How can you lose a house that you didnt pay for??? I guess its easier than it seems.

'Extreme Makeover' house faces foreclosure

LAKE CITY, Ga. (AP) — 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.The house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes and ABC's "Extreme Makeover" demolished their old home and its faulty septic system. Within six days, construction crews and hoards of volunteers had completed work on the largest home that the television program had yet built. 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 County neighborhood. The home's door opened into a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office. Materials and labor were donated for the home, which would have cost about $450,000 to build. Beazer Homes' employees and company partners also raised $250,000 in contributions for the family, including scholarships for the couple's three children and a home maintenance fund. ABC said in a statement that it advises each family to consult a financial planner after they get their new home. "Ultimately, financial matters are personal, and we work to respect the privacy of the families," the network said. Some of the volunteers who helped build the home were less than thrilled about the family's financial decisions. 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 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

 

That's a shame,all that work for nothing.

 

The original idea of the home makeover I thought was a very good idea. Then somewhere along the line it took a left turn and decided to build bigger and more elaborate than the last one. No little detail was too small to overlook. New cars/trucks and scholarships for the kids were common. Now it is too late to go back to the original concept. I try watching it sometimes but usually get some PO'd that I change channels.

 

The Idea is great. Usually the familys are struglling because of a disabilty in the family or a natrual disaster. They got a new start on life and threw it down the drain. I guess its tough not having to worry about a house payment or yours kids college.

 

There should be a clause in the makeover agreement, that restricts them from 'pawning' the house off for a certain amount of time.
I heard of another one of these makeovers that went sour. I can't remember the exact details. But it was something about these bunch of kids that had lost their parents and were staying with this couple(not sure if family), in a small house. The show made over the couples house to accomodate all of the kids. Then for some reason the people threw the kids out. Then the kids were trying to sue the couple for the house. I don't know what happened after that.

 

I heard of one of those homes that the people couldn't pay the county property taxes on and it was sold by the county to pay the taxes.

 

proof that no good deed goes unpunished

 

Some people don't know what they have,til' it gone.

 

They rolled the dice and lost! If they waited a while, the "guvrment" may have bailed them out. Any volunteers to build them another one? I know the answer, just had to ask!

 

People who never learned to manage money when they are broke will invariably find themselves broke shortly after coming into money. Financial security isn't about what you make, its about what you spend. On a scale of 1-10 for my sympathy level.... well, the scale needs to go negative.

 

no, They looked everyone who helped then in the eyes and told em to go EFF themselves

 

Best laid plans of mice and men......

 

I believe in helping out people who have endured disability or disaster, or some other financial setback they had no control over, but I wonder how these people qualified for aid in the first place. They were evidently a bad risk from the get-go.

Perhaps the better question is: Is there a family anywhere in the world who NEEDS half a million dollars to start anew? In many countries a few hundred would be more than enough....add to that they would be eternally grateful & pay you back.