Even though the show wrapped up in 2012, Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition lives on in both reruns
and the gorgeous homes they built during their
nine-year run.
Host Ty Pennington and his team created dream
homes for some of the most deserving families
you could ever meet.
While the show was a positive light in the
world of reality television — full of arguing
housewives and drunken roommates — it had
its fair share of scandals and heartbreaks,
too.
From dishonest contestants to shady tax practices,
there was a lot more going on behind the scenes
than we ever could've known.
So allow us to "Move that bus!" and give you
a sneak peek at the inner workings of Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition.
When contestants lie
Sadly, even a feel-good show like Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition is not immune to people
trying to scam the system.
While the participants each went through a
thorough background check, one family may
have embellished, or even fabricated the truth,
in order to be chosen.
In 2009, Chuck and Terri Cerda were chosen
for the show after Terri shared that she and
their two daughters Molly and Maggie suffered
from severe immunodeficiency diseases, causing
them to have to wear masks at all times.
The Cerdas were given a massive home complete
with high-quality air ventilation systems,
but the story didn't end there.
When the family was unable to afford the utility
bills, they sold the house and moved to Oregon,
where the kids' new doctors questioned the
family's diagnoses.
Ultimately, those concerns were reported to
child welfare offices, and the girls were
actually removed from the Cerdas' home after
practitioners found that they were not chronically
ill but had instead been the victims of "medical
child abuse."
No such thing as a free house
You'd have to be emotionally dead to make
it through an entire episode of Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition without a few tissues.
Seeing a hardworking family being given their
dream home made you feel good.
However, while the house was free to the families,
the rest wasn't.
Many of these families were left with giant
mansions that required higher taxes, utility
bills, and upkeep, which means there's been
a sad pattern of Home Makeover families losing
their homes to foreclosure after the show
airs.
The reality show did help the new homeowners
a little, by doing some serious acrobatics
to help the families avoid paying taxes on
their makeover.
An IRS loophole says if your home is rented
out for less than 15 days per year, you do
not need to pay taxes on that rental income.
With that in mind, the show explains to families
that they are "renting" the house from the
family for a week, and the improvements are
the rental payment, meaning they don't have
to pay taxes on the improvements.
While this plan helps families up front, they'll
still be responsible for the future property
taxes that will undoubtedly rise with the
increased value of their home.
And, in many cases, that has caused the new
homeowners to lose their financial bearings
after the fact.
Legal troubles
It's hard to imagine a scenario where you
would actually sue the people who built you
your dream home for free, but it happened
in 2005.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition built a house
for the Higgins family, five orphans who had
lost their parents to cancer and heart failure.
The home was built for them and the Leomitis
family who had taken them in.
The show built them a nine bedroom mansion
and even provided new cars and groceries,
but after the cameras left, things got ugly.
According to the Higgins children, the Leomitis
family launched "an orchestrated campaign"
to force them out of the new mansion.
The family allegedly used racial slurs, verbal
abuse, and physical abuse to drive out the
orphans.
The Higgins children moved out and promptly
sued ABC, stating they were promised a house
which is not in their name.
Though ABC did not make an official statement
on the case, they did remind fans the show
was intended to build a home for the Leomitis
family, who had taken in the orphaned kids.
Not such a fairy tale story for those ones
left behind then, huh?
Unhappy neighbors
One of the best parts of Extreme Makeover
Home Edition is seeing the community come
together.
Friends and neighbors drop everything for
a week to pitch in and create an incredible
house.
It seems like it's usually a happy experience
for everyone.
But what happens when that family turns around
and sells?
If a family can no longer afford the taxes
and utilities, they may have no choice but
to downsize.
The problem comes in when the neighbors don't
approve of the new buyer.
In 2010, the show built a new home for Larry
and Melissa Beach in Houston.
The Beaches had fostered and adopted 85 children
with special needs over the years, but could
not keep up the cost of their new mansion.
The neighbors began to worry when the home
was sold to Butch Woolfolk, who turned it
into a high-end drug rehab center.
The Daily Mail reported that after donating
their time to build this house, many neighbors
were worried it would now hurt their own property
values.
Not to mention the fact that no one was thrilled
about now living next to a drug rehab facility.
Not their first (or last) reality rodeo
Thanks to its unbelievable success, the hosts
and designers from Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition seemed like overnight stars.
While their fame shot up thanks to the show,
many had done television before, including
designer Jillian Harris, who started out on
ABC's The Bachelorette before signing on to
be a reality show designer.
Meanwhile, host Ty Pennington got his start
as a model, went on to star in TLC's Trading
Spaces, and became the host of the talk show
The Revolution.
In 2014, Pennington became the host of TNT's
cooking competition show, On the Menu.
He must have liked the food world, because
he's since become the host of the Food Network
series, American Diner Revival, where he and
his team help struggling diners get a makeover
— sound familiar?
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