Extreme Makeover

Well, ABC’s Extreme Makeover crews are gone and the Carr family has moved into their new home that was built in one week. Now the topic of conversation at the coffee shop is if they can afford to keep the house.

For those who don’t know, the new house is located just outside of the small town of Mineola, which is about six miles from where we live. Naturally, the area has gone gaga over all the activity generated by the event.

The house replaced one with an $80,000 mortgage, and those who know the area said that houses in that neighborhood are mostly in the $100,000 range, which means they are modest two and three bedroom homes no larger than about 1500 square feet. ABC sort of overbuilt the neighborhood with their upscale 4500 square foot home that would be valued at a half-million dollars in an area where houses that size were the average. If the family can’t pay the property taxes, utilities and insurance on that monster, they will have a hard time selling it for half the assessed value.

As of last week, they were still $20,000 short of paying off the mortgage on their old house, so that could still be a worry if no one comes up with the money they still owe.

Makes you wonder if the television folks ever bother to think beyond the feel-good aspect of the show.

Tyler Morning Telegraph photos