Sadie Holmes thought it was a blessing when ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition built her a 7,000-square-foot home and office for her charity in 2006.

Now she's struggling to keep her nonprofit afloat, and she may end up losing the $400,000 home if she can't pay a $29,000 county lien -- placed on the property after months of code violations racked up.

Holmes' story had appealed to the TV show's producers. A former drug addict, Holmes had turned her life around to help others in her run-down Winwood neighborhood near Altamonte Springs. Since 2000, she had given out clothing, food and furniture from her 900-square-foot home.

Mercedes Homes built the six-bedroom, Mediterranean-style home and an adjacent 2,000-square-foot office for the charity. She moved into it after the makeover was done in February 2006.

About a month later, Seminole planning officials cleared Holmes to run a volunteer organization out of the house. But they specifically prohibited ''outside storage of any materials'' unless she screened them from view.

By September 2007, Seminole County Sheriff's Office records show, a code-enforcement officer began filing violation reports against the property. Holmes contends that she began receiving visits from the officer even earlier.

Reports cited portable restrooms, an oversized truck, abandoned vehicles and overgrown grass. Holmes moved the nearly three-ton truck to a storage warehouse and cleaned up the debris and cars in the yard.

The seven-page file shows as of Sept. 26, Holmes had addressed her violations to the satisfaction of code officials. But the lien for previous infractions remains.

The next step is to appeal her case to the County Commission. Holmes hopes to find an attorney to help her. Her charity, she said, needs her full-time attention.

''This is not the Taj Mahal. This is a run-down community,'' Holmes said. ``The way the economy is now, we're getting three times the amount of calls for help.''