The team from ABC's heartwarming and popular reality series "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" may give worthy families a whole new house. But yet another family who appeared on the show learned that they don't guarantee you'll keep that house forever.



The Wofford family of Encinitas, California, got their house from the show five years ago, but now claim that after struggling for two years to pay their bills, they're facing foreclosure . Dr. Brian Wofford, a widower and father of eight, explained the crisis, telling 10News: "A lot of people think when you get the house, you get the mortgage. Well, you don't."



The Woffords aren't the first family featured on the show to face serious financial problems after their home makeover. The Harper family of Atlanta, who received the show's biggest house to date, along with the money to pay taxes on it for 25 years, famously faced foreclosure last year after taking out an ill-advised $450,000 loan using the house as equity. And at least four other "Extreme Makeover" recipient families have had to sell or lose the homes they won on the show. ABC is probably considering changing the show's rules (maybe the houses don't need to be quite so lavish, for example) to help avoid such disasters in the future.



However, there's still hope for the Woffords. Loan modification papers are being promised by their bank, OneWest, next week. If they don't go through, the house will be auctioned by the bank in two weeks, but Dr. Wofford is optimistic about his family's future: "If I have my family and I live in a tent, I'm in good shape. Better be a big tent though."



Talk About It: Do you think it's fair for "Makeover" to saddle families with nicer homes they can't afford?

why the fuck would you take a loan out on a home thats paid off???

fck television

Cuddles said:

+1 for realz...

Cuddles said:

The house wasn't paid off

Cinnie said:

fukc sears!

Cinnie said:

Cinnie said:

fck the letter U...

roodboi said:

yeah, fck "U" 2!

Home Makeover made them get a $400,000 equity loan?

banks said:

But if it's like any other show I've seen, the mortgage couldn't have been big. Those houses are always complete dumps when they start.

NDRU said:

Funny how they managed to pass on their production costs.

NDRU said:

no... they did that on their own, they started a construction company that went
belly up.
[Edited 12/1/09 15:44pm]

Cinnie said:

fukc sears!!

Cinnie said:

I doubt that's what happened. My guess is once the show was done with the house, it was worth a fortune, and they took out a huge loan on it and it was more than they were able to repay.

NDRU said:

I googled "Does the mortgage increase for Extreme Makeover recipients" and got this

With "Extreme Makeover" Homes, Some Get Foreclosure Instead of Happy Ending
June 05, 2009 08:00 PM
by Haley A. Lovett
Property taxes, bills, neighborhood pressures and legal issues can add up for some "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" recipients, leading to foreclosure, sale and other trouble.
Kentucky Family Latest to Sell “Extreme” Home
The Hassall Family was given a 3,298-square-foot home in 2006, a gift that the community felt they deserved. Brian and Michelle Hassall, the parents of two adopted children, work as a police officer and a teacher in the community, and they both suffer from health problems. For one week, their friends and neighbors worked with the ABC show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to build the family a new home that would better suit their needs. But three years later, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader, the family is going to sell that home.

Left with more than $100,000 to pay off on their mortgage, and an increase in property taxes and utility bills, the Hassalls have decided that the stress of the home is more than they can take. Although some in the community are angry with the decision, most seem to be sympathetic to the Hassalls’ situation.

banks said:

I do believe that part could be a burden

I really lkie this show. I like to see how they tranform these people lives. But i guess the real transformation is going from a homeowner to not owning that home

banks said:

How can you be 'given a house' and then have a $100,000 mortgage?

Sounds like these people are simply taking out money against the house and probably living well beyond their means or making hugely stupid financial decisions and/or bad business ventures - like the family that started the construction company.

banks said:

Yeah, there's a risk in winning anything. If you win a car on The Price is Right, you have to pay taxes on it, right?

And you have to be responsible. Sounds like those guys were tempted by the equity loan, but it was 4 times as big as their mortgage, I don't know how they thought they could pay it.

NDRU said:

Even people down on their luck can be fucking morons.

NDRU said:

in your silly country, yes you do!

JustErin said:

They are not given the house.. They still have to pay whatever they owe on their existing mortgage... they get a new house built but they still have to pay that old mortgage

JustErin said:

people win the lottery, and they spend, spend, spend.

The thing about Home Makeover is you get stuff, but you don't get money. You are supposed to basically live the same, just more comfortably.

banks said:

Then yes, they ARE given the house. Their previous responsibilities are still theres.

NDRU said:

I believe that couple from Atl was the only one who lost their house because they borrowed all that money against it... the other's just couldn't afford it

ZombieKitten said:

seems pretty unfair, doesn't it? But the government needs to fund our banks somehow

NDRU said:

which is fair enough

the improvements increased the value of the home and probably gave these people the illusion that they had all this money

NDRU said:

that's what casinos are for!

JustErin said:

Yes along with the new property tax and utilities