The current foreclosure crisis focuses largely on the subprime market, those downtrodden middle- and lower-class consumers who were suckered into the American Dream and sold homes clearly beyond their means.  But what of the affluent, those folks living in huge McMansions and riding around in expensive cars?

A recent article focuses on this problem and reveals some (not so shocking) facts - the rich are headed into the same sinkhole as the rest of the nation.

According to Loan Performance, a unit of First American CoreLogic, a real estate information company based in Santa Ana, Calif., about 870,000 borrowers took jumbo ARMs — mortgages of $417,000 or more — from 2005 to 2007. In the fourth quarter of 2007, 8.10 percent were two or more payments late, it found, while 2.62 percent were in the foreclosure process and 1.35 percent had been foreclosed. All the numbers were up from the third quarter.

Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, predicted that eventually 8 percent of these jumbo ARMs will be foreclosed. In the first quarter of 2008, “the delinquency and foreclosure rate will clearly be higher,” he said.

This shouldn’t come as any surprise to even the casual reader.  The wealthy are just as prone to a “keeping up with the Jonses” mentality, striving to outdo one another in the driveway and in social settings - who has the nicest car, the biggest house, the pool table in the finished basement, the home theater system . . . the list goes on and on.

These trappings of “success” come with a hefty price tag, one that cannot be easily be borne by most people regardless of their income level.

The only difference between the wealthy and the rest of the world is that when faced with foreclosure, those with money often find an experience lawyer to help them.  They are well-versed in the defenses available to them in a foreclosure proceeding, and can use this information to their advantage.

As the information playing field is leveled, however, more and more American consumers are standing up for their rights and keeping the pressure on the mortgage servicers.  And at the end of the day, the person in jeans will stand next to the one in the Armani suit.  Armed with the knowledge of their rights, they will both prevail against abusive mortgage servicers.