UPDATE- See my new post for the 2012 Dream Home Sweepstakes HERE
Well the dream for me is over, [at least for another year :], but just beginning for one Eric Makstenieks and his family of suburban Illinois! As of tonight 9/8p time, the HGTV Special aired showing the lucky winner to the beautiful Dream Home nestled in the picturesque mountains of Vermont.
Lucky family...
I participated, submitting my allotted two entries a day for over a month, wishing and hoping that some miracle happened and we were the fortunate winners. While it's certainly fun to dream and picture all that you would do and how would you actually handle that size of a house - the details perhaps, are not all a bed of roses one might think.
If you do a little searching into the past winners, you will see what I mean. Many, if not all of the previous years winners end up not living in their dream home at all, past a few vacations or short-term 'try-out's'.
It appears, that TAXES, being a significant reason, but monthly maintenance costs, and location may be significant other factors. So while it is still a life-changing moment for these family's, the changing usually comes at the price of giving up their beautiful, custom built and elaborately furnished dream home...and using whatever money is left over after uncle sam takes his cut, to briefly enrich their current, real lives.
It seems sad, that a contest so focused on making a dream come true for one lucky family, can be so fraught with the thorns of reality that is our US Government. :(
Regardless of all that... I STILL want to win next year! As I said, it would still be nice to pay off our own house, buy a few toys, keep funds for kids college, and perhaps that long overdue honeymoon in Hawaii my wife and I never took.
To the winner, I say Congrats! Hope you use your new asset wisely, and have a little fun while you can.
Check out the article on the selection of the winner HERE at a random MSN blog, which details further what past winners have done with their Dream Homes.
Well the dream for me is over, [at least for another year :], but just beginning for one Eric Makstenieks and his family of suburban Illinois! As of tonight 9/8p time, the HGTV Special aired showing the lucky winner to the beautiful Dream Home nestled in the picturesque mountains of Vermont.
Lucky family...
If you do a little searching into the past winners, you will see what I mean. Many, if not all of the previous years winners end up not living in their dream home at all, past a few vacations or short-term 'try-out's'.
It appears, that TAXES, being a significant reason, but monthly maintenance costs, and location may be significant other factors. So while it is still a life-changing moment for these family's, the changing usually comes at the price of giving up their beautiful, custom built and elaborately furnished dream home...and using whatever money is left over after uncle sam takes his cut, to briefly enrich their current, real lives.
It seems sad, that a contest so focused on making a dream come true for one lucky family, can be so fraught with the thorns of reality that is our US Government. :(
Regardless of all that... I STILL want to win next year! As I said, it would still be nice to pay off our own house, buy a few toys, keep funds for kids college, and perhaps that long overdue honeymoon in Hawaii my wife and I never took.
To the winner, I say Congrats! Hope you use your new asset wisely, and have a little fun while you can.
Check out the article on the selection of the winner HERE at a random MSN blog, which details further what past winners have done with their Dream Homes.
2 comments:
would the money cover the expences of taxes, so one can enjoy the house............I have wondered if mailing a postcard got more of a chance to win; than online.
I think they get a bonus cash award of $500,000 so, you can guess most of that would be gone to the initial 'gift' taxes! Then, there's your every year end taxes on the property & land, then...the maintenance! whew..! I can see how it gets hard to afford right away!
Doing the postcard thing would never be a bad idea! If you have a strong writing hand, you could do as many as you could afford postcards and stamps! Try it next year Mr./Mrs. Anon!
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