The following Target 5 story aired May 19 on "NBC5 News at 10 p.m." It is presented her verbatim.

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Video: Family Describes Ordeal

Warner Saunders: Long after their 15 minutes of fame played out on national TV, a Lemont family says their experience on reality TV turned unreal. What happened after the cameras left? Here's Lisa Parker.

Lisa Parker: The Rosier family of Lemont says they weren't looking for the national spotlight, but it found them one day last year on a boat show. Scouts for a new national home makeover program approached the family. They now believe their son's wheelchair was the magnet that got them on the road to reality TV.

Gary Rosier (holding porch rail): You just grab this and it'll go.

Parker: This is the house Hollywood built.

Gary Rosier: It's a cosmetic illusion ... you look at it from the street, beautiful house.

Parker: On a now-quiet lot, that last summer was overtaken by reality TV.

The Rosier family of Lemont says the path to their selection as the first family for Fox's "Renovate My Family" was paved with promises.

Gary Rosier: They add on to your house, give you more space, they spend up to $1 million.

Parker: Parents Gary and Sharon say what really appealed to them was the promise of more freedom from son Steven, wheelchair-bound after a snowboarding accident.

Sharon Rosier: That was the purpose of the whole show. So Steven can be independent.

Parker: But what began with Cinderella promises, they say, lacked any fairy tale ending.

Show clip: The Rosier's aren't home right now, but I'm going to find them and give them the surprise of a lifetime.

Gary Rosier: This company came in and destroyed a good family. A good all-American family.

Parker: Lest anyone find them ungrateful for the gift of this renovated home, the Rosiers invited our cameras for a tour.

Gary Rosier: Nothing works ... it's a flexible pipe. It was smashed up.

Parker: Construction problems they say start in the basement.

Gary Rosier: They butchered this all up to make it work.

Parker: Move to the kitchen.

Gary Rosier: I mean nobody should be able to get away with this.

Parker: The one thing they say they asked for -- covered access from the garage to the house for Steven -- was never built. And nowhere was more disappointing, they say, than Steven's room.

Show clip: For Steven, my main goal design-wise, was to give him some room so that he can feel empowered.

Steven Rosier: You can't reach to turn the shower on.

Parker: Trapped in by round doorknobs his paralyzed hands can't open, casement windows he can't budge and an exercise pool perilously close to his exit door.

Show clip: Swimming is the best way for Steven to get exercise. So we put in an endless pool For Steven it's the perfect rehab."

Steven Rosier: I've almost drowned actually, because what it does is that it pushes you down and it slams me against the bottom.

Parker: The remnants of their past life were gone: a pool, trampoline, even landscaping thrown away during the renovation. And little they could do about it, thanks to a 25-page contract the Rosiers say they foolishly agreed to. Show producers urged them to be the first contestants to sign it -- they say -- and gave them 15 minutes to fax it back to Hollywood.

During construction, the Rosiers were whisked away for personal makeovers, but say they had few worries. A reputable local builder known for luxury homes was listed as the general contractor on the project, and DuPage County inspectors were on the scene.

Gary Rosier: I figured the county would be here the whole time while they're working on the house. It didn't make a difference.

Parker: They question how this work was ever approved. Now, a home inspection paid for by NBC5 raises similar concerns and serious safety issues.

Fire hazards were cited throughout the electrical system, fireplace and chimney, numerous safety hazards inside the home and out, a risk for kitchen flooding -- which the family says has happened -- roof leaks, mold already present in their daughter's room and most alarming, two carbon monoxide hazards -- one from a clothes dryer vented back inside the home.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all came at tax time -- a 1099 from sticking the family with more than $500,000 in extra income.

Gary Rosier: I told them they built a set. That's all they did.

Parker: Something they now say foreshadowed in the televised product.

Show clip: "Between you me and the lamppost, it's tough to design and build a house in seven days. Duh!

Parker: What may be humorous in Hollywood, they say is now devastating in Lemont.

Gary Rosier: We know the truth now. We know what happens afterwards, when the cameras leave.

Parker: A spokesman for Fox refused comment on this story, saying we should instead talk to the company that produced the show -- Rocket Science Laboratories. An RSL spokesman says the company has tried to pay the extra taxes and fix all that is wrong at the Rosier's 9-month-old home, but the family won't let them.

The Rosiers say they have the requested the contractors who made the mistakes be replaced, and that estimates to fix the problems already total over $200,000.

We are also talking to DuPage County about its inspection process and the builder, both of whom say the job was done correctly.