The bank will not receive full title to the property until October, which is not a lively time for real estate activity in Milwaukee, especially for high-end properties in the Village of River Hills, where the market is flat for newish McMansions. Such homes tend to languish for a half-year or so until sold, adding to the bank’s woes.

The Rundown

• Location: Village of River Hills
• Neighborhood: St. Christopher’s Episcopal Country Club
• Subdivision: None
• Year Built: 1995
• Style: All sorts of styles. Real estate agents discern a “Prairie School” influence, which is stretching it. The Village of River Hills calls it “Contemporary,” and we’ll leave it at that
• Size: Over 9,000 square feet
• Fireplaces: Two fireplace openings in roof
• Taxes: $45,386.20 Paid in Full by the bank. 2014 tax bill: $51,040.77
• Assessment: Land $430,000  [$1.97 / s.f.], Improvements $1,370,000; Total: $1,800,000. Unchanged from 2014
• Walk Score: You had to ask. Zero out of 100. It would take you 20 minutes just to walk down the end of the road to drown yourself in the river.
• Transit Score: Nothing.
• Street Smart Walk Score: Nil.

How Milwaukee Is It? The residence is about 10 miles from Milwaukee City Hall

The Mayo File:

• 2018 Marijuana Arrest
• O. J. Mayo Judgment of Foreclosure, May 5th, 2019.
• O. J. unpaid garnishment.
• 2014 House Confidential: O. J. Mayo’s River Hills McMansion.

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