Much is being said today in the media about a home that had been built as part of the ABC television show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. Seems the family used the two-story mini-mansion as collateral for a $450,000 loan that they’ve now defaulted on and foreclosure proceedings have begun. And as part of the narrative regarding this whole mortgage meltdown, the MSM is portraying the homeowners as “victims“.
More than 1,800 people showed up to help ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” team demolish a family’s decrepit home and replace it with a sparkling, four-bedroom mini-mansion in 2005.
Three years later, the reality TV show’s most ambitious project at the time has become the latest victim of the foreclosure crisis.
Let’s see. The family received a $450,000 home completely free. In addition, employees and company partners also raised $250,000 in contributions for the family. Then they went out and secured a loan against the house for nearly half a million dollars which they didn’t pay back.
Yet, they’re the victims.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand they had some horribly tough times before going on the show - in fact, it was their trials and tribulations that landed them on the show. But that victimhood doesn’t necessarily extend to their financial mismanagement of over a half million dollars. It was nice that they could receive all the benefits of a new home - bigger and nicer than most Americans will ever dream of owning - and a quarter of a million dollars, free of charge, because private citizens donated their time and energy to help a family in need.
The finished product was a four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage that towered over ranch and split-level homes in their Clayton County neighborhood. The home’s door opened into a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office.
But they got greedy with that charity. Here was a family who virtually had nothing before the show and received a $450,000 house for free and donations totalling $250,000. But that just wasn’t enough for them. So, instead of being thankful for a beautiful, free home that most Americans couldn’t afford, and a bundle of money it would take most people many years to earn, they needed more.
Yet, they’re the victims.
But never fear, here comes Congress and President Bush, just in time, to help folks like the Harpers. Courtesy of you, me and every other financially-responsible taxpayer, the Harpers aren’t going to have to feel the consequences of their greedy financial mismanagement.
The measure, regarded as the most significant housing legislation in decades, lets homeowners who cannot afford their payments refinance into more affordable government-backed loans rather than losing their homes.
It should read, “the measure bails out many homeowners who greedily bit off more than they can chew at the expense of financially-responsible taxpayers around the country.”
Yet, they’re the victims.
