New Jersey ‘Extreme Makeover Home Edition’ Home Put On Market For a Day
If you do not follow the show Extreme Home Makeover it is one of the most heartwarming things on television. A family in financial trouble and living typically in squalor has the ABC crew come in and work with thousands of volunteers to build a home in one week.
That is why it is so tough to see that one of the recipients of the communities largess put their home on the market albeit if it was only for one day. The homeowner was given 60,000 dollars to cover the maintenance costs of the home when they got the keys but says the money is all gone.
Unfortunately this is not too surprising. Basic money skills are not that common for folks living on the edge. The producers of ABC should use some of the power of the show to send these folks to school to learn to handle money instead of a trip to Disney World when they build them the house.
As you often see with pro athletes who are broke in only a few years after getting the monster contract, managing ones resources is hard. Education for these families can help avoid the poor publicity Extreme Home Makeover is getting from episodes like this.
Victor Marrero, the owner of the 3,000-square-foot, four-bedroom house pulled it off the market a day after it was listed by a real estate agent on the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS. On Tuesday, Zip Realty removed a lockbox from the home and temporarily suspended the listing, also at Marrero’s request.
Even if the house were still on the market, prospective buyers would have to line up behind Urban Promise Ministries, which has right of first refusal on the property at 3723 Federal St.
During a televised interview, Marrero said he tried to sell the home because it was too costly to maintain. He also said the nearly $60,000 worth of donations the family received during the Extreme Makeover build was gone. via Asbury Park Press.
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Comment by Rebecca Levinson on 9 May 2008:
That is sad. I have wondered before having watched the show, if the maintenance fees for these houses would end up being too much for these families to handle in the end. $60,000 cash is tempting spending money for most- not just those living on the edge, but middle class America too.
Pingback by Hitting the Links | Redfin Boston Sweet Digs on 9 May 2008:
[...] This is nice… Some guy who won a home makeover from Extreme Home Makeover put the home on up for sale. The family couldn’t afford to care for the home after they blew through the donated expense fund. [The Real Estate Bloggers] [...]
Comment by john anderson on 5 August 2008:
I have always wondered how all these houses built in one week hold up- do they build them in one week, and then spend a year going back and fixing everything built too fast? I guess they don’t need to follow all those directions for placing concrete, tile, paint, etc like the rest of us doing construction. The premanufactured houses in the shows look like the best ones as quality control in a factory, and not a zillion workers on top of each other. Has anybody read on article going back and reviewing all these houses built, who owns them, how they held up, etc?
Comment by Phil on 28 September 2008:
From what I remember this was near Camden and the people did not own a home, they were renting and Extreme Makeover found someone to donate the lot for them to build the home on. Way to spit on your neighbors and community. If you cant afford the upkeep on a free home then how are you going to afford to pay rent/mortgage in another home after you burn through the $$ you made on this house.
The show is great and heartwarming but pisses me off at the same time. Some of these people have some real sad stories and deserve everything they get and more. However there are others that are just idiots and in their situation because of stupitity. There was an epsisode that they were showing a familys shower and the corners were Duct Taped and looked real bad and TY was like oh this is terribe but any moron with a 9th grade education can see that a roll of Duct Tape costs $4.99 or a tube of caulk $1.98, a caulk gun 99 cents and 5 minutes fixes it properly. Another episode where the family bought a house for like $100,000 less then everything else in the neighborhood and then find out the house has termite damage, what do you think you are getting if the house is $100,000 less. Guess what a $50.00 inspection would have told you that.
A lot of times the houses are so crummy because the people did not take care of them and many times when TY walks through the old house it is a freakin pig sty. Way to take someone who doesnt take care of their house, has crummy money management or business skills. Give a man a fish he eats for a day, Teach a man to fish he eats forever. Next time instead of Disney or a Cruise make them sit down with Suze Orman or Bill Cramer for a 1/2 the week and Bob Vila the other half of the week.
Comment by sharon travis on 14 March 2009:
I’d heard of a house in AZ being built and then the quality of the workmanship on the house was so poor it is now falling apart.
Comment by Eric Sefton on 17 October 2009:
I love the show but have always wondered why they dont build homes a little smaller and more appropriate. The people they build these houses for dont need to go from some little crap box to a mega house. Meet their needs and dont go to such an extravigance.