Seems it would be a lot better if the expenses were covered for a few years, or maybe if the new homes weren't so sumptious. But it's no surprise that it's all about money for HGTV -- sponsor endorsements and so on -- and not at all about the winners. Sorry to be cynical but the article tells the story.

The sales taxes should at least be covered for the winner.

But, hey, if they sell it for anywhere near $2 million then they are still quite lucky indeed! I could handle winning $2 million dollars!!!

I wonder how long a $2.2M house will take to sell when there are 7 more lots available where someone could get exactly what THEY want for their $2M. Maybe the novelty of it being the HGTV dream house will help. They've got a year before their taxes are due!

I think it's ridiculous that you have to be a millionaire just to win one of these....which is why I never enter. Why not build a home that if you win, you can actually afford to stay in it and not need a scaffold or hire someone to change a light bulb. I think the whole thing is just dumb. Come on....$700,000 for taxes? I realize you should read the fine print, but let's make a winner's home that someone can enjoy.

That kitchen is not going to help them sell the home. I'd expect a LOT more in a 2.2MM home in a kitchen. The refridgerator was forgotten in the design, and it's a one cook kitchen with a small stove butted up with the sink.

"A faucet over the stove to fill pots" You mean a potfiller stupid? Sheesh who are these reporters?

It is kind of sad that they make these homes only the well off can afford to live in. It's a lot to ask someone to pull up stakes and move, but you'd have to have a nice job to be able to pull in enough to cover the initial mortgage of $700M (for the taxes). $20M for taxes isn't that bad though...at least in comparison to what we've been lookin at!

I can't get over that kitchen...what a joke! Gad it's awful!

why is the sales tax 33% of the value ?

I suspect it's income tax on the value of the prize --

" "A faucet over the stove to fill pots" You mean a potfiller stupid? Sheesh who are these reporters? "

HA!!! That's awesome.

The bottom line is that it seems to be set up for failure . . . 98% of all entrants probably can't afford to keep these dream homes. So sad! It's really kind of inhumane, don't you think? The stress of trying to sell the place before your taxes on it are due. I'm sure this alone forces most to sell very low and quickly. I wonder who ends up buying these dream homes from them . . . and for what (low) price????

Too many people don't understand that any 'winnings' are taxable. A coworkers husband won $28,000 in a poker championship and they bought a new truck. Later, they found they had to pay income taxes on those winnings. Really hit them hard.

Lotteries will take out the taxes for you, but most contests don't do that. The fine print does say you're responsible for all taxes & fees. This pertains to virtually any contest.

HGTV outfits these homes with so much stuff you gotta wonder how much of it the winners take out before the house goes on the market. Are they selling the house with all the furniture, all the media equiptment, every piece of art and accessory???

I noticed that these dream houses seem to have one thing in common no matter what state they're located in...they're in resort communities where people tend to vacation. Either next to water or the slopes. The choice of building site could be subsidized by a resort town to help advertise their vacation site so HGTV doesn't have to buy the property. It just looks to me like HGTV is building a model home for a developer.

I don't feel sorry for anyone who wins a dream home and can't afford the taxes and insurance, don't enter the contest then! I was out and about one day when I came across someone trying to sign people up for a free trip to Hawaii. I said no and I got the strangest look, as if to say, "are you nuts to turn down a free trip if you win!" Sure I'd love to go but I have a sick, elderly dog who I wouldn't leave even for one night so why bother entering. Might as well stay out of the contest and let someone else who will appreciate it win.

I won an honorable mention sort of prize in the Scooby Doo 10th Anniversary Sweepstakes. The prize was a year's supply of popsicles. This meant I got 37 coupons for a free box of 10 popsicles. That might be a year to some people but with 9 brothers and sisters that was more like a summer's worth. But it was completely wonderful.

At any rate, I didn't have to pay any taxes :-) I was 10. I don't remember entering, maybe my mother put my name on the entry. Oh yeah - Scooby Doo turned 10 in...1975 I believe...

And hey, Price Is Right makes them pay taxes too so I would not beat up HGTV too much. I think the root of the problem here is that while we like to gawk at Dream Home's and also criticize them (well deserved or not) we'd all be more interested in a Dream Home if it was in the same town we already lived in, was affordable, had a super terrific kitchen and a few super terrific other rooms...but was mostly just 'normal' and not oversized in all the wrong spots. Then we could afford the taxes when we won!!

Oh my. They really did forget the refrigerator when planning the kitchen. Seriously.

That is just whack. Sub-Zero can't be too happy either.

Nicole

Internet had this to say about taxes on large lotteries.....

Taxes on Large Lottery Winnings
Depending on your other income and the amount of your winnings, your federal tax bracket can go as high as 39.6%. Your lottery winnings might also be subject to state income tax. So depending on where you live, your total tax bill could exceed 50%. You don't get any capital gains rate break for lottery winnings, nor is there any income averaging to help lower your tax bill.

If you win more than $5,000 in the lottery, 28% must be withheld from your winnings for federal income tax purposes. You can do a google search 'taxes on lottery' to get more info specific to your situation.........
ADDING (that) in the US it would all likely be taxable and effectively be taxed at whatever your rate on AGI ends up being......
(Rememeber Oprah audience...the entire value of the cars they were given was taxable...in fact the money they were then given to pay the tax on it was taxable).
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Oh, BTW...they also said Canada's is $0.00

We had a friend on Price is Right late last year. He won a car. We were all SO EXCITED for him because he was never without a smile even though he was waiting for a kidney transplant. 3 days after winning but before he could pay the taxes and pick up his car, he was in a coma in the hospital and died a few days later. I never did hear whether his parents were able or wanted to get the car.

And hey, Price Is Right makes them pay taxes too

Umm, it's not the Price Is Right or HGTV that is making anyone pay taxes. It's the IRS and state governments whose tax codes require the payment of taxes on prizes.

I always enter these types of contests knowing that I will sell the prize if I an the winner.

So what happens if they can't sell the house before taxes are due? Could they actually be held personally liable for these expenses ie - could they be forced to use their own personal savings to pay the fees?

I'm thinking it could take a year to sell that house...who pays the monthly real estate fees until then?

I don't feel sorry for anyone who wins a dream home and can't afford the taxes and insurance, don't enter the contest then!

Or if it's too much of a hardship, decline to accept the prize. That's always an option too, right?

"The choice of building site could be subsidized by a resort town to help advertise their vacation site so HGTV doesn't have to buy the property. It just looks to me like HGTV is building a model home for a developer."

I don't know about the lot itself but I do recall reading an article a couple of months ago in the Herald home/design section--the builder on the dream home is a young guy trying to build a reputation so he did make some financial arrangements with HGTV. He was quoted as saying it had paid off in terms of contacts and future commissions...and this was even before the house winner was announced!

Ann

Okay, so HGTV suddenly has a heart and says, "Hell, we'll pay the taxes." well, if they do, then the Dee family will have to pay taxes on the additional 700,000 that HGTV gave them to pay the tax. LOL. Come on everyone, our government needs to rearrange "winnings" tax based on prize. If you win money you pay, if you win goods, you only pay if you sell them. then you pay based on the sale. This is all part of "get involved". The problem is that were so capitalistic that nobody will even take the time to write a letter about it unless were the one who has to pay. Hell, i will. I wish these people could keep it as a summer home and bring their family. The family could together handle the property tax, or rent it out to make up those costs. But the sales tax is one of those things that make sure the middle and lower classes still can't posses a darn thing. Good luck to the Dee's. I sure wish they could raise funds or rent weeks to all of us to raise the cash, but then, they would have to justify that money too. Somebody has to pay for all the bullets. Kristine.

I doubt thst house will bring in 1.8 million. You cannot take out a mortgage on the furnishings; anything not nailed down is considered personal, not real, property, and must be negotiated and paid for separately. Many vacation homes are sold furnished, but used furniture---regardless of how much it cost or how spectacular---is usually just included for no "extra" charge.

This HGTV house in the keys is their least appealing...it is smaller than previous homes and probably has the same amount of furniture...way overfurnished, imo.

I think what HGTV ought to do is get it's winner first, then build the house where the winner wants it with a cap on the spending for the actually house. Let one of their designers come in and decorate it. It'd be more interesting and impressive to see what folks in different areas would get for their money and what the current winner would find important in the new house.

Now *that's* an interesting answer Carol! Of course, then HGTV has to make it work...

And I'd have no idea what to pick...