[size="7"]Well, What a joke that was. I think the person who won new they were coming. She didn't look surprised at all. If I would have won, I would have been rolling all over the ground like a flounder out of water. She didn't look like she cared. And in this day and age, who just walks into a house. The host could have gotten shot, that would have been some crazy tv. What a joke. [

I'm pretty much giving up on them coming to my house at this point. Man did I want to win that house!!!!!!

I agree that was such a joke, the look of "surprise" said it all that she knew all along.

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I used to enter this, but now have pretty much given up./

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I missed the very beginning but was watching when they told the woman she won. I was very confused because she looked like they just told her she had to pay a large traffic ticket or something. Definitely didn't look surprised, or in my opinion thrilled over winning.

ALSO, not to be negative but I thought the host (??) was terrible at interviewing and speaking about the house

was it a blonde lady that kept scratching her head every few seconds? she was making me itch too if that's the one I looked to see if i could see what you guys was talking about

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I didn't watch it, but yes, it does bother me when people win big things and act like 'oh, well, I won - yipee.'

Some friends of ours -- her mother won $10,000 from CCH. And yes, they actually come to your house. But they do try to get in touch with someone in the family. The mother was actually living with her daughter and son-in-law at the time and CCH had been trying to contact them by phone. They got in touch with her son-in-law and told him she had won. They waited till they knew she was home and then came with the balloons and the CCH van, etc. And they live right down the road from us and I missed the CCH van going by the house!! (Around here, that would have been the highlight of the year!) LOL!

Oh, and by the way, the mother-in-law complained because the amount wasn't 'big' enough!!

It's in the iowa City Press Citizen. According to the article they didn't know about it. I didn't see the show. I know I think I'd jump and go crazy but I suppose when you have cameras in your face you may not act like you think you would. Especially if it takes awhile to sink in that you actually won. Sounds like a nice little family.

I'm wondering about the tax ramification on this. If you win the dream house, isn't the value of the house and contents added as income to your yearly income? I wouldn't be able to pay the taxes! Most would have to sell the house to pay the taxes. Still, not bad but I would think odds are they keep the house are low.

We had a friend whose dad won a corvette on a radio show ($50K value at the time I believe). THey were SO EXCITED until they found out they had to pay taxes on an extra $50K of income. They simply couldn't afford it. The dealer offered to buy it back for $35K and they took it rather than hassle with trying to sell it themselves. That way, they only had to pay taxes on the $15K difference instead of $50K and had some money left over. Nothing you win is as good as it sounds.

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You mean like the Oprah thing awhile back where she gave away these cars, the people so happy until they realized they had to pay taxes on them?

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Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at:
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My other favorites
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www.wheresgeorge.com
www.geocaching.com

Yeah, like that. You " win" something and the value is added as income on your taxes.

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I had not been watching this...here is the video. I agree...she knew and her scratching made ME itch! LOL

But, Lauren Lake certainly is a doll!


Dream Home : Dream Home 2008 : Dream Home 2008 Sweeps Main : Home & Garden Television

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OMG MAKE HER STOP ITCHING HER HEAD. I had to stop watching because I started to itch my head!

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I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

Life! is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.

Yes, that is correct -- you have to pay taxes on the fair market value of the prize. You get a 1099 for that amount. It is VERY unlikely that the winner will be able to keep the Dream House. Instead they will have to sell it just to pay the taxes -- still a good deal beacuse they'll end up with a nice chunk of change, but not the home. I think out of all the Dream Houses that have been given away, only one or maybe two winners actually still own them.

And, yes, the winner is notified in advance. My DH read the fine print of the rules (must have had trouble sleeping or something <lol>) and it said that you would be notified in advance. I was fussing at him because I was in my PJ's and I would not want them to come to the door and be in my PJ's on national TV. The lady that won didn't even seem surprised -- she was kind of acting strange, I thought. She's probably already made plans to sell it.

Sarah........mom to Jason & Devin

I had a different take on her. I got the feeling she is probably a private sort of a person and didn't feel comfortable 'reacting' in front of the camera. She seemed very nervous and caught off-guard. I don't think they had informed her ahead of time, but I think they had informed her husband and he was aware.

The thing I always found funny was that you'd have to pick up your family and move to a new location in order to live in the house. Who truly wants to do that?

It would seem better to me if they were going to build the house in the location of the winner's choice. Then they could make lots of shows showing the progress of the building, etc.

ETA: If she sells it and nets $1M+, she can probably bank it and be comfortable living off the interest. She really didn't just win a house - she won a lifetime of freedom.

I knew I didn't win when the host was all bundled up in a winter coat. I'm in GA and it was 85 degrees Sunday.

Yall say what you want, but I would be thrilled to win it, and probably still be wide eyed and bushy tailed days later. In addition to winning the house, you also get ALL of the furnishings inside, right down to the linens. Plus the Hybrid Yukon!! Heck, I would gladly sell the house, pay the taxes, pay off my own house, and bank the rest! A win win situation no matter how you look at it. But the woman scratching her head just about did me in. That was terrible!!! I definantly could have graciously accepted the prize without ever even touching my head!!!

I wonder about some of these families on ExtremeMakeover Home. They don't pay off everyone's mortgage, and they get these ginormous homes. Most of the families are in some sort of financial hardship.

I know with the original extreme makeover they get a 1099 on the value of what they received. I had a family member on the show.

I'm not sure how that works. I would think they would have to pay taxes on all that because IRS limits "gifting" to a certain $$ per person . Plus, I always wonder about how much the communities jack up their property taxes afterwards and if they can afford them.

Personally, I would rather win cash than think I am winning a house or a car or whatever and then have to sell it to pay the taxes. Yes, you still gain but I would rather have the cash then the leftdown of knowing I can't get what I've won

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I agree. People are then stuck with decisions to make, frustration if/when the house/car/whatever that's valued at $2.2M only brings in offers of $1.80M... the uncertainty of whether to sell or hold out... etc.

I assume, though, that from the perspective of the giver there is much more going on. HGTV obviously gives away a house for publicity. It's advertising for their network and their website. They are a business.

No doubt, the companies whose products were used to build and furnish the house donated much of that for the publicity. When they promo the house give-away and show you the Ethan Allen furniture, I have to assume that Ethan Allen donated it as a quid pro quo for the advertising. Would Ethan Allen have given them $50K for a house give-away to promote a tv network? No. But would they give furniture that cost them $8K that has an MSRP of $50K and get their name and wares splashed all over the tube, in magazines, and on the net? You betcha.

Zillions of people enter that contest. HGTV gets a ton of publicity, as do the manufacturers of the products in the house and the construction materials used to build it. It's a win-win that wouldn't happen at that level if it were driven by the amount of cash they could front for a straight cash gift.

Some of the Extreme Home Makeovers are done differently -- i.e. the house is leased back to the family at a very low rate or something like that to avoid the tax issues that the family probably couldn't afford. I'm sure the show does their homework and (hopefully) works with the family to come up with a situation they can live with. My DH did some research about it because we were curious. Several of the Makeover homes have been sold too.

What I always wonder is how they families are going to pay the utilities & taxes on these new, bigger houses. I know they are more energy efficient, but if you're going from a 900 sq. foot house to a 5000 square foot house, the utilities are going to cost more no matter how efficient the new house is and the taxes will certainly go up too.

Sarah......mom to Jason & Devin

The Extreme Make Over show is aggrivating to me to watch. I think of all of the money the companies dumped into the house. Are the recipients going to be able to afford it 3-5 years down the line when all of the donated money runs out. I would rather see them build ten homes, a little smaller and easier to maintain. When you have a ceiling in these homes that are 25ft hight and the light bulb needs to be changed, are you going to afford to have someone come out with a cherry picker and change it or are you just going to add another floor lamp to the living room. Crazy. I am happy for the people who recieve it but it isn't really practical. I would definately sell and then live within my means. I would love to see a "where are they now" show on people who have recieved these homes and see if they are still in them or have moved on.