Extreme Makeover Home Edition...

Each episode features a family that has faced some sort of recent or ongoing hardship – such as a natural disaster or a family member with a life-threatening illness. The show's producers coordinate with a local construction contractor, which then coordinates with various companies in the building trades for a makeover of the family's home. That includes interior, exterior and landscaping, which is performed in seven days while the family is on vacation (paid for by the show's producers), which is documented in the episode. If the house is beyond repair, they replace it entirely. The show's producers and crew film set and perform the makeover but do not pay for it. The materials and labor are donated. Many skilled and unskilled volunteers assist in the rapid construction of the house.

Source : Wiki

Extreme Makeover Home Edition, what were you thinking?

Well, they were thinking that they could help people while helping themselves.
A hit television show, where people who need a home, get help and ABC looks good while doing it.

Truth is, it’s far from that.

These homes that they’re building are darn near palaces, compared to what the families were living in. It’s too much. These families are getting brand new homes from the foundation up to the roof, plus furniture and fixtures, landscaping, toys and sometimes, even new cars.

What did ABC think would happen when the families moved into these new homes?
All would be well, right? In some cases, it’s far from that.

Check out the video below :

Extreme Makoever Houses In Foreclosure

People can't afford the bills that are coming due with these new homes. In one case utility bills went from $300 to $1800 a month.

Others have taken out 2nd and 3rd mortgages on these homes. Now they can't make the payments on these loans.

I know this was started with good intentions, but my goodness, when is enough, enough?

Who really is to blame?

You can't blame the people for wanting a new home. A good portion of these people really NEEDED a new home.

Should we blame ABC / the show for building these luxury homes?

Do we blame the people for not really thinking this through and then taking out the 2nd and 3rd mortgages?

Should the show be cancelled and the homes stop being built?

Whats your thoughts on this?

It's entertaining to watch, and it does pull at the heart a bit. I can't imagine the taxes that some of those places pile up.

I assume...no facts...that some of those places have served the intended purpose, and thus a good deed was done. yet I have seen some perfectly repairable homes demolished for what I would call the thrill of seeing it drop...and thus the viewers get the thrill.

Good topic for a thread! I'm going to learn from this one, and that's what I come here to do!

reply to post by rotorwing


I love the show, it does pull at the heart. The one episode about the marine who lost a leg in Iraq, couldn't get through is old home in a wheel chair, had 3 beautiful little girls. I cried like a baby, especially when the marine who saved his life and some other marines showed up to put up a flag pole in the yard and was there for the unveiling of the home, full dress blues, saluting.... I cried like a baby.

Absolutely, some of the homes should have been repaired, not demolished and rebuilt.

I would have to imagine that if some or most of the homes would have been repaired, the costs would have been much lower, thus allowing for more families to be helped.

I esaw the Marine one...and concur with you it was about as good as it gets.

I also really liked the the lobster fisherman episode. When he saw that boat...so he could make a living. Wow.

Sounds like an opportunity for them to partner with another, or several other, business' or agencies in providing after build and continued care.
Perhaps a banking or money management firm can also "shine" in the spotlight of marketable "white knight" rescue.
Seems budget isnt a restriction until you reach post build occupancy and the cameras are packed away.

The Amish dont have this problem since they still rely on community.

Good Post
S&F

My cynical view on the whole thing for most of the families is they don't take care of what they already own, that's not going to change when they move into a new palace. I know there are some exceptions but for the most part... well read the original post.

I agree they should tone down the mansions and build a normal nice house. But then the show wouldn't be as interesting. They could just take some cameras and follow around Habitat for Humanity.

Thanks for posting this op. i have heard about this happening. Of course its all good intentions, but i believe they should also do something financially for these people. Heck, they should just renovate the house, a nice paint job, some new appliances and whatever else they were going to build put the money in an account for these people. I think the main issue the people have is about money, so lets not add on to their problems! Give the kids a trust fund. Write a 5 year check for their mortgage!

Originally posted by ziggyproductions05
Thanks for posting this op. i have heard about this happening. Of course its all good intentions, but i believe they should also do something financially for these people. Heck, they should just renovate the house, a nice paint job, some new appliances and whatever else they were going to build put the money in an account for these people. I think the main issue the people have is about money, so lets not add on to their problems! Give the kids a trust fund. Write a 5 year check for their mortgage!

They do in some cases.

They've paid medical bills, paid off the first mortgages on the homes that were replaced.

I've seen college scholarships given to the kids.

All kinds of stuff.

It's probably these families who are paying the bills and able to keep the homes ?

There's really no solution. The only solution is EMHE giving the families more money. In all seriousness, they give these families ridiculously enormous homes... probably twice the size the family really needs.

So, either they give the families money to pay their bills (which won't happen) or they build smaller, more efficient homes (which doesn't make for good TV).

The blame game dose not work.

Blame nobody, accept that it happened due to infinite things all coming together to allow this to happen.

Sadly, people love to blame in order to think they have progressed, when really they are doing the opposite.

Good post. This is something I hadn't thought of before--how are these already struggling families going to pay the increased utilities and taxes? Good find and something to think about in regards to the real motives of the show.

Admire charity, Despise this!


Forty odd minutes of a commercial for consumerism subtly preaching some prosperity gospel while tugging my heartstrings just isn't entertaining.


Don't want to see anyone suffer, but I've known many happy people that lived in shacks. Coal heated, catalog insulated, kerosene lit, bathroom fifty yards out back shacks. Still happy.

Teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime. Give a man a really big fish, he'll go into foreclosure.

The Home Owners are NOT being responsible adults, that's it.

You get a gift then you trash it! what the hell! I've read some of these stories. All the Home Owners Fault. The got gready.

They thought because they now had equaty in the property that it meant they could take it out.

Fox.

[edit on 4/7/2010 by FoxStriker]

I used to watch this show all the time. I agree, some of the stories can be downright tear jerkers, but I always had the thought in the back of mind .. "How's the family going to afford these gigantic houses?"

I watched one episode where they installed an elevator in the home for a wheel chair bound child. Can you imagine how much the elevator alone is going to drive up the electricity bill? The add on to that the numerous televisions, computers, indoor/outdoor lighting and all of those appliances.

The taxes are going to skyrocket due to the new house appraisal.

I don't think that all of the families that have taken out mortgages or home equity loans did so out of greed, I think it was more out of neccessity to cover the exploding cost of living that they experience once the bills start rolling in.

I think what they're doing is a wonderful idea, but I think they should have taken things in to consideration and build a house more on the families needs and abilitiy rather than just seeing just how damn big they can go.

It depends on proportion and percentages really.

How many out of the revamped homes, as a percentage have gone into forclosure?

Is that percentage the same as those who if their home was not done up, would have foreclosed anyhow?

How many would have taken out a further mortgage if they could on their current property if any equity in it?

Is one or two bad stories being used to vilify an generous and good thing?

Without looking at the big picture, and percentages compared to someone who had nothing done anyway, it is impossible to know.

Kind Regards,

Elf

Me and my family have what we call "Family Entertainment Night", where we either play board games, watch a film or some constructive television.

We do like watching EHMO as it promotes community values and those families do really need help.

It's a way of encouraging my kids to get out there and assist any way they can.

That being said however, I always wondered how these people were going to afford these huge houses without any sort of outside or continual support from the producers.

I have seen many episdodes where they pay the mortgages off or provide money for utilites, but this isn't always the case. It's really sad to see these people, who thought they were going to be ok after EHMO comes to they're door, put in a worse position than they started out in.

~Keeper

I wonder if any of the people received any kind of tax breaks from the cities they live in?

reply to post by elevatedone


I was wondering if they received tax cuts as well. but i highly doubt it. Im sure if anything they just went after them more. I just wish Extreme home makeover gave these people information on what to do to help them.

My opinion is they should pay the excessive taxes and energy costs if they want to build people undisclosed square footage homes without their approval. Unless they allow the people to sell the home, which I bet is prohibited, then the show should pay for it.

I think the basic principle of the show is great but they do have a tendency to go way over the top. We watch it pretty often and I agree with several posters regarding new taxes and costs. I've thought about things like that almost from the show's inception. The one this past Sunday was a fricking mansion compared to the house they were living in previously, it had to be at least 4 or 5,000 square feet. Granted, they had a huge family but good golly Miss Molly.

I've also wondered how they affected their neighbors' property values, as far as the ones that were built in suburban/urban environments. Another angle to environment is, some time ago one was built in Watts in LA. It was for a woman that was some sort of community icon or something of that ilk and I wondered how long it would take for some ne'er-do-wells to target it. Regardless of how well the person is liked, there will always be people that will look at a nice home in a less than wealthy area and think "Jackpot."

Just a little nit to pick, the beginning where they arrive with the bullhorn and "surprise" the family has to be staged. There's no way they can just show up, tear the house down and start building a new one. They would need permits up the wazoo, most of the people have jobs they can't just walk away from, the kids have school and so on.

Still a nice idea but all that glitters is not gold.