Another Extreme Makeover Foreclosure

Per WXYZ, Detroit Action News, another Extreme Home Makeover family is losing their home to foreclosure. I say another, as this is at least third family this year alone that has reported problems in keeping their newly renovated home by the popular Extreme Makeover show. In another report, a family reported facing foreclosure due to an equity loan the family took out in the amount of $400k. The loaned money was used to start a failed business, and the family was unable to pay their monthly mortgage.

While the show Extreme Home Makeover has been on for years, they have remodeled many homes to deserving families in need. The show has been criticized by viewers however for building homes that are financially above the means of the families and the property taxes have been rising on the homes, making it harder for families to keep up with the extra expenses.

The show has admitted that they look for catching stories of struggle, families dealing with medical issues and those who have gone through loss or some sort of family tragedy that will captivate viewers. This is understandable, as the show is in it to help the families but also to make money off of sponsors and to get the most viewer ship possible. At the end of the business day, it is about business and what the families choose to do with the newly renovated home by Extreme Home Makeover is completely their choice.

In the case of the Vardon family, they had faced high medical bills and debt due to an autistic son. The father has also been recently laid off from their job, which is why they had initially refinanced the home for extra income to pay bills and cover son's medical expenses. In the current home mortgage crisis, they are not the only ones who have used their home as a collateral in order to cover medical bills or other unexpected financial issues. It is said that debt due to medical bills is the leading cause of bankruptcies in the US.

I understand that the show Extreme Home Makeover tries to do good by renovating and remodeling homes for families in need. In many cases, they build luxury homes from ground up for the families, and decorate them fully with furniture and other fine furnishings. The show has been criticized before for giving families too much, or going beyond what the families needs are in order to shock and awe the audience.

The families that qualify for the show Extreme Home Makeover just want a decent roof over their heads. I am sure that all of them would be perfectly happy in single family style homes like the rest of middle-class America lives in. However fine furnishings and luxurious homes can be beautiful to live in, as long as you do not try to use your home as a collateral to get out of a financial situation. Especially if you know the financial situation can jeopardize the home and all the luxuries inside of it, that you were given to for free in the first place.

Another issue I have with the luxury homes that are over the top for these families is that they are not economical. If these struggling families already have financial issues and problems paying current bills, how is a larger home that requires twice as much utilities going to help them? I just do not see how larger electricity and heating bills can help someone who should not be living above their needs. Extreme Home Makeover needs to build green homes, not Mini Mansions. While in this case, the problem was that the family refinanced the original loan and borrowed against their home, it is still not a solution for Extreme Home Makeover to give people homes they do not need. Giving someone tools to get out of debt and live a life of financial freedom would be more economical and better in the long run, than giving them a Mini Mansion they cannot afford to live in.

There is plenty of blame to go around in this story of the Vardon family. Their insurance would not cover their son's medical bills, which is true with so many other American families. While the show should not be responsible for digging the family out of the current situation, they should seriously re-evaluate the way they go about remodeling the homes. Perhaps bettering what the family already has would be more economical, rather than giving them a Mansion that goes above and beyond their financial situation.

Everyone, including myself, would love to live in a home of our dreams. However we live in the home that we can afford, that does not drain our budget and does not put us in critical situations where we face losing absolutely everything we own.

Original story can be found here:

http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story/Extreme-Makeover-Family-Facing-Foreclosure/rmDc6vh40UOtwBO1XcT6dg.cspx