No, The Harper’s Are Not The Latest Victims Of The Foreclosure Crisis

Posted by on 7/29/2008

This is the story in a nutshell:

  • 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.
  • Materials and labor were donated for the home, which would have cost about $450,000 to build. Beazer Homes’ employees and company partners also raised $250,000 in contributions for the family, including scholarships for the couple’s three children and a home maintenance fund.

    • The home went into foreclosre, after the Harper family used the two-story home as collateral for a $450,000 loan. Was the loan for medical care? Nope. It was to start a business that failed.

    From Access Atlanta:

    “Things couldn’t look better three years ago for Milton and Patricia Harper of Lake City, who giddily accepted the keys to a small castle, plus enough money to pay taxes on it for 25 years.

    “Now, the Clayton County house that “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” built is a two-story, turreted example of how things can go wrong. It’s in foreclosure.

    The A.P.:

    “After the Harper family used the two-story home as collateral for a $450,000 loan, it’s set to go to auction on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse Aug. 5. The couple did not return phone calls Monday, but told WSB-TV they received the loan for a construction business that failed.

    “The house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” demolished their old home and its faulty septic system. Within six days, construction crews and hoards of volunteers had completed work on the largest home that the television program had yet built.”

    Economy, National News, Subprime Crisis

    4 Comments.

    1. Robert 7/29/2008 at July 29, 2008 - 04:38 PM

      This is Bush’s fault!!!:o

    2. FrmrArtyOffcr 8/2/2008 at August 2, 2008 - 05:31 PM

      Sounds to me like they are victims of their own stupidity. You NEVER put your home up to secure a business loan unless you are already bringing in enough income to cover the loan payments.

    3. NY-David 8/2/2008 at August 2, 2008 - 08:44 PM

      A fool and his money are soon parted………

    4. Robert 8/2/2008 at August 2, 2008 - 09:09 PM

      Did they also blow the $250k? Sounds like it…