A couple with 4 children from Lake City, PA won the dream house. They do not know if they are going to keep it as they have to pay $450,000 in federal taxes on it by next April. None of the 6 previous winners kept the houses.

I wondered about that. I was so determined to win that Dream House - I entered myself and my husband every day in that drawing. My husband said that even if we won, we would have to sell it because of the taxes.

I'd sell it anyway. It's near Mexico Beach, FL. near an Air Force Base. The closest city is Panama Beach, and that's an hour or more away. I'd much rather take the proceeds and buy a place more suited to my tastes... maybe Miami? Why can't HGTV include cash with the prize to cover the taxes?

The house, the 18' boat and the new GMC Envoy totalled 1.2 Million. Guess they couldn't spring for the taxes. Also, read that the people who bought the other houses from the winners have been plagued by gawkers and people who want free tours.

Maybe they could charge admission to help pay the taxes!

If I lived in one of those houses, I sure wouldn't want big gulp guzzlers, sticky fingered kids and people with fat, stinky feet in flip flops touring my house. Taxes or not.

That reminds me of an old episode of Designing Women when the house was on the tour of homes. Julia lost it when someone put out their cigarette on her floor.

To the best of my knowledge, none of the HGTV Dream Home winners have kept the house they won. In this case, I definitely wouldn't keep it. I vacation in Mexico Beach every year and love it for its laid back feeling. The whole forgotten coast panhandle is in flux. The St. Joe company (which is the largest private landowner in Florida) is developing much of its property - they donated the land for the dream house. The value of waterfront property in this area is skyrocketing. But there are still many ?? to be settled. The main highway (Hwy 98) may be rerouted for several reasons: it's getting overloaded and it runs right through Tyndall AFB. They need to make it easier to get to this area from Tallahassee (right now you have to drive small highways and backroads) or Panama City. Lastly, the HGTV Dream Home isn't right on the beach. It is waterfront - but the water is an intercoastal waterway. And the water is so shallow that they had to get a special boat for it - one meant for shallow water. If this house was on the beach - I would keep try to find a way to keep it regardless of the tax cost. But it isn't.

Hey Marie, the first post already said that none of the winners kept their houses. Do your reading glasses need adjusting? ;-) Heck, if it wasn't beach front I would sell it to.

The following link points to a diary of the latest winner. Interesting read.

http://web.hgtv.com/hgtv/web/searchR...earchType=site

I don't care what the house looked like. A house appraised at 1.2 million that isn't on the beach is a waste. I'd rather live in a shack on the beach than a mansion on a golf course.