Fayette estate auctions canceled

By Katie Leslie

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Two notable residents whose homes were to be sold on the Fayette County Courthouse steps today have been saved by the bell.

The estates of former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield and Georgia school Superintendent Kathy Cox were to be auctioned in Fayetteville, but an attorney with Shapiro & Swertfeger LLP, which handles the sales, said they were canceled until further notice.

Holyfield’s 104-acre estate near Fairburn, which includes a 109-room mansion, went into foreclosure for the second time within the past year. Collectors are seeking payment of the original $10 million loan for the home on Evander Holyfield Highway.

The famed athlete has grossed more than $248 million in the ring, but two divorces, several failed business ventures and child-support payments believed to total $500,000 annually have taken a toll.

Attorney Philip Hasty declined to say why the auctions were canceled.

Cox said in a recent e-mail that she and her husband, homebuilder John Cox, have been working for several months to prevent the auction of their Peachtree City home, which they share with their two sons.

“My husband and I, like so many other families across America, were deeply affected by the sudden and unprecedented downturn in the housing market,” Cox said in the e-mail.

In their bankruptcy filing last November, John and Kathy Cox cited more than $3.5 million in liabilities and less than $650,000 in assets.

Most of the debt is tied to John Cox’s business, Pebble Hill Homes.

His wife, who makes about $125,000 a year, had no role in the business but was a co-signer on loans.

The Coxes’ home was their biggest listed asset, valued at $450,000.

The balance on two mortgages on the home totals $442,907.55, according to court documents.

Staff writers Christian Boone and Rhonda Cook contributed to this article.