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Go ahead and dream about HGTV home contest -- just don't count on moving in
By: TIM WHITMIRE - Associated Press | ∞
LAKE LURE, N.C. -- Go ahead and dream. That's what Home and Garden Television's annual Dream Home contest is all about. Just don't get too attached to the idea that you'll actually live in the 2006 grand prize, a 5,700-square-foot traditional-style mountain home perched atop a ridge in the Blue Ridge foothills near Lake Lure. Even if you're lucky enough to have the winning entry out of the more than 40 million expected to pour in between Sunday's start of the contest and the Feb. 17 deadline, you might find that taking up residence is prohibitively expensive.
The contest's 2005 winner, Don Cruz, moved from suburban Chicago to Tyler, Texas, to take possession of his dream home, a lakefront property valued at $1.5 million, plus furnishings. But taxes on his winnings are expected to total more than $650,000, and local officials slammed the door on Cruz's plan to pay his bills by renting the boathouse and a master bedroom.
In a recent interview, Cruz said he's still living in the house in Tyler and has no plans to leave, even as April 15 looms.
"We plan to stay," he said. "God will provide. We'll say a prayer, turn it over to him and he provides. It'll all work out."
The daunting fiscal math of the Dream Home -- even if you survive the initial tax crunch, there's the annual expense of local property taxes, plus maintenance and upkeep -- has kept all but two of the nine winners from ever living in their homes.
This year, the prize package includes $250,000 from Charlotte-based Lending Tree to help the winner with the tax bill. But HGTV spokeswoman Emily Yarborough emphasizes that the network still doesn't expect winners to actually live in the Dream Home.
"He (Cruz) is not losing money," she said during an interview on the patio of the Lake Lure home. "It's just his idea of the dream is wrapped up in that house. Whereas our vision of the dream is that it enables you to do what you want to do."
That's a notion seconded by Kathi Nakao, the 2004 winner, who spent several extended vacations at the home she won in St. Mary's, Ga., before selling it in July.
"Ordinary people cannot keep a home like that," she said from Sacramento, Calif., where she lives. "I think it's meant to change your life, more than that they (HGTV) expect you to keep it."
The twist to the Dream Home competition is that unlike a cash lottery, what attracts millions of entries is not a vague dream of wealth, but the tangible reality of the home itself.
Starting Jan. 1, the Lake Lure house's assets will be shown off during several hours of HGTV programming, climaxing with a live broadcast April 22 in which one of three finalists will be given the key to the home.
Hopeful entrants can take 360-degree Internet tours of its rooms; the truly eager can even travel to Lake Lure and walk through the house.
The combined effect is a depiction of a lifestyle as detailed as the picture on the Pioneer Elite plasma television that hangs in the home's game room: A life that includes a wine cellar, an exercise room and your own sauna.
"You start imagining, salivating, fixating on that home," said Anthony Pratkanis, a professor of social psychology at the University of California at Santa Cruz. "It's a 'phantom fixation' -- an unavailable alternative that looks real. ... The contest plays along with it."
The same principle -- a fantasy seemingly made real by its details -- is central to much advertising, pornography and many a con scheme, Pratkanis said.
Fantasy or not, the contest has been a real-world smash for HGTV since the first Dream Home, in Jackson Hole, Wyo., was given away in 1997. It generates hours of wintertime programming and is popular with sponsors who like the buzz and product placement it offers.
Atlanta-based Land Resource Companies is the developer of Grey Rock at Lake Lure, the 4,000-acre community to be built around this year's Dream Home. For the company, it's a return engagement -- the Georgia house won by Nakao two years ago was also in one of its developments.
Spokesman Cameron McLemore said Grey Rock received 6,000 inquiries the day it was announced as a Dream Home site; meanwhile, St. Mary's, Ga., is still getting HGTV-driven inquiries two years after its Dream Home was given away.
Nakao's own story offers an illustration of how the contest hits the sweet spot for the network, its audience and its sponsors. In 2003, she happened to turn on HGTV and "catch a program that was showing some furniture."
"I said, 'I'd like to get that kind of furniture,"' Nakao said. "And they explained they had given it away in the Dream Home."
The following Jan. 1, she watched as the 2004 Dream Home was unveiled. Later, she took an Internet tour. And 11 of that year's approximately 36 million entries were hers -- including the winning one (contestants can submit one Internet entry per day and as many mail entries as they want).
Nakao spent 29 years working for the finance department of the California state government; with an accounting background, she knew as soon as she won the home that she would not be able to keep it.
"I never let myself get where I thought I was going to stay there forever," she said.
With the money from its sale, she said, she paid the taxes on her prize and financed a renovation of her Sacramento home. She and her husband gave money to a local charity and helped their children. Nakao also bought herself a coveted 1956 Chevrolet hot rod.
"That's my prize," she said.
"I truly believe that HGTV is doing something great and they're doing it to change your life for the better," she said. "It's a rollercoaster ride, but I was at the top of it for a long time -- and I still am."
She has followed media accounts of Don Cruz's effort to live in his Dream Home with sympathy.
"When they were moving there, I felt so sorry for them, because I thought, 'Oh, you just don't know. You just don't know what it entails to keep a property like that,"' she said. "Hopefully they'll be able to sell it and have their own, smaller version of a dream home."
On the Net:
HGTV Dream Home site: www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dream--home/
Taylor wrote on Jan 2, 2006 7:30 PM:I think the most informative and educative part of this article was the part that included comments by the professor. It was important to put the type of activity that HGTV is engaged in and what that activity subsequently generates and appeals to in human nature in it's proper company - advertising, pornography and the typical con game. On HGTV's part, it is a thoughtless and abusive way to treat the hopes and dreams of their viewers - the majority of whom I'm sure don't have Ms. Nakao's accounting background. Not only that, but investors and affluent Americans need not spend a dime on postage or time on the internet to swoop down and snap up the pickin's when the poor winner finally wins. It all leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth and the feeling that trading on people's dreams even by a trusted name like Home and Garden really has become the American Way. If Emily Yarborough and HGTV really believe that mean-spirited statement she made about Mr. Cruz's dreams being wrapped up in the house as if that is something short-sighted, why don't they just say on their shows that it takes a high income to actually live in the home. That's all they'd have to say and people would check out what they mean by that. Because they don't say even that means to me that they intend to fool those "ordinary" dreamers. People who care should at least contact and protest to all the companies involved that they are used to doing business with if they don't agree with HGTV's methods. There are thousands of players getting free advertising from these dream home endeavors - all off the dreams of some poor "ordinary" person.
Kathie wrote on Feb 11, 2006 2:08 PM:Why isn't the dream home a home that real people can live in; Wouldn't a million dollar home be outstanding and allow a lot more people to actually own it; not lose any of the excitement and more practical...
taylor wrote on Feb 17, 2006 10:09 PM:i think that it is really a shame that hgtv spins such a sham as to glorify the "dream home" when they even admit they don't expect you to live in it. they get people spending money to visit the home, advertisers spending money for air time and the unsuspecting individual not even knowing that in the long run that they can't keep the home. it's just a fallacy created for hgtv to make money in the long run.
Tony wrote on Feb 21, 2006 8:12 PM:Whats the point of the dream home if you cant live in it? The only people who could afford to live in it are rich people, well they can afford to live anywhere so whats the point. If someone WINS the dream home they shouldnt have to pay a penny. At the end of the hgtv dream home show they should say "one lucky winner will win the home but remember you must be rich to live in it"
Lori wrote on Feb 24, 2006 8:24 AM:I agree with all these negative comments. How dare HGTV entice people with a beatiful home that they can't afford to keep? These poor winners walk away with only a million dollars, give or take 100 grand. What a lousy deal. I hope I never win. Bad, bad HGTV!
lynn wrote on Feb 24, 2006 3:50 PM:i think that even if you cant live there it is still a great contest and gets people thinking about what there dreams really are! keep up the good work HGTV! P.S. i really hope it works out for the cruz family!!!!
Todd wrote on Mar 1, 2006 11:38 AM:I disagree whole heartedly with any comment dealing with HGTV praying on the hopes and feelings of the poor and innocent viewers. I learned at a young age that NOTHING in this world is free. From my first car that I bought to the Education I knew I needed in order to be sucessful in this lifetime. Everyone has their own choice to make, and if anyone wants to enter, then they can but must understand that there will be taxes. That is what makes this country great. Everyone has the opportunity to do something with their own life and NOT WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO HAND IT TO THEM. Ever wonder why the typical Lottery winner doesn't get the whole pot they have won? Simple. Taxes make the world go around and that affords us the opportunities we have in this great country we live in. If I win, I will live their with my wife. We have been building up to this point for almost twenty years, both of us have college degrees that we both paid for by working through college. And we have invested very wisely in commercial property and land. Opportunities are out there, everyone needs to buckle down and start aiming for the stars to get what they want.
Gloria wrote on Apr 13, 2006 3:20 PM:There is a very winding road to get to the home making it very hard in the winter. The nearest grocery store is one hour away. There are no jobs in the area. Only a very wealthy person would want the home for a summer place and be able to keep it up and pay the taxes. There is no yard for a play ground for grands or to put a pool. How do you get from the garage to the home without being in the open?
Kent wrote on Jan 6, 2007 6:51 AM:Criticisms of HGTV are in my view a great deal of whining. And what I have read herereinforces that view. "Thewinners walk a3way with ONLY a million dollars...) If an entrant is disconnected with reality, and choses to live in a fantsy world, that is their option. No one buys a home without considering what the real cost is, and if you cannot afford it, you do not buy it. Same here.. if you cannot afford it , or are not willing to do the work it takes to dispose of it , do not enter. Simple as that. We all must take responsibility for our actions and a "Dream" is not the same as a "Fantasy".
Jeff wrote on Jan 8, 2007 10:47 AM:Whine, whine, whine! I'm amazed at the number of people who complain about a gift. What's got into you people? Can you not appreciate the fact that the winner get's something for nothing? Over a million somethings to be more precise. If not, I feel sorry for the loved ones who buy you Christmas or birthday presents!
Loren wrote on Jan 18, 2007 9:41 AM:I agree somewhat to some of the comments. Why can't they offer a cheaper dream home (tax free) so that an average income family could perhaps affort it in reality, instead of just the rich. I continue to submit my entries as I know I couldn't afford to live in it but I know I would still make out a little profit in the end (after selling it) and I would be thankful for that.
Karen wrote on Mar 21, 2007 1:32 PM:HGTV has just given away their Dream Home 2007 and "revealed the winner for the first time ever on live television". If you want a real eye-opener, go to HGTV's website and read some of the blog entries there. I think you'd be surprised at the number of people who were not only thinking they had a decent chance of winning but who actually felt they deserved to win the Dream Home because of the sad circumstances of their lives. The whole live event, if you want to call it that, was hugely mishandled by the HGTV execs or planning committee or whoever will take responsibility for such a blunder. One thing it did, however, was to open the average person's eyes to the reality of winning such a wonderful grand prize! Viewers have expressed extreme dissatisfaction at being played for fools and quite a few claim to be boycotting anything to do with the channel and its sponsors. Others appear to be convinced that all the negative feedback might be cause enough for HGTV, affiliates and sponsors to stop building the Dream Homes altogether. Yeah, right! Both sides need a heavy duty reality check! As a couple of you have suggested here, many have suggested on the HGTV blogs that they build a home better suited to the average viewer, not realizing what this article makes perfectly clear and that is the whole reason that HGTV and its sponsors build the Dream Homes to begin with... ratings, ratings, ratings and money, money, money! I won't deny that this contest does cause a person to dream (and that it can become addictive if you want to put it that way) and I will even admit to having entered the contest, even knowing that my chances of actually winning were something like 11 in 41,000,000. I am, however, intelligent enough to realize that all prizes come with a price tag and in this case, quite a hefty price tag. I think you'd be surprised by the numbers of people, mostly poor and uneducated, who haven't a clue and those are the ones we should feel sorry for. The saddest thing of all to me is that they still don't understand, even after it's all laid there before them.
1800wpb wrote on Dec 27, 2007 7:11 PM:Don't forget the background check. Any sponsor of the house can reject any entrant for any reason.
Kellie Piecznski wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:15 PM:I wish I could say that taxes are unfair but each working induiviual has to pay. even if they don't work and recieve a house like this. The team that donated this house to them should of known that the taxes were going to be high. Most average amercans dont even produce that much income in five years. after all it would be nice if we did. But if we had the money to pay the taxes on this wouldnt we be able to afford a house like this on our own? When this house was donated to this man it should be consider his property. What he chose to do with it was his own buisness.
Kellie wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:17 PM:I wish I could say that taxes are unfair but each working induiviual has to pay. even if they don't work and recieve a house like this. The team that donated this house to them should of known that the taxes were going to be high. Most average amercans dont even produce that much income in five years. after all it would be nice if we did. But if we had the money to pay the taxes on this wouldnt we be able to afford a house like this on our own? When this house was donated to this man it should be consider his property. What he chose to do with it was his own buisness.
Lisa wrote on Jan 20, 2008 8:13 AM:I would love to win the HGTV dreamHome. It would be a dream come true and I would be so grateful.
stephanie dee wrote on Mar 20, 2008 10:18 AM:I cant believe i am the winner !!! I prayed to god every night and I won! I earn 200,000 dollars a year and I am sure I can pay these taxes.By about 3 or 4 years, I could have payed the tax. stop criticizing hgtv becaouse they work hard for you.!!!!!
Lynn wrote on May 6, 2008 8:01 AM:It is misleading, and in this economy right now, I would be worried about selling the house. A really great contest would be one where the yearly taxes and initial tax was covered in the prize itself. I agree that many would not realize that they can't afford to really live there and it is kind of a shame that that is the case. I don't think it is whining to point out the realities of this prize.
marc wrote on Jun 30, 2008 9:27 AM:i hate to say it but there are plenty of people involved in the dream house that are there to guide you in the right direction. scripps does not leave anyone hanging. those who see the network and it's people as deceiving simply seem hostile .
maybe they should spend more time doing for others as emily and the others at scripps have done. the contest adds a little excitement to our lives. people need to relax and enjoy. as far the cruz family, i have no doubt that they were well directed in the correct direction to seek guidance. i think a lot people thought that the cruz family would benefit from winning the contest...they chose to walk the path they did. they were given such a chance and they chose not to act on it. it seems that they have played on the sympathy of people. ..trying to make something out to be bad out of something great. i hope all turned out well for the cruz family but i think it is time to admit that they handled the money and 15 min. of fame wrong...and they owe scripps network a formal apology.
o
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