Comments on: Extreme Makeover Homeowners Face Foreclosure; Property Taxes Contributed to Woes

By: Debbie

Debbie — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:16:57 +0000

The tv show should be made to sign a contract that they are responsible for a.) paying off old mortgage, b.) paying any increases in property taxes and utilities, or living expenses to the family as a result of the episode while they still reside in the home.

I shouldn’t think that the family would be responsible for the windfall improvement value made to home, as that was gifted.

By: John Moyers

John Moyers — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:21:32 +0000

Never look at gift house in your mouth…

By: Ruth Ahrendt

Ruth Ahrendt — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:24:30 +0000

I just watched the show with Rodrigas the Vet who lost a leg in Iraq – they gave him a huge house – with a 600 Gallon Fish tank – what the heck is he going to do with that a few years from now? Even though they said that a service will come and service the tank – are they coming indefinitely? I daub that and after that? It will cost a ton to remove that thing later. What was that show thinking and what where the people thinking or did they not know what was going to be done to their house. The Girls bedrooms where all in children themes – great did they think that a 9 year old is going to stay forever into Dr. Sous? i am totally puzzled.

By: chris

chris — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:15:16 +0000

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

By: Maddy

Maddy — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:23:51 +0000

I’ll admit, I watched the show when it first aired – but quickly started questioning the opulence and added expense to the homeowners.

If the show could set up the families and other with the tools they need to build better lives for themselves, that would be extreme.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:46:02 +0000

First of all, I would NEVER let the clowns that produced “Trading Spaces” touch MY house. God knows, we need a new roof, a new AC compressor, major plumbing fixes, but I wouldn’t let those idiots do it. They did a show in Austin years back when Trading Spaces was new and buzzing, and the husband of one of the couples was interviewed after the show by some local news team and was clearly working hard to not bust up crying at what they did to his home. A reasonable homeowner would sue a general contractor over the mess they left him with. Their friends were nearly hysterical as well, they had had no desire to mess up this guy’s dining room but were pressured into doing more than they had time for and were qualified to do.

TV is not a charity, they make money off these shows which, labor and materials aside, are very cheap to produce compared with a standard drama or sitcom where you have to pay actors and a huge support crew. Most large cities have actual charities that will do home repairs at a seriously reduced rate if not for free. I live in that part of town, and lots of my neighbors, elderly, unemployed, handicapped, etc benefit from a city sponsored program of that sort. I’m a huge fan of legitimate charities and contribute as much as I can in both time and money. Food and shelter are a basic human necessity and I’m happy to help fellow beings to survive, but my charity falls well short of subsidizing luxury homes they won on some TV show.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:12:32 +0000

Oxnate, it’s in the post. Click on the bold text “income tax issues.”

By: Oxnate

Oxnate — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:00:35 +0000

Kelly, could you post a link to the Tax Prof article you mentioned?

By: Barbara Sanchez

Barbara Sanchez — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:54:37 +0000

I so agree with this. Why can’t they just give this people a decent and clean and comfortable home. Why do they always have to be like mansions???? There is a home in my area that was “rebuilt”, it was very nice, pool,etc,etc. It is now in foreclosure and has been vacant for at least a year that I know of. Everything is dead, and believe me, it was a beautiful… If these people did not keep their homes clean and maintained before, what the “HH” makes you think they are going to do it now??? Just my personal thoughts

By: stuart

stuart — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:27:24 +0000

homeownership is earned not handed out on a silver platter
your home is not a bag of potatoes