‘Extreme’ problems

[Liddo Annie]

‘Extreme’ problems
By Denette Wilford

2008-05-08

‘Home Edition’ dream house becomes nightmare

It’s a race against time but the cast and crew of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition do whatever they can to rebuild an entire house in seven days, and forever change the life of a lucky family. Or, in some cases, not-so-lucky.

Victor Marrero and his five sons were left with a beautiful house after the Makeover team left. But their dream home became a nightmare when the bills started coming in.

Marrero, who lives on a small pension and is buried by the burden of old debts and new taxes, panicked and briefly listed his Pennsauken, N.J., home for sale. The house has since been taken off the market.

“I gave up out of desperation,” Marrero told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I didn’t want to lose the house to the taxes.”

He changed his mind when Urban Promise Ministries, which donated the land for the house, has the right of first refusal on any sale.

"I think I put it up too quick,” said Marrero. “It's off the market right now. I'm going to see what we can do to keep it."

The house was revamped last August, and the Marrero family’s episode aired in November. The family received an additional $59,000 from the builder, J.S. Hovnanian & Sons, to cover expenses, but the family quickly went through the money, paying off debts that have accumulated since a 1994 heart operation.

Soon, collection agencies threatened to put liens on the house. And then came the increase in taxes.

According to the Inquirer, Marrero, who receives $939 a month from his pension, paid more than $2,000 in property taxes in November, writing a cheque for a little more than $1,500 in February. He received a notice on May 1 that another $1,500 was due. He also said that the utilities cost about $10,000 a year.

Marrero and his sons became unlikely celebrities early last year when 20/20 featured them in a program about grinding poverty in Camden, where the family was living in a roach-infested rowhouse. As a result, many who saw the show wrote to Home Edition and nominated the Marreros for a free house.

"I appreciate everything – this house and everyone who helped me," Marrero said. "But it's too much house."

tvguide.ca

[froggyboy604]

It's a sad story. But, I think he shouldn't of posted his utility bill at 10,000 a year on the magazine since now people know how much it costs to pay for gas, water and electricity per year.

[Oh Wise One]

If you pay those bills, you already know how much it costs. You don't have to be told.