Borrowing $450K what is wroong with these people its not like they had high flyer jobs with big salaries.

How is this house a victim of any crisis? It's a victim of dumb people and greed.

what a bunch of ungrateful idiots. They get a free house and still screw it up. Serves them right. Wish someone would give me a home... i bet you i'll keep it.

...I agree... they were GIVEN a new home (only had to pay taxes from then on, no more mortgage payments - PLUS they were GIVEN $100,000 cash to put aside and help with "home maintenance", which could ALSO have been used to pay the higher txes?) AND cash, of which $100,000 was to be PUT ASIDE for the childrens' COLLEGE... So what do they do? Instead of WORKING honest jobs (it's not like they had a HUGE MORTGAGE payment at that point, remember?) they use the childrens' college money, the home maintenance fund, AND put their new home on the block in order to cash in on an iffy, at best, self-employment venture (NEVER put your home on the block for anything less than a sure thing... idiots).

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???

I hope, for their childrens' sake, that the next house they wind up RENTING doesn't have the hazards and problems their previous one did, because I seriously doubt they can send in a new application video for a "free house" again..
Talk about IRRESPONSIBLE, with what should have been good fortune...

all I have to say about these ungrateful people is idiots idiots idiots. And the loan officer that actually decided to give them a $450,000 loan and took the house as collateral was even a bigger idiot. Apparently he didn't pay much attention when they were going over risk assessment during his training class.

They aren't victims!! What in the hell are getting a $450,000 loan for?!?!?!? They're inconsiderate idiots. The blame for losing their house is soley theirs.

...to he 250K? You mean to tell me that 450K is out the window? Wow...talk about some explaining to do.

Victims of the foreclosure crisis? They make it sound like some scary monster jumped out and seized its unknowing victims while they were walking down a quiet trail in the forest minding their own business.
What about a headline that reads, "Another bank falls victim to the Dead-Beat crises"?
Congress strong-armed the lending industry, calling for an end to "predatory lending practices"--which meant giving people that didn't qualify for loans a house. People with terrible credit scores and no signifigant work history were issued 103% loans. Why 103%? That was 100% of the cost of the house and 3% thrown in to cover closing costs! Meaning the buyer was upside down on the loan the moment they signed the freaking paperwork!
Fine, another stupid move by democrats, and cowardly republicans afraid of being labeled racists, but nothing new for politicians. Guess what happened to the loans of those un-qualified applicants? They were known as the sub-prime market, they no longer exist.
Guess who will be picking up the tab for all those bad loans?

People deserve the government they get, we are plagued by lazy non-producers in this country, we need to have the courage to acknowledge and talk about that as well.

How appualing that they would title it that they feel VICITM to foreclosure. They were greedy idiots who had no idea how to be smart with thier money. With their children's education covered and a brand new gorgeously furninshed home...they wanted MORE. There are people so worthy of this (extreme makeover) it is just sad and dissapointing that time and money was wasted on these people.
I can't even believe the audacity they had to take a $450K loan on that home to "start a business" Who did thier bsuiness plan? Woudl love to see that myslef....humm..wonder what kind of watched they are whereing now...can tell you one thing..it isn't a timex! They were careless, idiotic and really put to shame all the hard work and love that was poured into bettering their lives. They7 are not "victims" they are completly willing participants!!!!!!!
So upsetiing and unervng!

It just goes to show you you can't just give people
450,000 homes and 250,000 in cash . If they could not
handle there money before what makes you think they
can manage when you just give it to them.
quick math:450,000$ loan (from free home)250,000$ cash
to pay bills for free home = 7000,000$/ 36 months=
19,444 pissed away each month
we are the victims federal bailout.Meaning our tax dollars
paying for stupid people. (Maybe we are the stupid ones)

Please don't call them victims of the foreclosure crisis! The crisis is that they made a horrible decision to take a $450,000 loan against a house that was given to them. They are not Vicitms!

They werent a "victim" of the foreclosure CRISIS...they mismanaged money they had no right to pull from a house they didn't put money INTO to, I'm SURE that is not what all those people and Beazer homes had in mind when they did all this for them. They should be ashamed of themselves, I wouldn't be surprised if THEY were the ones to put their name in for the show...I remember watching that episode and asking myself WHY the heck were THEY given a new house when there were so many other TRULY "In need" families out there.

I have one word for this family:

KARMA

This just goes to show that some people are destined to be poor. Some people just do not know how to handle money and fine property. Taking out a $450,000 loan w/ your awesome house as collateral to start a construction company in times like these?? Just plain dumb! These are the kind of people who would win millions of dollars in the lottery and blow it all within a few years. I also question the whole construction company thing. What do you want to bet that money was spent on excess cars, designer clothing and other frivilous crap? Maybe even a drug habit or two.

Mortgage crisis my butt! The home came WITHOUT a mortgage-fully paid for and with a maintenance fund and education scholarships to boot! Not sure who is dumber the family or the person writing this post.

Sorry but I feel sympathy for this family. Someone had to do this sooner or later. The family should have been made to seek financial advisers to consult with first before borrowing ANY money on their home. Not the other way around where the show doesn't want to be in their "financial" lives. ABC should have a concern regarding the home they construct each season. This just gives the whole concept a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
Good luck Harper family. You're gonna need it.

"The Harper family "Extreme Makeover" house has become a victim of the foreclosure crisis"

How are they "victims"? They made a bad business decision and are paying for it.

I don't understand this foreclosure "crisis". How do people, all of the sudden, can't afford their house payment? Sure many people lose their jobs and hit hard times, but millions are foreclosing. Did they get ARM loans and their payments went skyrocketing after 5 yrs?

I think stupid people and greedy banks were a bad mix. We were in no way getting an ARM loan. That is just a dumb dumb loan. Unless, you can easily afford the increase when it comes. We purchased our house almost 6yrs ago and got a 30yr fixed rate loan. Our payment has stayed the same. We also went from 2 incomes down to one and had another kid. AND we aren't foreclosing!

There are so many people out there that are just walking away from these houses too. I heard that Jose Canseco didn't want to pay his taxes so he is walking away from his $2mil home. He can afford it, but he thinks it's too high because the housing market has dropped. Boo freakin' hoo! You made your bed now you gotta lie in it.

There are NO victims in this foreclosure crisis, only stupid decisions made by stupid people and greedy banks!!!

How are they victims of the foreclosure "crisis". They took a loan out a loan that they couldn't afford to pay. Hundreds of people donated time and money to give them a better home, they should be ashamed of themselves.

Their home was bought and paid for! They could have all become Wal-Mart greeters and STILL lived high on the hog! Instead, they leveraged 100% of their home. How dumb is that? You can take the boy outta the 'hood, but you'll never take the 'hood outta the boy. These morons deserve NOTHING in the way of financial assistance. In fact, they owe uncle Sam for the initial 1/2 a mil they already received.

I'd be interested to see what the inside of that house looks like now. The Harper family doesn't strike my as the kind who value things that are given to them.

To the nut who feels sorry for them, are you kidding? How about some personal responsibility?

These people deserve to be on the street, this was a pathetic move on their part and not they will be stuck in a 1 bedroom apartment. IDIOTS!!!

These people are stupid. They squandered their free home on a failing business. They are clueless how to handle their finances.

definitely not foreclosure crisis! does anyone find it ironic they leveraged the home to supposedly start a construction business, yet
the home they originally had was in ruins and they couldn't even remodel, rebuild, or repair it themselves. These people are not victims by any means.

This is awful thing thats happening to this family, they finally get something nice and now they may have it taken away? My thoughts and prayers go out to them in this awful situation.

Apparently the same thing that landed you in trouble in the first place returned. How can you jeopardize your family's donated new home on a venture like that? You don't deserve another chance! What's next...the children's educational trust fund? Shame Shame Shame on you!!!!!

This family is the perfect example of how people who don't work hard for what they have but instead are given everything just don't appreciate what they have. What a total disaster of a family. This puts to shame the 1800 people who helped build this house and who raised money on their behalf. I mean a $450,000 loan and $200,000 in extra money?!?!?! I hope this family is never given anything ever again and then maybe they'll learn to appreciate what they have and not be complete morons with their financial decisions.

As others have said before, there are countless people all over the country who work long hours and have to still make mortgage payments on their houses and have no college funds for their kids who are NOT LOSING their homes to foreclosure simply because they have an ounce of common sense. So now I'm joining the rest of the country in laughing at this inept bunch of fools. I at least hope this serves as a lesson for others. Way to go Harper family!

http://www.cbs46.com/news/16979641/detail.html

CBS-46 has obtained documents showing that in two years, two loans have been taken out against it. One was in the amount of $125,000, the other for $450,000.

So ... over about three years, they get a free 450K luxury home, $100,000 cash, and $575,000 in loan proceeds?

I AM OUTRAGED THAT THE HARPER FAMILY DID THIS. EXTREME MAKEOVER COULD OF BUILT 7 OR MORE HOMES FOR MORE DERSERVING FAMILIES FOR THE PRICE OF THIS ONE HOME. SAD,SAD ALSO WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE WELFARE BLACHS?????

And to think that this family could be a recipient of the new tax payer funded home owner bail out!

It is funny that the story makes them sound like they are not at fault. No wonder we have a country that cannot take care of itself. We need someone to bail us out.

Personal Reasonability is a 4 letter word in USA right now. Soon the majority of the country will get tired of it and do something about it. Everyone looks for a way to get something for nothing.

Ohhh, but what about the poor children. Maybe, if we raise taxes on: tobacco and cigarettes and gasoline and liqour and beer and real estate and vehicles and cell phones and investments and business and capitol gains...we can take money from the BAD people--and give it to the Poor GOOD people like these???

Please, amerika...all we need is love!
Stop bigotry, it's hampering your donation giving!!

send them to iraq

This family was given a gift of a home for their family to be put in, and it was extremely greedy to get out a loan that you could never pay back. This is looking a gift horse in the mouth and then slapping it. We all felt for them on TV, then they try to make it into a money making venture. Go get jobs like the rest of us do! Not everyone had the same opportunity to have our homes rebuilt and our kids get full scholarships without even having to go to school to get the good grades.

1800 PEOPLE BREAK THEIR BACKS TO GIVE A FAMILY A BETTER LIFE AND THIS IS THE THANKS THEY GET. I THINK THE HARPER FAMILY SHOULD BE A SHAMED OF THEIRSELVES. HERE THEY WERE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE AND GREED GOT IN THE WAY. SO PLEASE DONT BLAME IT ON THE ECONOMY AND FORECLOSURE CRISIS. THE ONLY ONE TO TAKE THE HEAT FOR THIS ARE THE PARENTS AND THE BANKER. I HOPE ITS NOT TO LATE FOR THE KIDS TO LEARN A VALUABLE LESSON FROM THIS. THEY WOULDNT OF EVEN BEEN ON THE SHOW IF THEIR DUCKS WERENT ALREADY DROWNING. SO LESSON OF THE DAY: WHEN SOMEONE NICE SAVES YOUR DROWNING DUCKS, KEEP THEM IN A ROW. DONT TURN AROUND AND SUBMERGE THEM AGAIN.

victim? Who’s the freakin victim? Our economy is the only victim here, over embellished (wanna be reporters) encourage "crisis" like this. I guess it's true: you can take em out o tha projects but ya can't take tha projects outa them. Victims my a$$! If it was up to the bleedin liberals we would all be F_ _ _ _ in victims. How's this for a swallow 'o' reality, REAL people WORK for what they get, and if given a BLESSING they take CARE of it. How the heck is someone a victim when they chose to take out the loan? Our own choices don't make us victims people, it makes us decision makers, bad or good. Oh, and btw I'm sure you won't even post this, reality cuts too close to the skin brother.

Who is the idiot that wrote this article that called these people victims? Maybe he should donate some of his money to these poor people. I mean, they were given this big nice house, all this extra money, college educations for thier kids, but they weren't given the money to roll with the neighbors, and that was unacepptable to them. It actually makes me sick that this "journalist" calls them "victims". How about "loan officer victims of idiot dead beat losers who will always want more than they have"

I don't understand HOW you could refer to these irresponsible, ungrateful people as VICTIMS. They were given a one in a lifetime chance and they pissed it away with poor planning and greed. I'm sorry, but I can't really feel sorry for them - except the children who really had no choice in the matter.
They will now probably be featured on Inside Edition or some other show Boo Hoo-ing and expecting people to come forward again to bail them out of this mess. Oh wait, I forgot, the government is already approving a bill to bail out morons like this. It's INFURIATING!!! I am a teacher paying nearly 400 per month on my student loans, because of late fees and forebearances. I am going to be paying out this loan FOREVER. But I accept the responsibility. THIS is what happens when your job cannot support your debts or you cannot pay on time. I don't expect anyone to bail me out of a mess I created. Believe me, I do not use credit cards and I rent a modest apartment. Also, my car? Used car that I paid for in cash. It's called LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES and LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS.
Their first investment was a home that was LITERALLY full of SH*T! So, I'm not really surprised to hear this. I am just SO DISGUSTED!

I won't comment on the family - there is enough of that on this site. I will comment on ABC's Extreme Makeover....I'm surprised this hasn't happened before. I've always said that it's ridiculous the money they spend on these makeovers. I believe most the families deserve the gift they are given, HOWEVER....NO ONE, I MEAN 'NO ONE' needs a house as big and over the top as this show gives them. And really, the kids rooms??? Come on!! These are families that are living in extreme conditions... don't you think the kids just deserve 'a decent room' without going to all of the expense of the theme rooms they build...they create such unrealistic views for these kids...especially the little ones!!! They could build and help more people if they just brought this down a few notches. It's insane. The ONLY makeovers that appear to be warranted of the large rooms and such are those for the disabled. It's completely understandable to build that way for the blind or those unable to walk, etc., but for those that are just down on their luck or have mold or whatever....PLEASE! I am quite sure those families would be just as happy with a new smaller managable home as they would a mansion. It just creates these types of issues. Smarten up ABC and Ty Pennington! I already stopped watching due to this - and I'm sure others will as well.

I willing to bet that they will be the the first ones come November to cast their vote for the Messiah & Savior Obama!

And to think that this family could be a recipient of the new tax payer funded home owner bail out!

She's going to take "HER" money and leave because she's being harassed?

If a mortgage firm had loaned $450,000 and the borrower was not repaying the loan they should firmly EXPECT to be harassed by the lender!

Lazy fat ace! Go to Iraq or Africa and see what people will give you from their "Hearts"!

This is obviously the fault of our Federal Government. Just another example of why we need more regulations on banks, mortgages, houses, new businesses, and stupid TV shows. I am calling my congressman right now to ask him to sponsor a bill to allow the Federal Government to review all applications for Extreme Makeover house construction. In fact, HUD should just take over the show. If Congress had been involved in the construction, the Harper family's home would have ended up costing about $4 million after the rider bills were added in for pork barrel projects. The greedy banker who loaned this poor family the $450,000 should be tarred and feathered and made to give the house back to these nice people. Or better yet, Congress should pass a bill that allows people to borrow up to half a million against their home, and if they lose all the money, the government will bail them out. If we can do it for the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we can do it for the Harpers. You can use the money for whatever you like: start a business, go on vacation, become a professional poker player. But if you fail, it obviously could not be your fault, and you should not be held responsible. You are the VICTIM! Just like the Harpers. Get a grip people! We do not live in the land of the free; we live in the land of the free ride! As soon as you all realize this, you will stop this vetting against this poor family and put the blame where it rightly belongs! Capitalism! If the Harpers had not taken the notion to start a business on their own, but instead had the protection of a socialist fascist empire (at least we are on the right path), the Harpers would still be living in that beautiful house. We need to stop pussy-footing around with the grand experiment and jump headlong into the arms of Mother Amerika. Just remember, we are ALL victims!

This just goes to show that you CAN NOT help people. If they were intelligent enough to handle their assets (budgeting) they wouldn't have needed $700,000 worth of charity in the first place. It's not always bad luck- more often than not, it's bad choices and poor reasoning. You can't hand money to a person and expect that they will know how to manage it. Poor people are usually not good with budget management and prioritizing- that's why they're poor. When they have it, they squander it... Then they say "Bad luck!!"

Just blatant greed which caused this family to expect the big bucks to keep on coming. No doubt some idiotic liberal will expect people who have made it on a small PERCENTAGE of Harper finances to bail this family out again! Would love to see more information on the background of the family prior to the extreme makeover program. They seem like a group very experienced in using the system, but contributing nothing (except more children).

So, they get a loan for 450k, they already have 250k towards home maintenance, 100k towards the kids college, they can take the contents of the home or sell them and go somewhere buy a shack for cash, don't work and live it up for -- well, until the money runs out. Maybe they are smarter than they are being given credit for.

its sad that these people are going to cause so many more deserving families not receive the help they need do to the greediness of a family that was so blessed by the giving of so many. This is not a shameful event .... its a tragedy towards the needy Way to go Harper you got yours ... lived like a big fat shot and then squandered your money like a typical hand to mouth nomad...
What a F'n shame...

now go work for somebody and start giving back!

Dummies

...they were probably expecting the government to take care of them from cradle to grave. Sorry, homies, it doesn't work like that.

(i hope I can work the complex math problem below in order to post my comment. Let me get my slide rule.........)

I CAN SO SEE MRS HARPER HANGING UP ON THE DEBT COLLECTORS AS THEY CALL TO TRY TO GET HER CURRENT ON HER MORTGAGE. "DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO" FORCLOSURE! SMART BANKING MOVE.....

Greedy, stupid people--enough said!

I am sooooo happy no one mentioned that the Harpers were black ! However, I as a Black male, along with my wife and four sons reside in a modest four bedroom small home , apprasied at 179,000, built in 1999 by a affordable home builder in Florida called GHD. We are so happy for our home and would never give it up even after having to refinance the home with an inflatable monthly payment from 680.00 to 1,200 due to not so good credit.My answer to the article called the Harpers victims.... "NOT!!!" as a previous writer stated, they were money hungry and status influenced. They knew they could not belong to the elite status of some folks, yet they felt they had the mentality to be there at bthat upper echelon, as a result the greed and the desire to be as the JONES's had them to lose everything. There is no way I could ever take another loan out on my home, unless it was for a few thousand to repair the home, but 450,000, yes they deserve the current status that they are in, some people do not know when a blessing has occured.

They're black. Black almost never happens. Usually blacks are upstanding contributing members to the community. A real shocker. (sarcasm)

That's just ridiculous, If i was handed a beautiful home like that plus $200,000, taxes paid for 25 years, you better believe that I am going to do everything in my power to keep it. WORK for my money not borrow against a gift.........there's a reason why certain people stay in bad situations......because they're extremely stupid...

The kids didn't take out any loans; those two dumb grownup parents did. I feel bad for the children; they were young and have basically no say in the matter.

They were given everything but greed got the better of them. Not very many people ae given the chance they were given.

What idiots!

Well, it appears there was a pretty good reason why they were broke and living in a craphole to begin with, eh?

There really is a problem in the home market now, but stupid people like this take the focus off of the folks with the real problems.

I wonder how many others are victims of their own greed and stupidity?

Maybe banks should require some kind of an intelligence/ethics test prior to loaning money.

There is no business. Never was.

The family saw the dollar signs $$$$$$ and cashed in.

They have $700k +++ in the bank.

Nice score!

They took the money and are heading to somewhere warm.

I remember this episode clearly as I have a son who is in the military and I thought how nice a gift for a soldier and his family.

My question and I'm pretty sure I know the answer.............was the house their's free and clear or did they have a mortgage before they took out the loan?

If it was their's free and clear how foolish to throw it all away. I feel sorry for their children as now their beautiful house is gone.

I also blame the Extreme Home show in away......... why are they building such fancy houses for everyday families.

Every episode seems to be more than the average family should want or need, for example a quote from an article about the Harper house stated that the house had the following;

"The finished product was a four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage that towered over ranch and split-level homes in their Clayton County neighborhood. The home's door opened into a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office."

You give an average family something that fancy and they will be tempted to do the wrong thing.......in this case take out a loan that they can't pay back. How sad.

and have you seen the harper family (a pic) yeah explains it all

thats alot of drug money

KAR-FRIGGIN-MA!!!!
These GREEDY, THOUGHTLESS, IGNORANT people got exactly what they deserve! They didn't deserve the home (and proved it by their actions) so Karma snatched it out from under them!

The Harper Family are victims of their own greed,stupidity & growing up believing that it is someone elses job to take care of them & their children, ie the " liberal mindset that we are all victims & that the Democrats/Nanny Government are here to save you" just vote for us & Barry Hussein Obama in November & all your troubles will be over with.

First I would like to say to the Extreme Makeover crew, hats off to your efforts, but while ultimately the Harpers are responsible for this the Extreme Makeover people should be the blame in this 50% if not mostly, I know that statement will cause an outcry among the even less tolerant people, those who ultimately dont care about anyone but themselves, but hear me out most philanthropic people approach this in manner they should, providing assistance to people in more ways than material, thats what happened the Harpers may have been overwhelmed with the emotional aspect of being the recipients of this blessing but ultimately they were not mentally prepared and educated in the proper financial acumen a person must have to deal with type of value they received in this hand out. I have the same philanthropic ideals, but cant seem to achieve the necessary success to make them come to fruition. You cant save people with material needs, you must make continuing contributions to feed the spiritual person, thats what was missing in this all along with feeding the mentality of people with education, setting goals, etc, and of course you must be there to hold their hands, just like you would with children and / or such as on the job training afforded to entry level applicants. Anyways the Harpers may have screwed up but we as a people have failed also by not providing the continuing counseling they needed to deal with their new found success. Poverty has bred many dysfunctional families, just like survial of the fittest has allowed the stronger to rise from poverty, Compassion and Support can strengthen the weakest of us to success

only a bunch of idiots would do that. They took advantage of the situation when they should have thank god for that miralce.

What unbelieveably idiotic, irresponsible, morons. I can't believe they were basically handed the world and they gave it all away without so much as a blink. Two ridiculous loans, scholarships and an exasperatingly, astonishing house... and they risk it for an iffy chance at makin' a couple cents? I just dont understand the morality or ethics that some people accquire. Someone should of seriously had them meet with a few financial advisors before handing out loans, given they're previous history. And I CANNOT believe that the author of this article called them "victims". The only possible culprit I see is their own stupidity.
I am just freakin' speechless.

WTF.

This is a response to the poster named Paul Osborne above me who states that the show should shoulder 50% of the blame for this situation that has unfolded. What nonsense, Paul! It is unreasonable to ask, expect, or demand so much from the Extreme Makeover crew, the business community, as well as the 1800 people who worked so tirelessly for this family. Your post reeks of an entitlement mentality that is so prevalent in this country today. With all due respect, the family isn't entitled to a damn thing. They were living in terrible conditions. Total strangers came to their aid and gave them more than enough for them to have a secure future. They should have held onto what was given to them. Such simple logic does not require education. It does not require the community to be there to hold their hands or provide them with spiritual nourishment. How ironic that you would mention compassion and support while failing to acknowledge that compassion was provided in the form of blood, sweat, tears, and ultimately a house; and support was provided in the form of scholarship money as well as several hundred thousand dollars to help them live comfortably for years to come. Let's not forget the obvious: the Harper's current quagmire came about as a result of their greed, pure and simple. It wasn't like they had to get jobs that pay them 60K/year to sustain their living style. Their mortgage was fully paid for. Their house was fully stocked with every essentials any family could ever need, from expensive lcd tv's to brand name appliances. They had several hundred thousands in their bank account, all given to them free of charge. If poor families across America can pay their utility bills with their 10K-20K/year salaries, the Harpers should be able to do that easily with all the money that was given to them. If they lacked spiritual nourishment, it isn't the responsibility of the show to provide that. It is the responsibility of their church, but one doesn't need to go to church to realize that greed is wrong, or that one shouldn't bite off more than one can chew. Ultimately, the fault lies with the Harpers, and no one else.

I am reminded of something the late Tim Russert often tells his son: you are always, always loved, but you are never, never entitled.

I saw the headlines and I prayed to GOD that they weren't black, I feel that everytime a blacks make progress, people like the Harpers bring us right back. Just the possiblty of being foreclosed on should of stop them from taking this loan, what about 1800 people who worked nonstop to make this house, they were screwed over. The Harpers took out a $125,000 and $450,000 loan for a construction business? Every construction business is run out people's pickup trucks, what did they spend this money on? The blame is on the Harpers but Chase lending them $575,000 TH