Do they ever do “Where Are They Now?” episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? I often wonder what happens to those people after they suddenly go from lower-middle class to gigantic, fancy home ownership. Some of them, it turns out, have the good sense to put their entire home up as collateral for a $450,000 loan and then default on it.
More than 1,800 people showed up to help ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” team demolish a family’s decrepit home and replace it with a sparkling, four-bedroom mini-mansion in 2005.
Three years later, the reality TV show’s most ambitious project at the time has become the latest victim of the foreclosure crisis.
After the Harper family used the two-story home as collateral for a $450,000 loan, it’s set to go to auction on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse Aug. 5. The couple did not return phone calls Monday, but told WSB-TV they received the loan for a construction business that failed.
“It’s aggravating. It just makes you mad. You do that much work, and they just squander it,” Lake City Mayor Willie Oswalt, who helped vault a massive beam into place in the Harper’s living room, told a local paper.
It’s so sad that you can’t build good sense with a hammer and nails.
How utterly stupid. I’d love to have a home built for me. Not only did they lose the how their credit is jacked to boot. The Mayors’ comment was dead on…
This does not surprise me, it does make me sad, but not surprised. Some of these people are uneducated, especially in finance, obviously. Maybe they should give them a check for community college too?
Reminds me of lottery jackpot winners who blow through the money in two years.
Exactly like lotto jackpot winners who buy 4 harleys and never think to pay the light bill…….the homes arent maintained and end up looking like the home they had before. They should be building activity centers in the neighborhoods or something along those lines.
I think it says a lot about the show; The premise and ideas are great, but the reality is that 1% of the population can actually afford to live in the houses that they build. Once the houses are built, you double the amount of taxes, mortages, land fee’s, not to mention electricity, heating and cooling costs.
I think its commendable that they tried to use their home as Collateral to start a business, ill-advised, yes, and the bank should have said something rather than obviously red-lining yet another family.
Failed construction business? Please tell me it was not home-building.
whatever dipshit would try to start a construction business in this economy with the over-developing housing crisis etc. deserves to lose their shit. period.
This story was on the front page of the news in Atlanta. The show paid all the bills to the house including the taxes for the next 25 years, on top of a college fund for their four kids and and Extra 100,000 and they still lost the house. The show did right by these people and they wasted it.
This story has made me disgusted, literally ill. How could someone squander such an unbelievable gift? So stupid! So callous! Instead of a big thank you and the grace to use this opportunity to make their lives better, they gave a kick in the nuts to their community and the show, and ended up worse off than before.
It’s this kind of stupidity and gross negligence that makes potential philanthropists throw up their hands and go play the ponies instead.
You know, I always alsked everyone around me who was watching it too, “How do these people (that are in debt to begin with) pay all of these renovations off?” I guess not even Ty knows.
What idiots.
Kelso – AmeLia: Fools. Read the other comments. There is nothing to “pay off”; they got the house free and clear, with other money, and taxes paid, and still effed it all up. They’re stupid; this is what stupid people do.
Joan and Lah-Dee-Dah: bingo. Only an idiot would “start a construction business” when 50 year old construction companies are going bankrupt. You can give them money, but you can’t give them a brain.
What a shame for all the people who sacrificed to do this fine work. It was wasted on idiots who wanted to live like high-rolling pimps for a year. Now they’re back in the gutter.
That was really dumb to squander “a leg up.” Why can’t the right people ever be the receivers of such good fortune?
I always believed that the show was wonderful when it helped people with physical disabilities to have a home that was readily accessible. However, I thought they went way overboard by providing the other members of the family with every high tech, high-priced item on the market. That wasn’t necessary. They could have provided more families with improved living conditions, by concentrating on truly meeting the needs of the individual in need and providing “nice, modern accommodations” for all the others.
This astounding news story is proof that, when people are given hand-outs, they don’t know how to handle their gifts, but when people work hard for something, they appreciate it and handle it properly. Can you say “entitlements?”
Although it is such a wonderful thing to do for people, why build such magnificent homes. Why not just a nice brick home with upgrades. Why do they have to build mini-mansions. Just think how many homes could be built if they didn’t spend so much money on just one home and the taxes would be a lot less too. Not complaining here because I think it is such a wonderful thing to do for someone just taper back and be able to do for others too! Would that be so crazy?
No one knows if this is totally true, and should not judge. I certainly would not have done it if it is true, but you never know nowadays what is and is not. I think it is wonderful what this show does. Little brick houses won’t bring in ratings no matter how sensible. All the families i have seen have had horrible tragedies and these homes are there new beginnings so they really deserve it. I’d like to see one person who can honestly tell me they don’t make mistakes. Sometimes people need to look in the mirror and ask themselves “Why does it REALLY bother me?” Some of you should be ashamed for your envy. Where are your hearts? Sure if true they messed things up, but what good is it to insult them.
And the mortgage industry was not in trouble a few years back so maybe they thought they could build something who knows? What is done, is done. This is why the world is becoming worse and worse. People just pick each other apart. It is very sad.
This should be read before people judge
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/09/national/main4657010.shtml