Steven Williams, the man who plays Boogie2988 on YouTube, admitted on Reddit that he doesn’t own his house. His credit rating is so bad, he couldn’t get a mortgage in his name. The mortgage is in his ex-wife’s name, Desiree Williams.

From Reddit:

Hey guys. Since I got tagged in this thread I saw it so thought I’d help you guys out. Why is my credit at zero? I got very sick as a young adult. I almost died. Lymphedema in my legs went septic. I was in the hospital for almost a month and ran up a few hundred thousand dollars worth of medical bills. In order to get my credit BACK to zero, I paid off all of that debt with the first few years of youtube income.

I am now working on the credit by borrowing money, putting it into an account, and letting it draw off itself. Overall the small loan will cost me about 16 dollars to build credit.

The house is in my wife’s name because, at the time, I wasn’t able to purchase it for myself. However, the wife and I during mediation came to the arrangement that:

• I can live in the house for 6 months to a year (my choice)
• i live here rent free
• she maintains the mortgage from her share of the assets until i’m ready to move or take it over
• when we sell, we split any equity. if I take over the house the equity can optionally stay mine if I give her a small payment for it.

This is why I keep saying she rocks. She volunteered to do all of that. She wanted me to feel safe. The only reason she didn’t simply transfer the mortgage over to me was the bank wouldn’t allow it because of my credit.

I could potentially finish off this mortgage in one lump payment but I’d have to sell stocks to do it and I have no interest in selling those stocks. So I’m looking for a new home with a pool or hot tub instead.

I might decide to keep this place and take the price to refinance using a mortgage broker but since rates have gone up it seems like it might be better to get a place with more amenities for the same price that was built more recently. Time will tell though.

thanks for the questions!

There’s a lot to digest in what Boogie wrote on Reddit. Considering how difficult it is for him to tell the truth, it’s hard to know what’s fact and what’s fiction. For example, if Boogie owed $200,000 in medical bills and had no way of paying it, why didn’t he declare personal bankruptcy? That’s what personal bankruptcy is for.

Then there’s the part about him owning stocks. If he owned stocks he could “potentially” sell and pay his wife, why wouldn’t he do that?

His ex-wife is his landlord. Who in their right mind would choose to live that way if they didn’t have to?

Just because his ex-wife “rocks” this minute doesn’t mean she always will. Wait till she meets someone new and that new guy learns that her 400-pound ex-husband lives in her house rent-free. That can only become a massive obstacle in her new relationship.

If I were Steven, my number one goal would be to get my hands on enough money to pay off my ex-wife so that the home I live in would belong to me and me alone. I would sell whatever I could to get enough money to make this happen. I’d sell all my toys. I’d sell all my Pokémon and Magic The Gathering cards. I’d sell everything.

Once I owned my home outright, then I could think about selling it and buying something else with a pool or a hot tub. If his credit rating is as bad as a says, he’s going to have trouble even renting something halfway decent, let alone buying something.