Reality Junkies--Extreme Makeover Home Edition is in town

[TLB]

Interesting back story now coming out. Three adults, two with special needs, and four small children are living in a cramped, three-bedroom, 1100-square-foot home. The homeowner was disabled by polio and shrapnel that imbedded in his legs as a toddler in Vietnam. He was airlifted to the U.S. in 1975 on the last-baby lift project and adopted. His adopted brother lives with him and has cerebal palsy. Appears to be a real giving guy, a medal-winning Paralympian who educates students about the disabled, and mentors children and Iraq veterans who have recently been disabled.

[RAMd®d]

and you miss the point where after everyone leaves reality returns and a year later the house is in foreclosure...

Yeah, that happens every time.

[vision63]

You'd think they could drop the "Home Edition" part now.

[pRICE cUBE]

I am not a big fan of the show but I think the foreclosures are a small percentage of the homes built.

For the most part I think they do good and give the families a sustainable financial path. They can't control things like a family mortgaging the house to burn the money on a business.

[lafinfil]

They did one last fall in Indy that included a small community center / library next to the home owners revamp
as well as setting up a wi-fi system and donation of laptops. They also put excessive volunteers to work repairing
and cleaning up other houses in the neighborhood, as well as planting trees and cleaning up an otherwise
deteriorating inner city neighborhood that was struggling to survive.

The local news has done an update a few times - what happens when the crews all leave and it seems that
the remodel and clean up - along with the community center / library has sparked a renaissance of the neighborhood
and a lot of the volunteers have continued to work on the neighborhood.

I agree that many of the makeovers are a bit over the top, but it appears the Indy project has benefitted an
entire community. It would be cool to see more of those stories (and there have been a few others like that)

[vicrock]

My fave was the spoof done over the credits in the movie "Wild Hogs" - priceless.

[AAA]

I think the guy that had his house done, I saw him on TV, he said a whole bunch of things were poorly built, missing, not working. He said, they built in a week, what do you expect? Sounds like he keeps contacting them to come out and fix stuff. Seemed kinda bitter/irate about it.

[Black]

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/032...reme1.html

[AAA]

Black,

That is interesting. But not surprising. How does one go about finding stories like those they do if not just outright ASK FOR THEM?

[3d]

TLB wrote:
Interesting back story now coming out. Three adults, two with special needs, and four small children are living in a cramped, three-bedroom, 1100-square-foot home. The homeowner was disabled by polio and shrapnel that imbedded in his legs as a toddler in Vietnam. He was airlifted to the U.S. in 1975 on the last-baby lift project and adopted. His adopted brother lives with him and has cerebal palsy. Appears to be a real giving guy, a medal-winning Paralympian who educates students about the disabled, and mentors children and Iraq veterans who have recently been disabled.

I seriously hope they can afford the jacked up increase in property taxes after the show is done with the house. PICS PICS PICS!! :wall: