'Extreme Makeover' house in foreclosure (Clayton: section 8, rental, selling a house)

[kaday]

Originally Posted by sheenie2000

I'm guessing most of these ppl on the show don't make much money. Say they are bringing home 2K a month. Their house may be now worth 300K after the makeover. If their property taxes went up by another 80 dollars and utilities went up 100 dollars per month, that extra 180 dollars could be too much for them.

Their taxes were paid for 25 years and they had no mortgage. They only had to pay utilities. They took out a loan against the house which was their big mistake. Extreme Makeover did not leave them to struggle with taxes and a big mortgage. They were given a tremendous gift and made very poor choices. I feel bad for them but really it is their own fault.

[ZGACK]

What I find truly offensive is the money collected to provide scholarships for the kids to fund their education is apparently gone too.

[RoslynHolcomb]

She is a single mom and adopted several HIV infected black boys and her house was falling apart.

I'm surprised they allowed her to adopt children if her house was falling apart.

[kaday]

Originally Posted by ZGACK

What I find truly offensive is the money collected to provide scholarships for the kids to fund their education is apparently gone too.

That is the real tragedy.

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

But if they don't have a mortgage why can't they afford the utility bills/property taxes? Or is it unusual for their mortgage to be paid off? I just don't see how the property taxes could go up so much that it would equal a mortgage. Even if you had a $150k mortgage, your payment would be something like a $1k a month. That's $12,000 a year. I can't imagine even the highest utility bill around here equaling more than $500 a month, and property tax wouldn't even come close to that.

I was not aware that Atlanta was a low cost area. You never seen $500/M electric bills? You should try Las Vegas or Phoenix. But that does drop down condiderably when its not 120 outside for 4 consecuitve months.

You never seen a $500/M property tax bill? You should check out New Jersey where even a 900sf bungalow would cost you $6000/y. Now lets get into the normal sized home which might be about $2300sf. Now your talking $10,000/Yr on up to double that when you start getting to $3000sf.

But I agree with you. How can they not afford the utility bills when they have no mortgage? Maybe just maybe...........they all quit their jobs because they thought they were now stinkin rich. It never occured to them that the money would run out some day.

[clsmith15]

Do they have to retain ownership of the propety? If not they could have sold the place, purchased an energy-efficient home for cash, and still had quite a bit of cash left over. I agree that the show is about excess but it seems to me that the homeowners could have liquidated that asset and easily avoided a mess. You throw all the money you want at people but if they don't have basic money management skills it's a waste.

[lastminutemom]

Originally Posted by clsmith15

Do they have to retain ownership of the propety? If not they could have sold the place, purchased an energy-efficient home for cash, and still had quite a bit of cash left over. I agree that the show is about excess but it seems to me that the homeowners could have liquidated that asset and easily avoided a mess. You throw all the money you want at people but if they don't have basic money management skills it's a waste.

You presume they could sell it. Clayton County (where the house is located) is a total mess-- increasing crime and a school system on the verge of losing accreditation. To top it off, the value of the home is at least double that of the neighboring homes.... I am guessing that finding a buyer will be nearly impossible.

[uncle_el]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

I don't understand all the hating toward the show. What is wrong with someone getting a dream house given them? I think EHMO is one of the best things on television, one of the few examples of "it is better to give than receive" in the media today. Communities come together, people donate man hours. So, this family squandered what they were blessed with. Does that make it the show's fault?

If they were screened as to their ability to handle finances, the same naysayers would cry discrimnation of some sort or another. If the show came in and put in the safeguards suggested, the show would then be too controlling and called big brother.

I would agree that the bank is at great fault here, but to blame the show? C'mon, it is a great show. I know of several smaller scale "makeovers" by church and civic groups that the show has inspired. Commercials and sponsors given air time? What has made TV possible in the first place? Gosh, some folks have to complain about anything and everything. It is so much easier to criticize and tear down than take the time and effort to be positive. This is a great show and should be honored for it.

i think many people agree with the sentiment of the show, which is helping people.

for the 1st few years of the show, they did not pay the mortgage or the taxes, which is when i stopped watching. people were getting houses that were essentially new (a good thing) with increased value and size... which in the end, ending up screwing the families as their position in life had not changed, and they now had property that they couldn't afford. in a sense, the families ended up being screwed by good intentions.

so, the new thing became lets pay the mortgage. but people still couldn't afford the increased property tax.

now it seems that the taxes, at least for some families, are paid.

Commercials and sponsors given air time? What has made TV possible in the first place?

what has made tv possible is consumers buying product via watching tv (as the companies see it). if people don't watch, even if the show has good quality, companies aren't spreading the word for their product. so, they cut their sponsorship. the networks realize this, and thus shows that don't get good ratings are typically canned. also, if people watch but don't buy, that can become an issue as well. which is why companies devote huge amounts of research into who's watching what shows and when they are doing it, in order to show the people watching things they hopefully will buy (again, from the companies perspective).



again, i think that many people agree with the intent of the the show. where some disagree is with the way(s) in which to do it.

you can build a house, pay the mortgages, and hope that it all works out.

or you could get the person(s) enrolled in school or a trade, get them into financial planning and investement classes, place money in a trust so that they have the knowledge to be able to improve their lot in life. again, you'd still have to hope that it all works out.

some things work well for tv (building a home and giving it to someone), and others don't (someone going to college or night classes, to gain knowledge that doesn't necessarily have immediate payoff).

some people are in unfortunate circumstances through no fault of their own. others are in unfortunate circumstances at least in part because of themselves. apparently this family is in their current situation because of themselves.

[clsmith15]

I meant sell it when they first got it. I believe the market was pretty hot at that time but I did not know the details of the area it's located in. Even if they had sold low, they still would have made out alright and certainly a lot better than foreclosure.

[uncle_el]

Originally Posted by clsmith15

I meant sell it when they first got it. I believe the market was pretty hot at that time but I did not know the details of the area it's located in. Even if they had sold low, they still would have made out alright and certainly a lot better than foreclosure.

but that requires insight and a grasp on finances...