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When is Extreme Home Makeover going to stop exploiting people?!
I am SO tired of seeing stories on the news of people who have been "helped" by EHM having to foreclose and being kicked out of their houses because they can't pay the taxes on those absurdly massive houses.?
I'd love to see what sort of disclosure EHM gives these poor people--they are living in their small, rundown homes BECAUSE they can't afford more than that---WHY would you build them afucking mansion that they can't afford to pay for, just so in a year's time, you've made their lives worse than they were before you "saved" them?!!!
I've never really been able to watch more than a few episodes b/c they're too emotionally draining for me, but this aspect of it just pisses me off and makes me feel like the producers of that show are exploiting these poor people who either don't understand they are going to be financially responsible for the taxes or who are so seduced by the idea of it all that they can't say "no". ?It is such irresponsible treatment of fellow human beings, for the sake of ratings.
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Aaaaaaah, I'm off my soapbox now....?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: When is Extreme Home Makeover going to stop exploiting people?!
I haven't watched the show in years. After the first few episodes I couldn't take it anymore. I agree though. I seems odd that the producers did not think ahead re: upkeep expenses, taxes, etc.
Not to mention community backlash against some of them, I'm sure. I am all for helping people out, but I think they went kind of overboard on some of the houses. It probably made the rest of the neighbors feel that much worse about their own homes!
I just saw something on the news about a local family being booted out of their EHM house.?
If they're willfully taking out huge lines of credit based on the house, then I have far less sympathy for them. ?But I've heard of a lot of people just not able to afford the taxes on the house, which makes sense---these people are dirt poor to begin with. ?I just think its so irresponsible to put them in that situation.?
I hate this show, haven't watched it since season 1. I think it's just a symbol of the greed and excess that has taken over this country.
It's one thing to build a new house for a needy family. And to make it large enough for them to live comfortably. It's quite another to build a house that's the equivalent of Disneyland with everything done in excess.
Habitat for Humanity, thumbs up. EHM, BIG thimbs down.
From what I understand once they realized the tax issues (initially they didn't), the people were given money to help with the taxes, but the people who have been losing the houses have been taking out huge HELOCs on the houses.
But I hate that show regardless.
I HATE that show-- I hate the whole idea of "deserving" poverty-- who's NOT deserving? ?Totally pisses me off.
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There was a recent episode in my hometown and of course I went home to gawk
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This article was in one of the local papers while they were building the Voluntown, CT house. Though you ladies might be interested to read it. I bolded the sections that talk about how much it should cost this particularly family per month to live in the house. If that's true, it's less than my monthly mortgage payment!
When 'Extreme Makeover' House Is Built And People Gone, What Then?
December 10, 2008
Voluntown - When the ?Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? bus leaves Voluntown Thursday, the Girard family will have its first inkling of the financial reality of owning a brand new, 3,239-square-foot castle-style house.
Hundreds of hours went into planning the five-bedroom, four-bathroom house at 100 Preston City Road for the Girard family. Thousands of volunteers have worked around the clock in unpredictable weather in an effort to complete the job by Thursday's deadline.
While many in the region have praised the builders, the show and others for their efforts to build this house, as the week progresses many have started to ask how Carol Girard, a widowed mother of four, will be able to manage the house and the potential finances associated with it.
In January, they will owe the $1,593 second installment of taxes for the two houses, which totalled 2,081 square feet, that previously stood on the site.
They won't receive the first property-tax bill for their new ?Extreme? house until July, when they will be responsible for a partial payment because they won't have owned it for a year.
An appraisal of the house will be done either late tonight or early Thursday with the final result known in a week or two. Based on reviews of homes comparable in town and information provided by people with firsthand knowledge of the workmanship and materials used to build the house, the annual taxes, including the 2-acre lot, could be upwards of $8,000. The family previously paid $3,186 a year.
Too much house?
The house, with its intricate stone fa?ade, five bedrooms, four bathrooms, two-car garage and vast common-room space, is not the largest in town; one on Pendleton Hill Road comprises 3,541 square feet. It may also not be the most extravagant; one still under construction on Beach View Road Extension includes an elevator.
According to town records, a house of comparable size on Shetucket Turnpike that was built in 2007, but is not as elaborate, has an appraised value of $336,200. Taxes owed on the house, not including the land, at the current tax rate are $4,706. With the land, a slightly larger lot at 2.78 acres, taxes are roughly $6,300.
For a family that has endured recent financial troubles, the question has been raised as to whether the show, in its effort to keep with its ?extreme? theme, has built too much house for the family to manage.
In 2007, after Thomas Girard lost his job and was out of work for several months, the house caught fire, rendering it uninhabitable. The family had the first of two local tax liens recorded against the property. Both liens have been removed, but also during that time a foreclosure proceeding was started. The foreclosing bank went bankrupt, and it kept the check it received from the insurance company to cover damages incurred in the fire.
But the institution that picked up the mortgage reinitiated the foreclosure, scheduling two public auctions for the summer.
After Thomas and his eldest son, Marc, died in a swimming accident, the auctions were postponed. The bank forgave the mortgage debt and stopped foreclosure proceedings in October. A few days later, Carol Girard was granted a clean title to the property.
Rally 'round the family
Since July, the community has given freely of its time and money to help make life for Carol and the four surviving children a bit more bearable. The volunteer fire department has raised $20,000, and nearly $95,000 has been deposited into a fund established for the family.
Throughout the past week, the region has rallied to not only build the house, but to raise funds to ensure that - at least for a while - the family is financially secure. Dozens of events have been held, the builder has a donation page on the project's Web site and businesses are selling products and donating proceeds to the family. It is not known how much has been raised.
?After Hollywood leaves, we're going to still be here to help,? said Ed Muenzner, a CPA from Norwich who is working with the team building the house.
Muenzner said if the taxes associated with the new house are $8,000 a year, it is still less than what the average homeowner pays when taxes, mortgage payments and insurance are included.
Averaged over 12 months, the family could pay roughly $667 a month in taxes. For insurance, add another $100 a month, Muenzner said. Although the house will be equipped with a geothermal heating-and-cooling system and solar panels to generate electricity, he said the family might pay an average of $100 a month for utilities.
?You can't find a place to rent for that little a month,? Muenzner said. ?People may view this as a windfall, but really we're just leaving them in a better (housing) situation than they were.?
For at least the first year, the family won't have to pay for homeowner's insurance, electricity or cable services; they've been donated by Ferguson McGuire Inc., CL&P and Comcast, respectively.
In regard to income taxes, Conrad Ricketts, the executive producer of the show, said in November that because the family did not know it would be chosen for the project prior to the public announcement, it will not be responsible for the additional tax.
When it comes to assisting the family with its finances after they move into the house, show representative Chris DiIorio wrote in an e-mail that ?the show advises each family to consult a financial planner to help them understand and budget for any expenses that may occur as a result of their new home.
?Ultimately, financial matters are personal, and we work to respect the privacy of the families.?
Muenzner said the local group is willing to help the family work with a financial adviseor on any issues.
Countering charges that the show is building outside the means of the families to keep with the ?extreme? theme, DiIorio wrote that the show and volunteer builders strive to create homes that are elaborate but that the families can also manage for years to come.
He added that the emphasis is on using ?green? technology to make the houses more affordable and environmentally responsible. In addition to the geothermal heating-and-cooling system, the Girard house features electricity-generating solar panels.
Town Assessor Mildred Peringer and Assistant Assessor Barbara Gauthier are expected to tour the house late tonight or early Thursday. Peringer said it's easier to appraise a house that is vacant than to wait for a family to move in.
The process is done prior to the town issuing a certificate of occupancy. She will evaluate the size and number of bathrooms, the quality of the workmanship and materials used.
According to a building permit for the house, it would have cost roughly $550,000 to build the house if it had not been done by volunteers. While the cost to build the house is not a major factor in the appraisal, it is taken into consideration. Peringer said the geothermal and solar systems are tax exempt.
Peringer said it will be a week or two before she can set an appraised value to the property. In the spring, when the landscaping is complete, she will revisit the site to determine if the value will change based on the grounds.
~ Hoping to add to our family by adoption via Connecticut DCF. Application submitted on 2/4/14. First home visit on 6/23/14. Started class 11/17/14.~