Yet Another Extreme Makeover Family in Foreclosure

Michigan Foreclosure News

Michigan Foreclosure Article Abstract: The most recent Extreme Makeover Home facing foreclosure is in Michigan's own Oak Park, making it the third extreme home in the last couple of years to flirt with foreclosure. All three homeowners, pulled out equity in the home (or are facing liens) which caused the foreclosure threat to loom.

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By Michael P. McConnell, Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Life has changed since more than 20 million television viewers watched the Vardon family step from a limousine to see how "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" renovated their Oak Park house to help the deaf parents care for their blind, autistic son.

Almost no one is watching now as Judy Vardon and husband Larry face foreclosure and struggle to pay medical bills for their youngest son, Lance, 16.

"I'm afraid I'm going to lose my house now," Judy Vardon said, using sign language through an interpreter. "This house really belongs to Lance; this is his environment. He can't speak out for himself and I hope we can save this house."

The Vardons face a perfect storm of financial insecurity. Their mortgage rate has jumped to 11 percent and medical insurance fails to cover Lance's autism treatments.

Larry Vardon, 50, works at the Chrysler Stamping Plant in Sterling Heights.

"If they don't have a bailout for the auto companies he'll be laid off for sure," Judy Vardon said. "I just don't know about the future. I can't imagine if we had to move out."

Oak Park Mayor Gerald Naftaly said most people believe the Vardons were set after the "Extreme Makeover" episode showing their house aired on ABC in November 2004.

"Everyone thought the house was paid for," Naftaly said. "But that wasn't the case; they still had their mortgage. They are just another number with the mortgage company."

The Vardons are grateful for their new house, the TV show and the volunteers who pitched in to make it a reality.

"I never thought in a million years my family would be picked for the show," Judy Vardon said. "The day they brought us out in the limousine we were blind-folded. They took off my blindfold and I was overwhelmed. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't because so many people were out here watching."

It was a bright day and the show's popular host, Ty Pennington, was there to greet the family while they toured the house and reacted to their good fortune.

Today their economic luck has changed.

"It's pretty similar throughout the city, the region and the country," Naftaly said. "There are so many foreclosures."

Foreclosures quadruple

The numbers tell the story. When the Vardons got their 980-square-foot house renovated in 2004, there were 2,117 foreclosures in Oakland County, according to the county's Equalization Division. By the end of this year, officials expect that foreclosures will reach 9,400.

"That's an increase of about 440 percent during those years," said Rick Vincent, an administrator with the equalization division.

In Macomb County, records at the Macomb County Register of Deeds office show housing foreclosures during the same period more than quadrupled from 1,450 to 6,306 as of Dec. 1.

So far this year, 390 houses in Oak Park are in foreclosure, said Jim Ghedotte, the city's finance director.

The Vardons' annual property taxes increased after the "Extreme Makeover" from $1,874 to $2,852.

"It's a small house," Naftaly said, "not anything huge."

Keeping Lance safe

Unlike his parents or younger sibling, Stefan Vardon, 19, has no disabilities and is away at college in Illinois studying filmmaking on a grant from the Starkey Foundation.

Stefan was in high school when he wrote a letter that brought "Extreme Makeover" to renovate the family home to make it safe for his parents and younger brother.

The result was a technological wonder with design upgrades inside and out. Cameras and flat-screen monitors let the Vardons monitor Lance from anywhere in the house. Security strobe lights flash if the boy tries to go outside and the Vardon parents' bed vibrates mechanically to wake them. A computer translates key strokes into Braille.

Lance has his own specially designed room in the basement with textured toys and a piano he plays. Outside is his massive wooden swing set.

Inside Lance's pajamas is a GPS chip that alerts Oak Park police if the boy wanders away from the house.

"Everything they did was wonderful and freed the family from always worrying if Lance might disappear," Naftaly said.

The Vardons also enjoyed the new facade, wide front porch, stone walkways, heated lap pool and sensory garden path that were installed.

Judy Vardon got her dream kitchen with granite counter tops and a six-burner stainless steel stove.

But the mortgage was still there and so were Lance's medical expenses.

Costs nearly double

The Vardons remortgaged the house after the makeover.

"We didn't have bad spending habits," Judy Vardon said. "My husband got laid off for a time and insurance wouldn't cover Lance's autism therapy and some other things like his vision and special dental work."

The family had debts of $20,000 for the boy's therapy alone.

The mortgage was resold to different companies three times since then and the interest rate on the loan went up to more than 11 percent. Each time the mortgage was sold the interest rate went up.

"Millions of others are experiencing the same thing," said Judy Vardon, who takes care of Lance and doesn't work outside her home.

Before the makeover, her monthly house payments were about $1,200 and now they are almost doubled at $2,300. She went to the Lighthouse of Oakland County, a non-profit group that assists families in crisis. The group is helping her try to negotiate a lower rate on her payments and having some success.

Meanwhile, friends are trying to help the family with donations. They have set up the Friends of the Vardon Family Fund, P.O. Box 721084, Berkley, MI 48072-0084.

Judy Vardon said she got many calls from people who saw the family on the "Extreme Makeover" telling her how it touched their lives.

"Now they hear about our situation and I wonder what they think about us," she said.

The family has its struggles but Judy Vardon still feels blessed because their house has given them strength in helping Lance live a fuller and safer life.

"We're a close family that loves each other," she said. "I feel that I was given this life to show others that you can face these challenges."

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