The Harper family is back in the news again. In 2005, Milton and Patricia Harper of Lake City, Georgia were the recipients of a mortgage-free $450,000 two-story turreted McMansion courtesy of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
But just 4 years later, the home is in foreclosure for the 2nd time, and is scheduled to be auctioned off in Clayton County this Thursday (3/5).
The last time we wrote about the Harper family’s home going into foreclosure in 2008 we were sympathetic.
Milton Harper and his wife Patricia, a stay-at-home mom, have three sons, who, in 2005 ranged in age from 8 to 17.
Each time it rained, the family was driven out of their home at 5489 Ahyoka Drive in Clayton County by raw sewage backing up into the house due to a malfunctioning septic tank. The Harpers were forced — so they say — to sleep in the family van.
The Harper’s “Makeover” home was the largest such project undertaken by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition at the time. It took 1,800 volunteers six days to construct the McMansion costing $450,000 in materials and labor.
The 5,500 sq. ft. home boasted 4 bedrooms, a music room with eight turntables and recessed lighting, 4 fireplaces, a home office for Milton’s home-based security business, a solarium for Patricia’s plants, and a three car garage. Watch video.
In addition to the free mortgage, the Harpers were given $250,000 tax free by Atlanta home builder Beazer Homes to cover college scholarships for the children and to pay their annual property taxes for the next 25 years.
Despite the generous time and efforts of many, the Harpers managed to burn through the $250,000 in 2 ½ years. Once that money was gone, they needed more cash to maintain their newfound lavish lifestyle. So they walked into a bank and secured a $450,000 loan using every bit of the $450,000 equity in their home as collateral.
The Harpers said the loan was to start a construction business. But if the Harpers knew anything about the construction business, they could have renovated their original home themselves.
In 2008, the Harper home became the first “Extreme Makeover” home to go into foreclosure and an auction date was set.
On the eve of the planned auction, the Harpers struck a deal with Chase Home Finance so they could stay in their “Extreme” house. But, according to WSB TV, the house is in foreclosure again after the Harper’s defaulted on the new deal.
The Harper home is scheduled to be auctioned off on the Clayton courthouse steps this Thursday (3/5).
welp … easy come .. easy go … maybe the producers can offer the Parents (future recipients) a course or three in money mangement …
This is horrible. Black people, we gotta do betta! Those kids look old enough for that momma to go back to work.
I don’t care about this nonsense, they won’t be the first ones to squander away an inheritance, and sadly won’t be the last. Maybe when they’re homeless, they’ll think about how they had a large burden lifted and chose to mess it up
This is just a damn shame. BUT….Sandra, they are NOT the first Extreme Makeover home to go into foreclosure. Did you mean the first one in 2008? They are not the first ones.
I think that these shows swoop in on these people who are already (mostly) in some kind of bad situation and give them these huge expensive homes and not kind of education on how this will affect them financially. While they are looking at their huge house are they being told that their property tax, utilities, and mortgage (because not all of the homes are paid off) payments will be WAY more than they were before?
The above family made terrible choices in depleting education funds for their children and trying to open a $450k “business” so this they are definately to blame but Extreme Makeover needs to stop handing out these huge houses to people who are damn near homeless, families with huge medical bills from illnesses, single people who are already saying they’re not or barely working and whoever else they choose. They need to have some sore of pre req for who can be approved to get the makeovers.
dummies…is all i have to say
“The Harpers said the loan was to start a construction business. But if the Harpers knew anything about the construction business, they could have renovated their original home themselves.”
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HA TELL THE TRUTH AND SHAME THE DEVIL
This dont make no damn sense. I WISH someone would GIVE me a 450,000 home along with 250,000 cash! I cant do nothing but shake my head at this family.
and you don’t need $450,000 to start a construction business …all you need to a is buy one home fix it up & sell it ..that generates your revenue and continue from there…but that bad part about it is that they had ABSOLUTELY no background in construction
This is why you cannot hand people things, you give them a window of opportunity so that they can work hard for what they get, then they will appreciate it better.
maybe they like sleeping in a van..the house must be to much for them..whatever!! i’m not feeling sorry for there ass!
un un un black folks! smh se thats how it works tho.. give shysty folks some free stuff and watch how fast they muck it up! decent folks cant get a second thought as far as that kinda freebie
i am so sick of people getting these free homes and taking loans out on them. your home is not an atm. i do not feel sorry for them.
Its not just black folks. Living above and beyond your means is the American way. Its called GREED. The main reason we’re in a recession.
This is just plain stupid and irresponsible. Do they NOT watch the news? Hello, people — the U.S. is in financial turmoil largely due to the meltdown of the housing market. Who in the hell is building anything nowadays given how hard it is to get credit? Obviously, these folks know nothing about a business plan and projections/forecasting.
I don’t feel sorry for them at all. They went through $250K in 2.5 years and took a 100% equity loan against their property — there is NO word in the English languague to describe how ignant they were/are.
The only people I feel sorry for are the kids. I hate how the parents squandered away their college fund. That burns me up.
I cannot believe that they lost this house…are you friggin kidding me?!?!?!?