Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Buffalo, NY

[Nikki]

Did anyone watch this last Sunday? I don't usually watch this show, but I caught this one and thought it was really great and inspiring.

Instead of taking a bulldozer to the old home and throwing it all in the landfill, they took it apart piece by piece and all the reusable materials went to the salvage yard. Thought that was really neat.

It was also interesting looking at some of the other old homes in the neighborhood that they spruced up. They didn't need to do much to make a big difference, sometimes its amazing how much a coat of paint will do!

It's great to see them helping out low income neighborhoods and keeping things more environmentally friendly. And the thousands of people that came out to volunteer....oh my gosh! How I wish we could do something like that in our town :)

[yarborough house]

I stopped watching the show as it was sad to hear of all the families that couldn't afford these homes and lost them to taxes.
I just don't get if you want to help them out build them a house that is reasonable not over the top to show off. Build them one they can afford to take care of and pay taxes and utilities on it.
The one they did in Raleigh - man this family couldn't afford to fix anything and barely made utility payments. Sure they needed help but they didn't need a 5000 sq ft house. Who can afford the taxes on that or the utilities. Not them..

I'd like to see them maybe go in and fix up the house the people live in at a reasonable level and help them that way.

[ChapterTwo]

Sadly, they create the big, splashy house to "wow" the viewing audience. Then when the last carpenter has packed up his stuff, the family has to deal with the bills.

I agree with you, yarborough house...

[mac78]

I agree too, I quit watching the show quite a while back. They are so unrealistic in what they do. There is a family about 60 miles from me in Toledo, OH that was on that show. They came so close to losing their home. Nobody needs a huge house with all the frills. It makes me mad because for what they spend on 1 house, they could impove the lives of 10 families if they used their head about it.

[Nikki]

Hey, I totally agree with you guys. I didn't make a point of watching the show before, either. I'd read about the tax issues and some of the houses going into foreclosure or whatnot.

This episode wasn't like that, though. It was pretty cool. They took a run-down neighborhood and did simple things like paint trim and create a community garden. I don't know, I thought it was neat. Plus the house that they did rebuild seems to be the same size as the original, and its style fits in pretty well with the older homes in the neighborhood.

This is the organization they were working with, People United for Sustainable Housing, and you can see some of the photos on their page:

http://www.pushbuffalo.org/

[Les B]

My brother-in-law was involved in the Buffalo makeover and said this was an affordable housing to maintain not like their usual shows that are unreal. Hopefully this will maintain was not a good neighborhood.