Extreme Makeover House Foreclosureby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 29 Jul 2008 06:35 AM
One such home, the largest ever built by the Extreme Makeover team is now facing foreclosure due to bad choices made by the family who received the home. Apparently, the home, which cost $450,000 to build was put up as collateral for a loan. The family failed to pay the loan back, and the house is scheduled to be auctioned off by the bank on August 5th. The home was built three years ago in Lake City, Ga, by the Extreme Makeover Home Edition team and local volunteers, such as the Lake City Mayor. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a local newspaper, that he was angry. "You do that much work and they just squander it," he said. The home has been described as a four-bedroom mini-mansion that featured an entrance lobby with four fireplaces, decorative rock walls, a three-car garage, a solarium, a music room and a plush office. ABC released a statement that said that although it advises each family to seek a financial planner, that financial matters are personal. Along with the home, the family was given $250,000 in contributions that included scholarships for the children. How do you feel about this story? Are you angry that this family "wasted" the opportunity to raise their children in a beautiful home for which so many people gave their time, energy and goods? Do you sympathize with the family who made bad choices and now may be homeless? Do you wish Extreme Makeover would come and give you a new home? I'd love to hear from you! Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. More Great Articles: Home Improvements in a Recession When Remodeling, Consider the Neighbors Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevanthome tags baby | parenting | children | family | Kids | christmas | relationships | weight loss | ideas | holidays User Comments GossipMom (5) 29 Jul 2008 07:05 AMI thought they don't have to make any payments, I always thought the house was given for free... well that ruins why I watch that show :) mrmnmom82 (3365) 29 Jul 2008 07:22 AMI imagine property taxes on the house went up, and house cost more to maintain than their previous house. But if cash was donated for the upkeep of the house, and education, they could have invested most of that money, put it into a CD, or something. Lots of people put their credit card debt and things like that on their home. Now we see why that's such a bad idea. It was their home, but I can see why all the volunteers feel like it wasn't properly taken care of. They should have gotten a financial planner, like suggested.  Mary Ann Romans (26886) 29 Jul 2008 11:55 AMThe family was given the house free and clear, and a maintenance fund was set up so they could maintain the house and pay taxes. They say that they mortgaged the house for a $450,000 loan to set up a construction business that failed. PDXPam (5) 29 Jul 2008 01:23 PMI think it's really sad that they made such a poor choice. I think the volunteers have a right to be upset. It would be different if it was something beyond their control, but they mortgaged it to the max and are losing it. Who I really feel sorry for is the kids, they lose big time in all this. Mary Ann Romans (26886) 29 Jul 2008 03:19 PMPerhaps the family thought that this business venture would be successful. Still, I think it would be tough to justify mortgaging your home for such a risky proposition. Do you think that the folks who get these homes might have made bad choices in the past that led them to their financial issues? And, would they be likely to repeat them?  Andrea Hermitt |
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ABC's Extreme Makeover 
