For Sale: "Extreme Makeover" homes
______________________________________________________
Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
______________________________________________________
You know those great big houses the team from the ABC series "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" builds for deserving families?
Well, sometimes those big houses turn out to be just too darned big.
That's what happened in Sandpoint, Idaho, to Eric Hebert. You can see Eric standing in front of the 3,678-square-foot home built for him and his late sister’s 11-year-old twins, whom he is raising.
According to an article in the Bonner County Daily Bee, Eric works all day and spends most evenings taking the kids to basketball and soccer practice. Keeping up the big house is just too much for him, he said.
Plus, Eric said, heating the big house was costing him hundreds of dollars a month in electric bills, and that was on top of the home's gas bills.
And so, hoping not to seem ungrateful to the neighbors who helped build the home for him, he put it up for sale. The house has been appraised at $552,244, but he's listed it and the acre of land it sits on for $529,000.
Here are other "Extreme Makeover" homes that have been put on the market:
Pennsauken, N.J. — The utility bills for this home were said to be from $700 to $1,200 a month, and property taxes were more than $6,000 annually.
Atlanta — The ad for this palatial "Extreme" home says if you buy it, you can own a part of history.
It looks like he is standing in front of a small school! That is his house?
The show reminds me of foreign aid a few decades ago. A lot of good intentions and tons of money - but thanks to ignorance of the willing donors the help offered does not help at all or results in more problems than the recipients had before.
I occasionally stumble across this show and EVERY TIME have wondered how any family in their right mind will keep the houses that are created for them. Asides from being build in a rush (and maybe, just maybe, not so well), they are huge, considerably more costly to maintain and operate than anything they had before, and packed full with gadgets and styling elements that you are probably sick off after two weeks. Or when the kids reach puberty and cannot stand looking at frogs /pink /whatever-you-liked-when-you-where-11.
In my opinion this show, the designers, and the host behave like children in a candy store without displaying much far-sightedness. And selling the house they received and buying something reasonable is exactly what I recommended to those families from my living room every single time. Imagine you keeping your life and income the same but all the sudden having a house that is 5 times bigger. You would go crazy. There is a thing a too much house.
These huge houses are so yesterday, so over the top, and so embarrassing if you look at the state of the world and environment. This is what happens if you let shallow people interested in TV ratings and who cannot possibly understand (or consider) your situation and LONG-TERM NEEDS decide for you. Just like your kids when they pick a present for you - You get what they want.
Karsten
http://www.polluteless.com
Posted by: Karsten | July 28, 2008 at 01:45 PM
Wow, that is very upsetting to see that happen. I too agree that these how host people just want to show off what they can do but don't thinkabout the long term effects of their actions. I understand that they are trying to do something charitable but, honestly, for 3 people a simple 3 bedroom home would have been more than enough to keep some one thankfull for the effort put into something they otherwise would never have the opportunity to have. I have seen this show many times and am shocked to find that they give these people more than they ever asked for.
Anywho...This is the first time I post in a blog. Whoo hoo!!
Posted by: cristina | February 18, 2009 at 08:30 PM