Extreme Makeover House in Foreclosure

[Susie Q Roo]

I'm not quite sure what to think about THIS,

LAKE CITY, Ga. - 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.

...but I think I agree with this guy:

"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.

Can a small business really (legitimately) fail to the extent of $450,000 in less than 3 years?

[farmgirl]

I think it could. Lots can go wrong with small business, believe me!!
I feel for the family, they probably thought that they had come up with a way to help themselves and it didn't work out. I would like to hear their side of the story before passing judgement. Too bad they won't come forward.

[TAPPY]

I have always been told by my banker friends - never ever put up a home as collateral for a business.

[TJordan]

This just disgusts me.

[sctx]

Originally Posted by Susie Q Roo

...but I think I agree with this guy:Can a small business really (legitimately) fail to the extent of $450,000 in less than 3 years?

with no clue about budgeting cost of sales/operating expenses/projected revenues and no business management skills, you could blow thru $450k in 6 months easy

[Seadawg]

I hope that the makeover team will take a hard look at what went wrong on their selection. Maybe some good can come from this. The family is really going to be in for a hard time getting assistance from now on.....

[Debbielasvegas]

I wonder if they can do a makeover project and make a stipulation of not being able to mortgage it.

that would have been a good idea.

$450,000 is LOTS of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

(I dont think LakeCity Georgia has a high cost of living, either)

[Doggiemom]

I personally think it sucks! these people were given a wonderful opportunity with a brand new home, lots of people put in lots of hard work for them, for free!!!!! Watching the show and seeing the people's stories always makes me cry.........

[clfsean]

Originally Posted by Debbielasvegas

(I dont think LakeCity Georgia has a high cost of living, either)

It's in Metro Atlanta, just south of 285 & the airport. It suffers like the rest of us with the cost of living...

[clfsean]

When the story first broke here in town, I was aghast.

The house was free & clear.

Theirs to keep & they do something this stoooooooooooopid.

A construction company in this economy.

I'm sorry, but it serves them right. I'm no financial genius, but even I know better than to do something like that.

[Eileencc]

Sounds like that family needs some serious financial advice. It's so sad to see so much hard work and all those generous donations go right up in smoke.

[OregonNative]

Originally Posted by farmgirl

I think it could. Lots can go wrong with small business, believe me!!
I feel for the family, they probably thought that they had come up with a way to help themselves and it didn't work out. I would like to hear their side of the story before passing judgement. Too bad they won't come forward.

I was thinking the same thing. So many people try to start a new business only to find out how much it really takes to keep it going. Most new businesses fail within the first year. I would want to hear their side of the story.

[Mamacita]

Personally I think the show is irresponsible too. I love the idea of helping people out by building them a new home, and some of the stories of these families are heartbreaking, but do they need a mansion? I always wonder how they will pay their taxes on these places, and their heating and cooling bills. Not to mention how the homes never "fit in" in the neighborhoods where they are built.

We don't know this family's side of the story, but I feel bad for them. They obviously had bad circumstances to get chosen for the show in the first place, and probably figured their luck was turning around. They mortgaged it to start a business, not buy toys. It sounds to me like they were trying to make their life better, not worse, and it didn't work out. We all make bad decisions sometimes. Also, the economy wasn't this bad in 05-06, and some markets are still doing okay. We just don't know all the details of what went in to that decision making process. I feel bad for them.

[Gulliver]

Originally Posted by Mamacita

Personally I think the show is irresponsible too. I love the idea of helping people out by building them a new home, and some of the stories of these families are heartbreaking, but do they need a mansion? I always wonder how they will pay their taxes on these places, and their heating and cooling bills. Not to mention how the homes never "fit in" in the neighborhoods where they are built.

We don't know this family's side of the story, but I feel bad for them. They obviously had bad circumstances to get chosen for the show in the first place, and probably figured their luck was turning around. They mortgaged it to start a business, not buy toys. It sounds to me like they were trying to make their life better, not worse, and it didn't work out. We all make bad decisions sometimes. Also, the economy wasn't this bad in 05-06, and some markets are still doing okay. We just don't know all the details of what went in to that decision making process. I feel bad for them.

I have to agree. I quit watching it a couple of years ago. It just got to be too over the top.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by Mamacita

Personally I think the show is irresponsible too. I love the idea of helping people out by building them a new home, and some of the stories of these families are heartbreaking, but do they need a mansion? I always wonder how they will pay their taxes on these places, and their heating and cooling bills. Not to mention how the homes never "fit in" in the neighborhoods where they are built.

We don't know this family's side of the story, but I feel bad for them. They obviously had bad circumstances to get chosen for the show in the first place, and probably figured their luck was turning around. They mortgaged it to start a business, not buy toys. It sounds to me like they were trying to make their life better, not worse, and it didn't work out. We all make bad decisions sometimes. Also, the economy wasn't this bad in 05-06, and some markets are still doing okay. We just don't know all the details of what went in to that decision making process. I feel bad for them.

I agree too.....but often people are in bad shape financially or in huge debt because of absolutely no financial common sense and bad decisions. Maybe not always but I bet usually they are. Giving people these homes without also giving them tools and educating them on how to manage their finances is just dooming them to failure, to make the same old bad decisions.

In their defense, many times the families chosen for that show are in bad shape because of legit reasons. Or at least it appears they are.