The school and property taxes tripled, to about $10,500 in 2009, on the Extreme Makeover house, which had a market value of $433,000 in 2009, compared to the $136,000 bungalow they tore down for the show. Stopera is a trustee of a fund into which donors large and small pumped enough cash to allow Oatman to pay off a $104,000 mortgage left on the property and to cover the higher annual tax burden. Oatman declined to be interviewed for this story, but offered her perspective through Stopera.
"Debbie said had she ever known what it would be like, she'd give that house back in a minute," said Paula Stopera, president and CEO of Capital Communications Federal Credit Union. "She was happy and excited for maybe the first week, and then it was back to the same old garbage." "I honestly thought things would change after we moved into the house and it would make everything better," said Oatman's estranged son, Kevin, 20. Oatman hit the lottery with the house, but it did not solve underlying problems and carried unanticipated consequences. The bus inched forward for the big "reveal," and tears flowed freely for Oatman and a platoon of workers who toiled tirelessly to provide a dream come true for the single parent of four boys, three of whom are adopted - including two diagnosed with HIV and who also have special needs.īut the actual outcome, as often happens, diverged from the neat and tidy version presented on reality TV.Īnecdotes of a woman with a volatile temper prone to emotional outbursts did not fade away in the luxurious home.
The cameras rolled to help star Ty Pennington shout the show's trademark phrase: "Move that bus!"
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But behind the scenes of the happily-ever-after story line of the reality TV show, Oatman's mercurial temperament and past problems soon resurfaced.įour years ago this month, hundreds of local volunteers labored continuously for four days to build the dream house crowded into a cul-de-sac on Fairway Lane.