How Extreme Home Makeover Destroyed Families

[briankinsey]

I participated in a new house build for a single mom in our church years ago. All volunteer work, including some professional contractors, and it took 3 weeks, rather than just 1. But we consulted with her on what she wanted and needed, and built a nice, small house exactly suited for what she wanted and needed. That, I'm proud of. Building a mansion for somebody who doesn't need it and can't afford the upkeep is just ridiculous. Same for overbuilding a neighborhood.

[momwASD]

In 2009 I actually received a call from the show and found out my family was a finalist for a makeover. When we weren't chosen I was devastated. Now that I have been seeing more of these stories I realize what a blessing it was that we didn't make it for the show.

[davidbozeman]

I was in real estate school, while the show was still on. I remember my professor saying that they were going to ruin the people, financially. Between the increase in square footage, which makes the utilities and property taxes skyrocket, and building customized homes, that are nearly impossible to sell. Not to mention, they're building million dollar homes in neighborhoods, where the average home value is $150, 000. You'd think the show would've used some common sense, but they only cared about ratings.

[audreyjohnson]

That's why I quit watching the show. I knew that the families would not be able to make the increased payments of utilities and taxes. One woman explicitly asked them to leave a tree in the front yard because her grandfather had planted it. They removed it, and she cried when she saw that. That episode was the deciding factor for me.

[johncoulombe]

It looks like these houses are the dream homes of the TV producers and not the families that have to live in them. I love Packard automobiles, but I would be appalled if the crew made my bedroom look like a car museum. You are absolutely correct about sitting down to find out what the family REALLY NEEDS, not what would boost TV ratings. Filling a room with exotic reptiles and fish completely forgets that this is the room of a 10-year-old, not an adult with experience handling and caring for these animals. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[CTyankeeinVA]

I recall watching this show. Many houses were so over the top they were absurd, inside and out. Anyone thinking an average family could afford the taxes and upkeep on these places is delusional, never mind a family already struggling. I’m surprised the show lasted as long as it did.

[Kunsoo]

What's sad is that the ratings went down when the show switched to practical homes, which quite frankly I would find more interesting. In fact, rather than tearing the old homes down, I would be more interested in making the existing homes more livable and using the money to pay off mortgages, and then finishing the story with follow-up a year or two later to know that you've actually improved lives. But that's just me.

[ferrisulf]

I remember as the builds got more extreme in this show, thinking to myself: "That's huge! I wouldn't want to be the one to do cleaning and upkeep on that!" I remember there was a woman with multiple daughters with disabilities, and they gave them a three story house with an elevator...but other than the elevator, there was no way to access the top floor where one daughter was. So often the kids' bedrooms on this show were ridiculous. They were over the top and not something easy to change, and often something kids would age out of fast.

[GreenOlives]

What's missing from the families' communities, is compassion, understanding and love. Sure, they had volunteers there to help as long as the cameras were on, especially the "mayor!" But as soon as their story soured, where was the community? Not even available to offer the families at least words of support or advice. There needs to be a TV follow-up show on these families and then maybe the community and even the "mayor" would show up! Thanks for bringing this to the light! ❤

[stevenf]

My wife and I stopped watching about the middle of the second season, just because they were building houses way to big to handle. Coming from a low middle-class family I knew about the bills, taxes and upkeep. So my wife and I just got tired of the stupidity of the producers giving too big of a house to people that would never be able to afford it. It really made us mad that someone building these houses would not think about the family they were building it for. The responsibility of all the money those families would need to keep the house. I was so happy when it got canceled.

[wuhanbioweaponslab]

Last year my wife wanted to move to a house twice the size and value of our house. We ended up not moving and I'm glad because the cost of keeping up the property would have been quadruple the cost of keeping up our current home and I would have had to quit my job to be the full time maintenance and groundskeeper for the property. A major problem with the massive swimming pool alone would have cost us $50, 000...We are both glad the move didn't happen in hindsight and thankful for the house we have. It's a perfect fit for us.

[emtdad]

I had the privilege to be on 2 builds Vt & NH in Season 5.
I became friends with the VT family and they are still in their house. It did have increased expenses. And I learned a lot of things from being there and hearing the family's perspective as well.

[DanandDonna]

Way back in the day, I had a babysitter hired. I would drop my son off at her house and went to work. Lady who lived directly behind the babysitter, got hold of me one night and told me that the sitter sets my son outside because he cried a lot. I was in tears and so was she. So, I took my son out and never went back. Months later, I see her (the babysitter), on TV. . This same woman gets a rebuilt house and after it was completed, the crew was gone, no one but her at the house, she SOLD every little thing that was brand new. The new sinks, the new washer and dryer, you name it. WHAT an ungrateful person she was. So glad I had distanced myself from her.

[skwervin]

I knew a family here in Australia were they had one of these garden/house makeover things done and it ended up in divorce. What the "experts" didn't know was the dad grew various cacti and some of them were really rare and they just dug them up and tossed them on the garbage dump along with most of the other plants etc they tore out of the garden. They built him a bbq with a bunch of car parts strung around it (because someone told them he liked cars which he did but he wasn't THAT into cars), including hanging a radiator at the back of the grill as a splash back or something??? Inside the house they painted one of the rooms a weird colour and moved all his computer stuff into another room next to the kids room (I think they thought the kids play with the computers more??) and put up arty stuff around the place. He was a big Sci Fi nerd and they TOOK DOWN HIS AUTOGRAPHED
Thankfully they didn't toss those out but they did fold them up instead of rolling them.

After the cameras stopped filming, he grabbed the producer by the throat and asked where the F*** his prize winning, very rare cacti were. The guy went pale and they went scouring through the dump but were not able to find all of them, I think 2 were never found. The whole thing had been organised by his wife's family and it started a massive fight and less than a year later they were divorced. He kept the bbq, but ripped down all the car parts and moved his computer gear back before going to bed that night.

[carolnewsome]

I remember watching this show with my dad. He said that if they couldn't afford the old house, how can they afford this new, larger house?? The math doesn't add up. Boy, was he right!

[mindykronenberg]

Early in the series it was all about adapting/rebuilding a decent home for those with financial struggles and special family needs. It was a real morale booster. Once it got gimmicky and over-the-top, it took the emphasis away from helping people to live comfortable, dignified, secure lives and focused on gaining an ostentatious, larger-than-life style.

[geographicaloddity]

I think Larry the Cable guy had a show where is crew simply remodeled modest homes and that made those folks happy.

[forsomenotreally]

Yeah I remember reading up on some of these families a while back. A friend of mine who was an agent once told me that a home owner should never upgrade beyond what the neighborhood is. The homeowner will never see a return on their investments if they do something like that.

[torigodbey]

This is sickening! Why has no one stepped forward to launch a class action lawsuit?

[patriciawalton]

I use to watch this show. To find out, the home ruined their lives is crazy. Thank's for sharing.