Extreme home foreclosure: House built for ABC show in foreclosure

Here's a wild one: The mini-mansion at right, which was built by the ABC reality show "Extreme Makeover" in 2005 as a gift to an Atlanta-area family, appears headed for foreclosure. How do you lose a house that someone gave you as a gift on national television? According to the  Associated Press, the family that owns the house took a loan against its value to start a construction business.

From Access Atlanta:

"Things couldn't look better three years ago for Milton and Patricia Harper of Lake City, who giddily accepted the keys to a small castle, plus enough money to pay taxes on it for 25 years.

"Now, the Clayton County house that "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" built is a two-story, turreted example of how things can go wrong. It's in foreclosure.

The A.P.:

"After the Harper family used the two-story home as collateral for a $450,000 loan, it's set to go to auction on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse Aug. 5. The couple did not return phone calls Monday, but told WSB-TV they received the loan for a construction business that failed.

"The house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and ABC's "Extreme Makeover" demolished their old home and its faulty septic system. Within six days, construction crews and hoards of volunteers had completed work on the largest home that the television program had yet built."

--Peter Viles
Photo Credit: A.P.
Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com

Comments

[TakeFive]

Posted by: Kriss

"Harsh people. This family was dealt a terrible hand...empathize a little. "

Then they were dealt a few outstanding hands: House, scholarships, maintanence fund, furnishings - a fresh start.

So Pimp My Tragedy/ Extreme Makeover edition, gets some low cost production for the Oprah set, and the "victims" get their 15 minutes and a pile of treasure.

You want to empathize with someone? How about with the starry-eyed volunteers and donors who get played by this freakshow.

[Laura]

I feel bad for them on the lose of their child but at what point to we stop feeling sorry for them. They got a brand new house. They were given a new start on life and what did they do? THEY RUINED IT! People like the Harper's ruin things for other people. Sucks for them they can't play the feel sorry for us card anymore. There are plety of people who struggle everyday to make ends meant and try and to right in theor lives. ABC just made a poor choice when they picked this family!

[james]

you may also own a big tax bill if they catch attention from IRS, I guess those guys just used this as cash cow without tax liability.

Too greedy!

[James for Memphis]

Someone posted how sad they are for the Harpers. Yes, I am sad for them, but they got exactly what they deserved. They were given the keys to a home that the show ensured that they could afford for the next 20 years. They were not in over their heads,, they were the typical "take advantage of it" people, and lost. Bigtime

[Tony]

At least they got to go to Disney World.

[Jake]

It's a shame that this happened. I read the back story, and I believe I actually watched this episode. I truly feel sorry for them that they lost a child and had the string of bad luck for them.

However, that being said, in the back story, it states that they attempted to fix the old house to no avail. My simple question is WHY on earth did they believe they could start a CONSTRUCTION business when they couldn't fix what was wrong with the old house? (septic system excluded) *sigh*

[AR]

Unbelieveable..no sympathy for the parents. I feel bad for the kids that are placed back in a negative situation. How stupid/greedy could one couple be? I understand wanting more income for your family but most people never have a free small castle paid for the next 25 years handed to them.

[Appalled]

Unbelievable, but not surprising. This is what happens when you give uneducated, greedy people a BIG gift. They cash in. All of the hard work and heartfelt giving that built this house, in addition to the massive amount of cash that pays the taxes for 25 years, plus the scholarships for their children, plus all of the furniture, and what do they do? Take a reverse mortgage. That house was burning a hole in their pocket, and now it has burned them and all of the people who tried to make a difference for them. You can take people out of poverty, but you can't take the poverty (and the ways in which they are used to "surviving") out of the people. Ridiculous. If they just went to work and worked hard, they would have been fine. Save the money to start up a business. It's a game of risk, and they risked way too much.

[JJ]

Boy ,I would move out the country if I would have done something that stupid! I would never show my face to America again.

[Debbie jones]

It is sad to see..for whatever reasons..this happen..it is easy to sit back and judge but..until you are in their position...how can you assume anything...its best to remember that there but for the grace of god..go us all...no one makes the perfect decision everytime..no one makes the perfect choice..everytime...and as my history teacher taught me a long time ago...to assume...makes an ass out of me and u...instead of making a commentary on what "these people deserve"...you should thank god that you aren't suffering what they are...after all...do you really know what YOU deserve in this life... and do you always get it....

[ej]

Kriss, I can’t believe you are sympathizing with these ppl. They were given a free home! FREE! no concerns no problems! FREE! Do you know what some ppl would do for that. I am not talking about a shack!

The housing market had nothing to do with their loosing their home, their poor decision making abilities did. Yes, they had a hard life, but they just made it harder on themselves. You would think that they would not want to jeopardize the one thing that got them out of the city life and into a FREE HOME. But they did just that. There is really no excuse. If you want to open a business, get a loan that does not require your house as collateral! Better yet, save for a few years, or if you take out a line of credit or loan on your home take out enough that you know you can easily pay back with your own income or just one income.

They have three sons and they now have no home to put them in, or better yet no FREE home to put them in. You have to put family sense above business nonsense.

j

[william]

so i guess we are all against those people that TAKE CHANCES and start their own business. Most beginners are borrowing money from parents, friends, relatives and YES even their own homes to chase their dreams of being self employed and not being a slave to the 9-5. It is easy for those to sit back and say 'some day" or put down those that try and fail: AT LEAST THEY TRIED. its very hard to start a business and most fail but those who make it we all look at and wonder how they did it. Well now you know .....geezz you call yourselves Americans

[Kim]

They obviously picked the WRONG family to get the house. What a waste....these folks now deserve whatever they get.

[JDS22]

Harsh criticism and judgment for a family and a situation of which you have no intimate knowledge or understanding. Until you are in their situation - and never say never - you have no idea what could happen to you, how events will present themselves, and how desperate your circumstances might become. You may be absolutely right about what transpired and why, but you haven't based your opinion on all the facts, and until you do (which you never will) and/or lived in someone's shoes, objectivity would be more refreshing. It’s become quite sad how people use blogging to rapidly spread judgment and criticism of people they know nothing about except from other bloggers. I could only assess that it must make you feel better about yourself to trash other people, but that would make me guilty of my own judgment without knowing your reasoning, so I’ll leave that for you to dissect. Feel lucky if you never find yourself in the public eye because of something you did (you’re not perfect, so don’t go there) and become a publicly polarized target of scrutiny, ridicule and injustice at the hands of people that have nothing better to do than gossip about you.

[Candace]

Here's the problem with the Harper's story: if their original house was filled with raw sewage every time it rained, they didn't need a new house; they needed a lawyer.
If it were true that, unbeknownst to them, their original house's septic system made the house uninhabitable, they would have more than likely been able to rescind the contract for the house. If you're buying a house, the seller has got to make certain major disclosures (like the house fills with raw sewage). That is, it's got to be fit for the particular purpose of being able to live in it. Not to mention the cause of action that the Harper's would have against the inspector if the house is in that much disrepair.
Thus, I do not believe that they were in "need" of a new house. They were, and are, simply cons.

[Wanda]

OH NO MARK YOU ARE WRONG, WRONG ! ABC is wonderful for having such a GREAT show on and no they are not putting people in homes that are above their heads. For one the people are given money in which this family was and the houses are deed free. So if this family would have went out and got decent jobs that would be more than enough to pay the taxes , insurance, and utilities and since he suppose to know how to do construction work the up keep should have been no problem. THESE PEOPLE WERE JUST PLAIN OLE DUMB BUT THE SHOW IS THE BOMB!

[Wanda]

OH NO MARK YOU ARE WRONG, WRONG ! ABC is wonderful for having such a GREAT show on and no they are not putting people in homes that are above their heads. For one the people are given money in which this family was and the houses are deed free. So if this family would have went out and got decent jobs that would be more than enough to pay the taxes , insurance, and utilities and since he suppose to know how to do construction work the up keep should have been no problem. THESE PEOPLE WERE JUST PLAIN OLE DUMB BUT THE SHOW IS THE BOMB!

[irritated]

I don't think the Harpers are bad people for trying to make a better life for themselves by starting a business. Just misguided and a bit irresponsible. But they should have risked their own money and resources rather than the gift from the community. The house was given to them in the name of charity, which is distinctively different than assets that have been earned. You are not entitled to do what ever you want with it. The implicit intention of the house was for them to have shelter and a place of stability for family because due to misfortune or unpredictable circumstances those things were taken from them unfairly (natural disaster, mishap of life, or what have you). Had the Harpers sacrificed and worked for the home, I would doubt they would be so quick to make such an entrepreneurial wager. They might have been more cautious and deliberate about their small business and maybe even survive this downturn.

[toni]

they made a very bad decision and I'm they r regretting it

[anonymous]

Dumb as dirt.

[Todd in WeHo]

I've always said there should be a follow-up show going back to Extreme Makeover homeowners after one year. Talk about reality TV with low hanging fruit!

[Michelle]

This is a very bad situation, bad for the show also. A bad financial decision? Please! They practically cashed in the whole value of their home, which was given gratis....honestly, that was irresponsible. It was not like they borrowed 25k to open a deli.
Now what, a rented apt?
They were given the proverbial "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" and forgot where the boots were.

[Wayne hale]

UN-FRIGGIN-BELIEVABLE!
Well, maybe if they give them one more house as well as a new business loan and maybe supply someone that knows how to run a business that can earn the money and give it to them, they will do much better the second time.
Uh huh!

[anonymous]

james:

Cash Cow is a term that refers to a stage in a product life cycle. It means when a product's COGS is very low and the profit margin is very high. It has nothing to do with reverse mortgages or loans of any kind.

[ta ta]

It's a dam_ shame that they are so greedy and no sense of gratitude.All the people that sacrificed and put their time and money on the line to help this family.That get what they deserve.Why start a construction business when you couldn't fix your old home.They make it bad for the real desrving people..I wander if they have ever heard of the word JOB!!!