Mich. 'Extreme Makeover' family gets break on loan

OAK PARK, Mich. -- A renegotiated mortgage will give a Michigan family a better chance of staying in their home, which was refurbished on TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

The ABC show redid Judy and Larry Vardon's Oak Park home in 2004 to better accommodate their blind, autistic son. But as 16-year-old Lance's bills kept piling up, the Vardons refinanced the house with an adjustable-rate mortgage and got into financial trouble.

Now, the Detroit News says, a mortgage broker negotiated new terms modifying the Vardons' loan this week. They still owe $180,000.

The couple, who are deaf, had fallen in arrears after their monthly payments ballooned from $1,471 to $2,250. They were facing foreclosure when media reports about their plight led to donations exceeding $30,000.