Mini-Mansion Built By ABC's "Extreme Makeover" Headed To Foreclosure Auction

Lake City, GA (CNS) - ABC's "Extreme Makeover" turned a run-down home into an amazing four-bedroom mini-mansion in 2005, with the help of more than 1,800 people. That home, unfortunately, has now fallen victim to the country's foreclosure crisis.

It has been three years since the Harper family moved into the four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage in Clayton County. It was the show's most ambitious project at the time, with the front door opening into a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office.

The Harper family used the two-story home as collateral for a $450,000 loan, for a construction business that failed, and now the house will go to auction on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse on August 5.

According to the Associated Press, the house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and ABC's "Extreme Makeover" demolished their old home and its faulty septic system. Within six days, construction crews and hoards of volunteers had completed work on the largest home that the television program had yet built.

Materials and labor were donated for the mini-mansion, which would have cost about $450,000 to build. Beazer Homes' employees and company partners also raised an additional $250,000 in contributions for the family, including scholarships for the couple's three children and a home maintenance fund.

ABC said in a statement that they advise each family to consult a financial planner after they move into their new home. "Ultimately, financial matters are personal, and we work to respect the privacy of the families," the network said.