Extreme Makeover: Foreclosure Edition

Posted Wednesday, July 30, 2008, at 6:09 AM

America has fallen in love with the TV show named "Extreme Makeover," which is an ABC production where a family struggling to make ends meet receives a new home, complete with fabulous furnishings. The building materials, labor, appliances, and even a vacation for the family to be out of town during the construction is all donated by show sponsors, contractors, and the local community. The episodes tend to be a tear-jerking journey of the family's past woes and a celebration of their new start, surrounded by the outpouring of giving in their community to them.

Call me negative, but I've always asked myself what happens to the family when they get their new property tax bill. After all, they've taken a typically very distressed property, torn it down, and built a mini-mansion in it's place. It may be looking a gift horse in the mouth, but it's a very real issue nonetheless.

Well, a recent news article forwarded to me took my thought process a bit further: what happens when this family goes out and mortgages their new mini-mansion and can't pay the monthly bill?

Think it doesn't happen? It happens:

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/16980412/detai...

As feel-good as the TV show may be, there's still a story to tell after the production lights have dimmed… and it's not always pretty.

Perhaps, the show is the equivalent of giving a person an aspirin for a headache when the real problem is a brain tumor. In other words, the new home may be a solution to the symptoms, not the true underlying issues.

Instead, maybe the family really needs health insurance, assistance with food or daycare, or additional training or education to land that better-paying job. Each situation would be different, that's for sure, but these may be some of the true underlying issues -- not the need for a mini-mansion -- however great a gift that may be.

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I disagree with your analysis. Perhaps the famlily in the above article should not have taken out $450,000 in cash. The show paid off their mortgage AND gave them a new free house AND gave them scholarship money AND gave them maintenance money. If all they had to pay is their taxes they would be fine...it's the fact that they took out all the equity they were DONATED by their neighbors and community members that put them in foreclosure. Why not blame those really at fault..the homeowners got greedy.

-- Posted by sarah8150 on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 7:11 AM

I've heard quite a bit that these "makeover" shows and the "surprise I fixded you a room" shows usually have very poor workmanship, and the details aren't usually done. This is masked in post-production by the producing company though.

Heck, if everyone could build a new kitchen/bath/basement for under a grand, we'd all be doing it!

-- Posted by per moenia urbis on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 7:12 AM

sarah8150, that was exactly Chris's point when he said, "the new home may be a solution to the symptoms, not the true underlying issues."

In so many words, he's saying "Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll be able to eat for a lifetime."

-- Posted by The Raven on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 7:23 AM

junkmail:

kill them...that simple

-- Posted by per moenia urbis on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 10:22 AM

At some point, I read somewhere that so long as you leave the foundation and the support walls that if you make improvements you are not taxed as a "new home" because you are not building from the ground up -- you will only be taxed on the "improvements" under a new assessment.

Does anyone know whether that's true? Is it true in Greene County?

-- Posted by Greenee on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 11:29 AM

I don't care for this show (or the show that emphasizes the clothing makeovers) as I think it stresses and encourages MATERIALISM. It seems to suggest that if you just can get that beautiful new home (or clothing), it will solve everything. But it doesn't solve anything, but instead, creates a scenario that could create even more problems.

Does anyone know how habitat for humanity works? I am curious if this is a better approach, or if the residents are faced with some of the same challenges.

-- Posted by SE3 on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 1:58 PM

SE3, it's predominately a gift program. See Habitat's website: http://www.habitat.org/how/factsheet.asp...

Compared to Extreme Makeover, the homes tend to be fairly small and much more practical with Habitat though.

-- Posted by The Raven on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 2:11 PM

junkmail - while per moenia urbis' method may be extremely effective, there my be less violent ways.

A negative pledge would have worked nicely, making the owners unable to pledge the equity in the property for such a mortgage, as they did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_pl...

-- Posted by The Raven on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 2:25 PM

My name is Logynn and I am a Feng Shui expert in Houston, Texas. I would love to see the floorplan of this house because I am currently researching the connection between the recent foreclosure epidemic and Feng Shui for my new book. My research has shown that there is a design connection, and it can be prevented. If anyone out there has access to the floorplans for this extreme makeover, please forward them to me at logynn@fengshuidesignconcepts.com. The fact that the mortgage company "worked out a solution" probably has more to do with the extreme negative publicity than with the design of the home!

-- Posted by FungSchwayGirl on Fri, Aug 1, 2008, at 11:08 AM

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Chris Wathen

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