Extreme Makeover Foreclosures

A gift should be suitable for the recipient. This “gift” was more about how great ABC/Disney/Beazer Homes are than about what the Harper’s “needed”. They needed a new roof and septic system, not

The finished product was a four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage that towered over ranch and split-level homes in their Clayton County neighborhood. The home’s door opened into a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office.

You can build a healthy house for less than $400K.
Also, the kitchen is amazingly ugly for the amount of money that went in. I hope that’s the before picture.

This is really sad to hear, however the first foreclosure is really a product of the homeowner trying to capitalize on the additional equity and failing. It has nothing to do with the show which is, for most, a truly remarkable gift.

I feel for Byers family considering they lost Janessa in addition to the home situation. I’m not sure how much the makeover increased the Byers’ taxes however their mortgage was no different than before the makeover. I’ve always maintained that property tax is one of the worst taxes this nation ever devised because it is not based on a property owner’s ability to pay. There are many people whose financial situations change during the course of their lifetime and those people should not be penalized as such based on property. Tax their earnings. Tax their spending. Don’t tax that which is already theirs. In the current system, we’re all renters. We rent out property from the government and, if we can’t pay, the government evicts us.

Irregardless though, I don’t blame this foreclosure on the show. Sure, the network’s ultimate goal is to make money from the show, but it’s almost always a win-win situation. I do think a stipulation of the contract should prevent the homeowner from tapping into the home’s equity for a specified amount of time.

Vic Parise Comments the headline.
Sounds like a great TV show for those in need of help or a bail out or maybe some krafty ideas to help them survive and move on.

The fact that they lost their home in part due to property taxes shows 2 things.
1. the PVA (property valuation auditor) regularly raised tax rated due to property values… and their home value skyrocketed.
2. You cannot own property in the U.S. If you have to make payments (even tax) and if you don’t then the property can be taken, YOU DON’T REALLY OWN IT!!!

I think people should receive financial counselling in addition to getting a home. Most of these people may have some poor money management skills and this can cause them to make some serious mistakes. Thats the bottomline. In some cases; this may just be too much house for most people. I think the show is a great idea and helps lots of people.

I thought I would correct you on your information. It was our 8 year old extraordinary precious daughter who NEVER lost her fight to cancer, but had the ultimate victory when Jesus carried her home to heaven where she’s able to finish her work on earth without all the pain and suffering.
Our home is NOT in foreclosure. God is taking such good care of our family. Our mortgage was never paid off, but we are very proud to say that we are not in any danger of losing our beautiful home that the Lord blessed us with because he is taking care of our family.
Please respect our family and do not spread stories that are not true.Please pray for all the families affected by this terrible disease and spread the word on Boey’s amazing foundation and continuing her beautiful legacy here on earth.
Please visit http://www.believeforboey.org and never stop believing and fighting for a cure for our children.
In Christ’s Love
The Byers

Rachel – I apologize for the incorrect information in the post. I have corrected it. Also, I am very glad to hear that your home did not go into foreclosure. Thank you for letting us know. Take care.

In my opinion, whenever Extreme Home Makeover rebuilds a home the should pay off the families mortgage because the new house is definitely going to increase their property tax. If they couldn’t afford to fix their house, then an increase in property tax may push them to the edge of sanity and homelessness.

I have often wondered what happened to these families that have a $300K+ home that could not afford electricity bills, taxes, upkeep on an older home. I am supposing that their old mortgage is not forgiven, but that their new home is paid for. So, now they have to pay for a house no longer there, but taxes, gas/elec/water etc on the new home. I don’t think they should build them such extravagant homes, but modest new homes, how about in the $150K range and not in the $300+ range. When things look to good to be true, they usually are.

I am sorry for the Byers family. I always wondered how well people can manage after a home makeover. However, the Harpers are just plain Stupid with a capital S!!!

Regarding the program, one must remember that these programs are produced by one of the original three major networks -VERY profit-oriented organizations – not without some altruistic aims from the program’s cast – but overall, profit-movitated nonetheless. A popular reality program, despite spending large sums in “absolute dollars,” can still earn profits at a much higher percentage than many sitcoms or dramas, where several actors earn high-six- or even seven-figure salaries per episode, plus many perks, residuals, etc. Plus, in addition to free stuff, likely other receipts from Sears and others whose products and services are used. It is fair to say that the recipient families must bear their own responsibility to maintain their own financial affairs after the show is over and the cast has departed. And the stark contrast between the beautiful facilities presented to the families, compared with the meager (often virtually horrible) conditions under which they were previously living, provides the “hook” and “drama” of the show. My one caveat would be that they could still accomplish this aim without, say, furnishing a boy’s room with a dozen surfboards or guitars to meet his expressed area of interest. Two or three would be sufficient, and I think this type of excess, seen often on the program, can possibly hurt the recipient family’s focus a bit in maintaining a better semblance of reality amidst the new grandeur presented them. It might also be a good idea if ABC would employ a financial professional to spend some time with the family, organizing a budgetary spread sheet with them, to view their future tax/utility/household expense situation with their more opulent digs, versus their former home. Even where all mortgages and medical bills are paid, and/or the next year’s utilities, these families do face future expenses and budgetary issues. The network could provide some close liaison and guidance from a true professional at relatively moderate added cost, and perhaps little or nothing with a recognition verbally or within the show’s credits.

These people were just better off with the just the basic home. We see how bad they have it the give them 500K homes. And they are still TRAILER TRASH. I have seen people with nothing. Pick themselves up and get the home and lives back. This show just makes me sick!!

I understand the purpose of the show, however, I feel that while most of the people are going through difficult times, there are people out there who better manage their finances to begin with so they aren’t in the situation that many of the families on the show are in. Many people buy what they are given a pre-approval from the bank for and then situations arise that cause them to lose their homes as well. The difference is that there are people out there that thought about the responsibilities of owning a home versus renting a home and decided to rent instead. This program gives the wrong impression that although some of the homeowners purchased a home that was barely standing, that they should just purchase something without the means to fix it and then go onto the website and apply for the show! I’ve gone through several similar situations, however, I sold my home because it was the right financial thing to do as I couldn’t afford to be a home owner. These are things that people should think about before making some of the choices they make; there are always unforseen circumstances and should be thought of. Also, sending an entire family to disney for a week is a bit much in addition to all the new items in the home! I haven’t had a vacation in about 10years, yet because I made a better decision financially and sold my home, there is no qualifying for Extreme Home Makeover for those individuals!

I love the show and it is an amazing gesture of the gift of a new home. However, I do agree that a gift needs to fit the receiver. If they are going to up the property value, therefore the taxes (in some states/counties) and utilities they should provide the family with some counseling as to what to expect in new bills and how to manage it. THAT would be a lasting gift.

The fact of the matter is that they are not building these homes for people with a perfect income and a financially stable job. Thats the point, they are supposed to be aiding someone in need. Once the family has this new huge home it is difficult to keep up with the money needed to maintain it.

in alot of these shows, they don’t just build them a new home, they pay off their mortgage, they give them new cars, etc, etc. Now, I can understand that maintenance on a 400k home may be alot, but if the house is paid off for you, then you have no mortgage payment. You have insurance, property taxes and maintenance. Even if you are in financial trouble, you should be able to handle that. In some of these cases the family’s used the houses equity for other things that failed. That’s hardly ABC’s fault. I think this show is a great thing.

It looks like to me it’s not the shows fault exactly for the current financial hard ships they’re facing with these houses. It seems like the families are cashing in on this “gift,” and using their new found equity as callateral to do things like open a business or simply take out a second mortgage. Instead of taking out a second mortgage on a house that you can’t afford to pay the utiliy bills on, go ahead and sell it and by yourself that 1800 square foot house you can afford and invest the rest. If you can’t afford it then don’t ask for it.

I wondering if the family cab request a smaller simple house?

Reply added toward the bottom from Rachel Byers from September 29, 2008 – I thought I would correct you on your information. It was our 8 year old extraordinary precious daughter who NEVER lost her fight to cancer, but had the ultimate victory when Jesus carried her home to heaven where she’s able to finish her work on earth without all the pain and suffering.
Our home is NOT in foreclosure. God is taking such good care of our family. Our mortgage was never paid off, but we are very proud to say that we are not in any danger of losing our beautiful home that the Lord blessed us with because he is taking care of our family.
Please respect our family and do not spread stories that are not true.Please pray for all the families affected by this terrible disease and spread the word on Boey’s amazing foundation and continuing her beautiful legacy here on earth.
Please visit http://www.believeforboey.org and never stop believing and fighting for a cure for our children.
In Christ’s Love
The Byers

This is crazy, first off you are given a home paid off and then on top of that you are given money to help you along. I call this terrible money mangement. The episodes with the disabled, is more toward the familys they should help not the ones who decided to have 6 or 7 kids and can’t keep a job. This is just a slap in the face to the people who helped. Some of these familys are undeserving!!!! KUDOS to the build teams and sponsors, but if you are unwilling to help yourself then you should be denied help from others!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Used to watch the show in the beginning, but it just got so far over the top. I would think if you were to go back and ask every single person who has been given this “gift” about their experience with this ALL of them would tell you that there has been financial hardship.
My thing is this, we all live where we live and what we live in by what we can afford. We also live or have lived paycheck to paycheck and have debt. If you live in a 1200 square foot home and have a mortgage of 650.00 a month that is because that is what you can afford. With that comes a 20.00 water bill, 78.00 Electric Bill, 700.00 in property taxes, 450.00 for home owners Insurance, a 100.00 cable bill with maybe 1 or 2 boxes, no alarm system, no sprinkler system and no over the top gadgets. Now you get a 3500 square foot home and you get to still pay your 650.00 mortgage if nobody paid it off for you..so you still have that, your water bill just went to 65-85 or more a month. Your Electric with all the high ceilings, windows and space just went to over 600 a month when running heat or AC, your Insurance is now 1,400 a year, taxes are 3,200 a year, cable is 150.00 or more for all the boxes in all the rooms + the Internet as everyone got Laptops. You have 2 water heaters now that you have large garden tubs, those are heating all day and night. You have an alarm system now for sure at 50.00 a month, your grocery bill went up as you have more bathrooms that require stocking with soap, toilet paper, cleaners etc. If they added a pool and hot tub there is now chemicals to buy. With all the landscaping they had to put sprinkler systems in. Fireplace’s cost money if you have to buy wood and they do nothing for heat. So these people in their little 1200 square foot home that they could afford is now so far in debt, the only way out is to get a better paying job and if they could of done that, they would of done that before. They are what 35,000 a year people living in 400,000 + homes? If your house doubles, count on everything else doubling, if it triples count on that. So all of them are going to triple debt on the same paycheck they were already maxed out on. We retired and up sized from 1800 to 3200 all of our utilities doubled, our taxes and insurance did not, but that was only because we moved to Georgia from the Florida Coast where we were getting robbed on taxes and insurance. Allot of them are even given new vehicles, which requires more expenses. The show is dealing with people in need, if they could afford to live and maintain a mcmansion they wouldn’t be in need. They all have this idea of being given a home with no mortgage and how they would have 650 extra a month, never thinking on it’s going to cost more then that 650.00 just to keep it running every month. It’s just crazy, your taking people who are already desperate and putting them in situations where they have no other way out but to sell or walk. When we lived in Florida Jamie Dolan in Largo got one in 2005, I just did a search on him and he almost lost his, which at the end of the day he’s still well on his way. I’m sure if we searched everyone of them we’d find hardship with all of them.