Winning a home is one of the unique prizes that anyone would wish for; it is the HGTV Dream Home concept that has been appealing to many. Since 1997, HGTV uses a series of HGTV Dream Home television specials to showcase the gorgeous new homes that their experts have built and then give away to any of the lucky contestants.
However, there are people who want the money and not the house, and they try to sell the houses after the show.
Along with the house, the winner also gets a prize package, including cash, a car, and more, totaling between whooping one and three million dollars. Contrary to any of the contracts, the HGTV Dream Home winners can sell their home after winning it. Due to financial difficulties, many of them had a hard time and could not keep their homes, which led to 15 candidates selling their houses out of 21 winners.
Why The Winners Have Sold Their HGTV Dream Home?
Not many people realize that the winners are responsible for the new home that they won and are liable to pay all the taxes that do not come with the winning prize.
As the massive and fully loaded houses are what everyone sees, no one really understands how the grass is always greener on the other side. These houses come with a handsome amount of millions of dollars in taxes, and it all comes to the winner.
While they are no millionaires as such, the winning family must carefully consider if they can afford to take over the dream house or revert to taking a cash prize.
However, the tempting modern minimalist masterpieces and the refurbished rustic farmhouses are enough to change the mind, and the winners later end up selling the home.
How Many Winners Have Sold Their HGTV Dream Home?
At a certain time, it does get difficult for the winners to afford the income taxes, property taxes, or even the upkeep of the huge home. HGTV reported that only one of the first 10 Dream House winners has been able to hang on to their winnings, and just six of the first 21 winners actually lived in their new houses for more than a year.
The winner of 2020, Susan O’Gorman chose to go with the cash prize as the home was listed for sale later that year. Similarly, the 2011 winner, Eric Makstenieks tried to use their new Vermont ski-in, ski-out lodge as a vacation home and managed to use it five times before deciding to sell it, Tedesco reports. It was sold for $2.7 million, more than a million less than the $3.8 million HGTV said it was worth.
Myra Lewis, the winner of 2010, took a whooping amount when she sold the New Mexico house she won as she listed it for $1.195 million, only to sell it for $899,000. After paying sales tax of roughly $700,000 plus $20,000 more annually for property taxes, the 2008 winner Stephanie Dee sold her new Florida Keys house for $1.65 million.
The same pattern observed in most of the cases of winners selling their houses is the taxes that the common people have to pay for their huge mansions.
Let us know in the comments if you think selling the home is a better option to come out of difficult situations.
