Anyone watch Extreme Home Makeover?

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lizaanne

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This is our Sunday night routine - sitting together on the couch, and crying as we watch the show. I don’t think there has been a family yet that we have not cried with. Last night was no exception.

Husband was a Drill Sergeant in the Army in Iraq, and was in that lunch tent bombing, and left paralyzed below the waist.

Then he comes home, and the entire family is in a freak car accident, and young son becomes paralyzed - below the waist.

I just sobbed. But I truly think that God brought that man a roll model in his son (and not the other way around). There has to be some sort of good out of such tragedy.

I just love this show. The way they change people’s lives is totally amazing. —I only wish they would show more of the details of the house when they are done!! 🙂

Anyone else a fan?

~Liza
 
I am a fan - though I wonder who pays the taxes on the extensive prizes?
 
jrabs said:
I am a fan - though I wonder who pays the taxes on the extensive prizes?
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I have always wondered that myself. Just a hunch, they set the family up a some sort of charity or something? 🤷 I have no idea about the tax law, but they obviously have some way around it or the show would not have lasted past the first season.

~Liza
 
I ususally watch the show…very good.

As for the taxes,the people have to pay but if you notice they usually get money besides the house…like someone pays the mortgage off…even if they have to refinance for the home improvements its worth it…
 
lizaanne said:
I have always wondered that myself. Just a hunch, they set the family up a some sort of charity or something? 🤷 I have no idea about the tax law, but they obviously have some way around it or the show would not have lasted past the first season.

~Liza
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Perhaps that is what happens. Unless the construction companies and vendors donate the supplies. Making them donations and not prizes.

Gosh some of those - actually most of those folks are in need of the home makeover for a reason and most are flat broke due to medical reasons and tragedies that wipe them out.
There is no spare $150,000 hanging around to pay the taxes on the prizes.
 
aimee said:
I ususally watch the show…very good.

As for the taxes,the people have to pay but if you notice they usually get money besides the house…like someone pays the mortgage off…even if they have to refinance for the home improvements its worth it…
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Yeah - maybe but I bet many of the families would not even qualify for a refinance of such enormous amount. Those houses are huge. And sometimes they come with tremendous medical upgrades like air purifiers.

Who knows. May God help me that I may never have to find out due to personal situations.
 
The idea is great. What has been of concern is the extravagance that they have been promoting to solve the families problems. I wonder what their lives look like after a couple of years and the extravagance wears off.
 
The homes really are breathtakingly beautiful - but I know that if I had two disabled people in my home, I darn sure would not want to have multiple bathrooms, and thousands of square feet of floor to clean!!! :eek:

I would imagine that some families could sell their homes for a cool million in some instances. But then you are left finding something that is not custom made such as what you are leaving behind.

I’ve aways wanted them to do a reunion show to see how the families are doing and how they are living in their new homes.

~Liza
 
I am glad it exists just like Americas Most Wanted - But I eventually got tired of the weekly tragedy theme and getting emotional. I no longer watch it.

Hope the show continues and keeps inspiring the “Pay it Forward” spirit though.
 
I too used to watch most of the time…never cried though…guess I’m not a softy…:~]
I know that as far as property taxes go, the show gets with the local gov and work out a deal where the taxes don’t go up for a certain number of years…don’t remember how long…maybe 5 years?
I like that british buy on the show…he’s hilarious, but I don’t watch much anymore.
 
I like the show. I do think they “rebuild” to excess (over & above the “needs” of the family), but a few luxuries are probably in order for what these families have gone through.

I believe this is the only example on broadcast TV where the medium of television, the financial power of conglomerate companies, and the power of community is used and promoted for the good.

If you think about it, a “house-worth” of appliances & furniture, paint, lumber & materials, and labor is a pittance to the large conglomerates that subsidize the show. They will reap profits 10x their cost for the exposure.

(The thing that does P.O. me is when the camera pans around and a “non-contributor’s” van/logo/equipment is in the shot, they blurrrr out scene.)
 
I just wish they would do a normal kid’s bedroom once in awhile. What’s with all the over-the-top themes, like a horsey room for the girl who likes horses, with piles and piles of stuffed horses and a horsey mural and walls done up like a stable, and a giant rocking horse and a saddle-shaped bed and a horse’s head on the pillow. I say, just pain the walls a nice yellow, and let the girl put up a poster of a horse if she wants.

That, and they always have to do some kind of shrine to the deceased spouse. It makes for sentimental TV, but I would rather let the bereaved choose their own way to memorialize the beloved.
 
Liza, there’s a family in metro Detroit who received one of these makeovers (in Oak Park, I believe), and according to an article I read in the Detroit News late last year, they’re having trouble keeping up with maintenance, utilities and taxes on their newly-expanded property. My wife and I were intensely interested in this family and their makeover, because their family and ours are both affected by autism (and theirs is also affected by deafness, and if I remember correctly, blindness). I’ve taken a different (that is, less rosy) view of the show since I read the article in which they described their difficulty in meeting their new expenses.
 
buffalo said:
The idea is great. What has been of concern is the extravagance that they have been promoting to solve the families problems. I wonder what their lives look like after a couple of years and the extravagance wears off.
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I’ve wondered those things, too.

I’ve also been bothered that this show is on TV promoting its altruism, while Habitat for Humanity goes chugging merrily and quietly along, giving families what they need - safe, modest and affordable housing built with the help of the families receiving them - without the fanfare that accompanies “Extreme Makeover” on network TV.
 
djrakowski said:
I’ve taken a different (that is, less rosy) view of the show since I read the article in which they described their difficulty in meeting their new expenses.
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That’s a very valid point. The new homes are usually large - and must come with added financial burden - bringing unforeseen despair to a family that already has XYZ problems.
 
I must admit that I will not watch this live, only through my Tivo (r) brand DVR. I do this purposely to edit out the heartwarming story. I just watch the parts where they show the old and new houses. No reason to cry when doing this–other than in jealousy when comparing houses.
 
jrabs said:
That’s a very valid point. The new homes are usually large - and must come with added financial burden - bringing unforeseen despair to a family that already has XYZ problems.
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Thanks… I was concerned that my comment could be construed as overly-critical, but I’m very sensitive to the needs of families dealing with special needs.

The show does a lot of good, so I don’t want to offer nothing but criticism, but it seems like they go way beyond helping when they create these monstrously large homes that turn out to be monuments of excess.
 
I haven’t seen it in a long time, but I also think they over-do the kids’ rooms. Next month little Sally may not be into horses anymore, and Bobby may not be so wild about monkeys as he enters middle school :rolleyes: The rooms are beautiful, but I think they need to consider giving them something that can grow with them.
 
djrakowski said:
Thanks… I was concerned that my comment could be construed as overly-critical, but I’m very sensitive to the needs of families dealing with special needs.

The show does a lot of good, so I don’t want to offer nothing but criticism, but it seems like they go way beyond helping when they create these monstrously large homes that turn out to be monuments of excess.
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No - what I picked up from your comment was just the concern for the future of the family and their ability to maintain their gift.

No doubt the show and all involved strive to help families with difficult situations. Sometimes our big hearts don’t look down the road to consider future impact, hidden fees, ramifications of things.
 
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