Source: Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal today reports on a new phenomenon in the Extreme Makeover family: Extreme Foreclosure.
ABC’s heartstring-tugging show, in which down-on-their-luck families are given a giant shot in the arm via new — and in most cases — palatial digs, is finding that the new homes are proving to be more of a burden than a boon for some of those families.
The Journal reports that some people are tapping the equity on their expansive new homes, only to fall behind — and into foreclosure.
The homeowners in many cases find themselves struggling to keep up with increased utility bills and bigger tax assessments.
The show’s producers say they are aware of the problem and are making changes by downsizing.
As the Journal notes, back in the boom, the makeovers got a little out of hand because of competition among builders seeking free publicity and who tried to outdo previous projects.
Now, the show is backing away from the boom-era showpieces. “We scaled back,” Conrad Ricketts, an executive producer for the show, told the WSJ.
The average size of current makeovers is 2,800 to 3,000 square feet whereas in 2005 one episode featured a house that was remade into a 5,300-square-foot English castle.
A swimming pool is no longer a must, unless it could be used for therapy and lavish landscaping is out.
Tracy Hutson, an interior designer who has been with Extreme Makeover since the beginning, says homes are also receiving more earth-friendly products. “I think our hearts were in the right place, but we just got carried away,” she told the Journal. “It can be extreme without being the biggest house you’ve ever seen.”
