Winning HGTV’s Dream House In Portland May Be A Nightmare
I love almost everything on HGTV. House Hunters is my absolute favorite, and I love Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna and The Property Brothers with Jonathon and Drew. It's fun to imagine what it would be like to end up in one of those dream houses once the renovation is all done.
For the past twenty+ years, HGTV has been giving one lucky fan a chance to do just that with their HGTV Dream House giveaway. It's been so popular that they've added an Urban Oasis Giveaway, Smart Home Giveaway and even their Dream Home Giveaway.
This year, the Urban Oasis giveaway is in beautiful Portland, ME. It's a gorgeous house valued at $650,000! Designer Brian Patrick Flynn tells HGTV it's "a showstopper from the street and from the driveway!"
The kitchen is top of the line and it has one of the most gorgeous bathrooms I've seen. It sits on a stunning piece of property and even has a built in firepit out back.
So, what's not to love? Well, if you win this beauty, be prepared to pay out a big chunk of money. WGME reports that the tax bill would be taxed at the highest rate of 37% for this prize. So you'd need to be prepared to pay out $238,000!
In addition to the state taxes, closing costs, transfer taxes, current and future real estate taxes are all the responsibility of the prize winner, according to WGME.
While it may not be ideal, one way to get around this and still win, is to accept a cash payment of $350,000 and use that to pay out your tax bill of about 100 grand. Unfortunately, that means you won't be able to live full time in this showstopping house, but it seems like that's the option most people would have to take.
If you still want the chance to enter to win, (I do!), you can enter here.
Check out the HGTV Urban Oasis!