Comments on: “Extreme Makeover” Family is Losing Their House to Foreclosure!

By: Merrily1941

Merrily1941 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:42:45 +0000

I agree with Mel above: “EMHE should have restrictions on homeowners about taking equity loans on their homes, like holding the deed to the property for a pre-determined amount of time”

Before you ever get and keep any more income from any source, you must learn how to manage it. It is not hard, but requires diligence

By: John

John — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:04:33 +0000

alot of u people are a perfect example of why this country is in the touble its in. U blame the source and not the means. Extreme makeover has the best intentions and put faith into the families doing the right thing.

So its the people that get greedy thats the problem not the person that tries to help them. Most of these people get other money and benifits to help with costs. And to take off pressure in one area to turn the corner. Those oppurtunities are there these people need to take advantage.

Dont blame the show blame the people.

By: Mel

Mel — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:00:23 +0000

I think a lot of this could have been prevented. EMHE should have restrictions on homeowners about taking equity loans on their homes, like holding the deed to the property for a pre-determined amount of time. I think the couple wanted a way for self-improvement to better themselves, but, got over their heads about running a business that cost them the home and took shelter from their family. That’s a high price to pay for any ambition.

By: Layla

Layla — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:34:16 +0000

Foreclosure is becoming a horrible problem for most homeowners. Hopefully, something is done about it soon or everyone should just forget about the housing market.

By: make art every day

make art every day — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:54:51 +0000

i remember reading a while ago about several Habitat families losing their houses as well, because they took out home equity loans against the value of their (free) homes.

and doesn’t this happen to some people who win the lottery? they get a big pile of money and run through it in a few years?

i conclude that a chunk of cash is never the answer. learning how to manage cash may be, though.

By: christy

christy — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:08:05 +0000

This family should have educated themselves about the construction business and started out small. That’s alot of money to start a business; I hope they bounce back from this mess. Why extreme makeover do not help the homeless. There are so many people homeless they can build duplexes or something.

By: Yura

Yura — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:40:59 +0000

“home is now up for auction after the Harper family put their home up for collateral in a failed construction business venture.”

http://beat.bodoglife.com/entertainment/harper-family-extreme-makeover-home-in-foreclosure-24834.html

I understand now why it happened. They used the home as equity to borrow money…

By: tanya meaken

tanya meaken — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:38:23 +0000

ummm…figures

By: Steve Braun

Steve Braun — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:13:16 +0000

In response to a number of previous comments criticizing EMHE…

I agree that solid financial counseling would be a nice touch for these families so that they have a better chance to manage things after getting into their new homes.

What I don’t understand is why so many think EMHE is such a bad thing. Remember, at the core this is a business and a business exists to make money. It’s no different than any other TV show. This particular business, however, has found a way to do a good deed for down-and-out people AND make money at the same time. It’s a free market and enough people tune in for each episode to make it a very, very successful business. The fact that some of the families subsequently fail to handle things well is not an indictment of the show.

I rarely watch TV but did catch one episode of EMHE where they did a house for a Marine who had lost a leg in Iraq, had several young kids (4 I think), and the wife had died. It was just about the most touching program I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t watch without crying. For all of EMHE’s faults, that one program was worth the risk that some of the other families may fail.

By: Megan

Megan — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:24:41 +0000

I can’t feel bad for this family. It seems that the EMHE people realized that families were struggling to make the payments on their homes, so this family not only got the house, but they got money to cover their tax payments for years. That’s an incredible gift. I just can’t believe they used it to take out a loan.

Sometimes, EMHE drives me crazy. It’s one thing when they help out a family by putting in things they need because a family member is sick or injured (I remember one where the mother had been shot in the line of duty and was paralyzed, so they put in all sorts of technology to allow her to get around and hopefully rehab, for example). But in a lot of cases, these families don’t need the crazy things they’re given, and it seems there are too many awful stories coming from the families.