Extreme Makeover-Foreclosure Edition

Milton and Patricia Harper's 'Extreme Makeover' home built in 2005 is now in foreclosure, according to Clayton County, GA, mortgage records. Photo courtesy of Superior Walls by Weaver Precast.

I'm not going to lie, I'm a reality-TV junky. I know there's a fair share of garbage being cranked out by some tasteless Hollywood television producer, but there are a few shows that just tug at your heartstrings and make you believe that there is some good in this world. One of those shows is ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.'

With an army of builders, contractors, interior decorators and volunteers, the 'Extreme Makeover' team sweep into neighborhoods across the country and renovate the home of a family in need. The families selected for the shows, usually have heart-wrenching stories of their everyday financial and emotional struggles. Even I would get choked up watching the show. So you can imagine my shock when I recently read a report form the Associated Press about one of those Extreme Makeover home's being foreclosed on.

Harper family home
According to the AP, Milton and Patricia Harper used the house at 5489 Ahyoka Drive in Clayton County, GA, as collateral for a $450,000 loan. Records at the law firm handling foreclosures for the lender, JPMorgan Chase Bank, confirmed that the home is in foreclosure. The home is scheduled for auction on the Clayton County Courthouse steps Aug. 5.

The house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and 'Extreme Makeover' demolished their old home and its faulty septic system. Within six days, construction crews and hoards of volunteers had completed work on the largest home that the television program had yet built.

I remember watching this episode. It's not hard to forget the horrible story of the faulty septic system that backed sewage into the house after a hard rain. On the show, family members recalled how the basement filled with human fecal matter, creating a retching stench.

The Harper family's newly constructed 4-bedroom home has decorative exterior rock walls and a 3-car garage. The interior entrance of the home boasts a large lobby with four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office.

Materials and labor were donated for the home, which would have cost about $450,000 to build. Beazer Homes employees and company partners also raised $250,000 in donations to the family, including scholarships for the couple's three children and a home-maintenance fund.

Show me the money
So where did all that money go? The family, who has declined to speak to reporters, told WSB-TV they took a $450,000 loan for a construction business that failed. Surfing the blogosphere this morning, I noticed a lot of harsh comments made about the Harper family, some justifiable and most just cruel. While I admit that the Harpers squandered a one-in-a-life-time opportunity and their financial failings won't draw a lot of sympathy from most people, but they are among thousands of other American families who carelessly used their home as an ATM machine.

During the height of the housing boom, home values sky rocketed to historic highs and suddenly people across the country of all races and economic levels tapped into the equity of their homes like it was gold mine. The Harpers were given a second chance and they blew it big-time, but before we judge them, we should look at our own spending habits as a nation. Have you looked at your credit card statement lately? The housing and foreclosure crisis has shined a spotlight on this country's need for excess consumption and the lack of fiscal responsibility both at home and with our own government. This is a road we can no longer afford to walk down.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.

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