The HGTV Dream Home is one of the mostanticipated reveals of the entire year. Every fall, the network announces anew location for this fantasy property and then encourages viewers to enter fortheir chance to win. It seems like being selected as the HGTV Dream Home winnerwould be like winning the lottery.
But in reality, winning isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The Dream Home contest launched in 1997 and in more than two decades since most of the winners have had one very interesting thing in common. Instead of retiring in luxury in their new abodes, most of these Dream Home winners didn’t get to keep the house. One of them even wound up bankrupt.
Winning a large ticket item like a house or a car comes withone unfortunate side effect: taxes. Even though the grand prize includes extraslike a new car and a nice chunk of cash, the tax liability on such an enormoushome is too much for most people to handle.
“Uncle Sam makes it a littledifficult to take ownership,” Laura Martin told Country Living. She wonthe 2014 HGTV Dream Home, a stunning lake house in Lake Tahoe. But even though shewanted to live in her new home, she couldn’t make it work.
Most people who win the HGTV Dreamhome don’t live there
According to Country Living, outof 21 people who won the Dream Home up until 2018, only 6 have livedin their house for more than one year. The others took the cash alternativeor sold the home back to the developers in under a year.
For people who seem so excited tobe winning, it seems like a harsh reality. But owning a gigantic house costs alot of money, plus the taxes can be well into seven figures. “It was like, it’sgoing to be $1 million to keep your free home,” one winner lamented.
Winners can’t live in their homeseven if they try
Don Cruz won in 2005 and lived inthe house for two years before going into foreclosure. He estimates his taxliability was close to$800,000. He told reporters that by the time he was forced to give up the house,he was $1.4 million in debt.
It’s clear that many of the winners truly want to change their lives and enjoy their new homes. But uprooting their lives and moving to a new location is complicated. And unless they had huge savings accounts to begin with, keeping the house is almost impossible.
They still appreciate winning theDream Home
Despite all these challenges,many of the winners say becoming an HGTV Dream Home owner changes everything.
“Winning one of these homes islife-changing in that recipients either pick up their things and move or theysuddenly have a large savings account,” Dream Home general manager Ron Feinbaumtold Country Living. “The outcome depends on the individual winner, but theoverarching theme is that, if you win, it’s life-changing.”
It can be pretty sweet to win the Dream House. Just don’t expect to live in it.
In fact, it's probably fair to say that no winner of an HGTV Dream Home could easily afford to take the prize, given the immediate tax bill. CNBC estimated the taxes on the 2019 Dream Home at $907,677. The annual property tax bill alone (about $12,60 for the 2019 winner) has proven too daunting for at least one winner.
If the winner opts for the cash alternative, the Dream Home crew is usually able to sell the home in a month, sometimes in days. Though the new owners remain nameless, they purchase the homes at or around the price that HGTV deems the houses worth, but “ rarely at full value. ”
Even winners of home make-overs must often sell. According to HGTV, only one of the first 10 Dream House winners has been able to hang on to their winnings. Just six of the first 21 winners actually lived in their new digs for more than a year.
How much does it cost to win the HGTV dream home? It costs nothing to enter the dream home sweeps. You are required to pay taxes on the property but they do give you cash no for that purpose. Most people take the cash option as the homes are so crazy that most cannot afford to live in them.
Cash Option: In lieu of taking title to the HGTV Dream Home 2023 (and the contents of the HGTV Dream Home 2023), the Grand Prize Winner will have the option of receiving $750,000 in cash.
Congratulations to Marie Davis of Rock Hill, SC! Marie is the lucky winner of the HGTV® Dream Home 2023 sweepstakes, a grand prize package valued at over $2.7 million.
Given the seriously steep price tag on the HGTV dream homes — and the equally pricy tax bill that comes along with winning one — it likely comes as no surprise that most winners opt to sell the house after winning.
The Dream Home grand prize—typically $250,000 in cash, a car, and sometimes a boat, in addition to the home itself, usually valued at $1 million or more—comes with a federal income-tax bill of about $700,000, according to an analysis by Vocativ, plus state income and real-estate taxes that vary by location.
Congratulations to Marie Davis of Rock Hill, SC! She is the winner of the HGTV® Dream Home 2023 sweepstakes, a grand prize package valued at over $2.7 million. “It's all still registering.
Clearly there's no shortage of viewers hooked on nice houses. But here's a bit of information that the HGTV fans may not be aware of - many of the stylish homes appearing on the network's shows are available as vacation rentals through websites such as HomeAway, Airbnb and VRBO.
Clay-colored hues, rocky grays and dusty greens are seen throughout the HGTV® Dream Home 2023. The home sits on 2.5 acres in the small Rocky Mountains town of Morrison, Colorado, home of the world-famous outdoor concert venue, Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Getting more legitimate entries always helps to improve your odds of winning, but when you're talking about big giveaways with lots of entries, the boost to your odds may not be significant. The odds are long, no matter what you do.
Do Homeowners Get Paid to Be on Love It or List It? To put it simply, no.While HGTV doesn't specifically address payment in their application, they do note that homeowners now must have a $100,000 renovation budget (this requirement was previously $50,000 and then $75,000).
Designed by Western Design Group and built by Mountain Plain Homes, the 4,360-square-foot property boasts three bedrooms and three bathrooms. HGTV decorator Brian Patrick Flynn, who helmed the house's interior design, spoke with PEOPLE about its unique style and one-of-a-kind features.
Host Brian revealed that the "dreamy mountain giveaway" has a lower level that is a garage and a basem*nt, while up above it is a single-story living at its best. The house also has a massive central break room and an open kitchen with gorgeous cabinets along with a sprawling island.
Dreaming Of Someone Trying to Breaking Into Your House
When we have dreams in which someone is attempting to break into our house. This is typically an inner psychological figure that may reflect some aspect of ourselves that is embarrassing or unwelcome and is trying to make its way into our consciousness.
Winning money in a dream is usually a sign of good luck – unsurprisingly! However it can also have connotations of being lost in life. According to Aunty Flo these dreams are usually symbolic of needing to save or hold on to the money that you get.
While the homeowner ultimately pays for the renovations, it's likely helpful to not have to come up with the cash before the improvements are made. If you're a homeowner who enjoys reality TV renovation shows, you've probably envisioned what it would be like to appear on one yourself.
Clearly there's no shortage of viewers hooked on nice houses. But here's a bit of information that the HGTV fans may not be aware of - many of the stylish homes appearing on the network's shows are available as vacation rentals through websites such as HomeAway, Airbnb and VRBO.
What income is required for a 600k mortgage? To afford a house that costs $600,000 with a 20 percent down payment (equal to $120,000), you will need to earn just under $90,000 per year before tax. The monthly mortgage payment would be approximately $2,089 in this scenario. (This is an estimated example.)
In general, buying an existing home is cheaper. According to the National Association of Home Builders and the U.S. Census Bureau the median cost to buy a house today is $410,600 which is $28,800 less than building one.
How much do I need to make to buy a $300K house? To purchase a $300K house, you may need to make between $50,000 and $74,500 a year. This is a rule of thumb, and the specific salary will vary depending on your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, type of home loan, loan term, and mortgage rate.
Hobby: Web surfing, Skiing, role-playing games, Sketching, Polo, Sewing, Genealogy
Introduction: My name is Maia Crooks Jr, I am a homely, joyous, shiny, successful, hilarious, thoughtful, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
