Free Renovations Can Go Too Far

How would you like to have your house remodeled for free?  Whoo-hoo, right?  Not so fast...

According to this article, Extreme Makeover renovations were so intense that the homeowner's were left with way larger utility bills and property taxes than they had before.  In one case, it was more than the owner's could handle.  The first "Extreme Foreclosure" of a previously renovated home has prompted the show to scale back.

How do you scale back when you're whole show is based on amazing your viewers?  They have begun renovating "smaller" homes (3000 square feet instead of 5000 plus square feet), installing low flow toilets, leaving out swimming pools some of the time, and landscaping to the home's specific environment.

I think it's awesome that an American TV show all about extravagance has decided that downsizing is "in".  The best part to me is that the show apparently started as an idea of helping "regular" people while entertaining an audience.  It took time and a housing boom to push the renovations into the OMG category. 

Maybe getting back to basics can help the owners of these renovated homes and the TV show too.

Do you watch Extreme Makeover?  Have you noticed a difference?