ABC and producers of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition are scaling back the size of their renovations in the wake of defaulted mortgages and shattered dreams for dozens of disadvantaged families who have appeared on the show.
On Monday, The Wall Street Journalth published a report about beneficiaries of the show defaulting on their mortgages. Many families quickly find out that owning a giant home with a merry-go-round, bowling alley, and shark tank isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. After all, who’s going to front those hefty property taxes, the sky-high utility bills and lawns as larges at football fields don’t just mow themselves.
Some homeowners have tapped the equity of their super-sized homes only to fall behind on the higher mortgage payments, The Journal says. The disappointing turn of events has forced series producers to take notice of this glaring sign of the times by adjusting the way they rebuild homes. ABC will now scale back the redesigns to give families a more modest makeover that will be more cost-efficient for homeowners in the long run.
“The show’s producers say they are aware of the problem and are making changes appropriate to current economic reality: downsizing….”