May
11
Cheryl Smith Visits Dream Home
The winner of HGTV Dream Home 2009, Cheryl Smith, along with her husband Joe, paid a visit to Sonoma, Calif., and received the keys to her brand new home and vehicle. The excitement unfolded during the Winner’s Weekend Celebration. Take a look!
WOW!!!!!! I’m verklempt! Congrats again to Cheryl Smith and her family! It really doesn’t get any better than this…
Living the Dream!
Congratulations Cheryl & Jo Smith, Lucky #13 dream home winners. Dreams do come true!
Congratulations Cheryl and Joe Smith! Hope you’re enjoying the home or the money you received or will receive from the sale of your home.
Hope this is the beginning of your dreams coming true.
Dear Gail: You looked fantastic in this video, and so great seeing you again as it has been a while since we’ve seen your lovely smile!!
Congratulations again to Cheryl & Joe Smith…WOW….”one dream after another!” It was great seeing the home again in Sonoma…it so feels like home to me…still!! And, Cheryl is right, the home is “better than the picture!” I guess Joe will have a great time out on the patio doing his barbequing…lucky man!!
I was happy to see the laundry room again…it was my most favorite thing about this house..okay, you’re right every room was my favorite…I loved this 13th Dream Home, and will never forget how I felt when I stood in front of it…well, I’ll keep on Dreamin’ Big!!
My cudos to Bruce Lee and his talented crew for producing a work of art in Sonoma!!!
Nice seeing Jack again….I guess all those people seeing him in New York must have been seeing his twin!!
It was worth waiting to see how happy Cheryl and Joe Smith were seeing their new home for the first time. I understand there might have been some glitches along the way, so thank you HGTV for making it happen. Ingrid and BoBo: Were you in the welcoming crowd? If so, can you describe the general feeling.
Aaah, now 2009 is part of the Dream Home history,on to 2010.
Congrats to Cheryl and Joe Smith…and great to see you too Gail and everyone else that had to do with the HGTV Dream Home in Sonoma!
Congratulations Cheryl and Joe Smith, this will be my favorite Dream Home from now on… unless HGTV builds in Hawaii!
So glad to finally see the video!!!!!!
It was great to see how happy and excited Cheryl and Joe Smith were
.
I am so glad I got to visit the Dream Home a couple of times. It was a fun ride
.
I loved the home and hope the Smiths will be able to keep it.
Having a Dream Home close to where you live is so much fun. So where ever DH10 is, who ever lives close to it will see it as a house they will never forget.
Dear Mary: How long did Cheryl and Joe actually stay in the DH2009? What are their plans? It is always interesting to hear about the winners of these beautiful homes, and how they plan to keep them because of the tax situations! Will Steve Ledson actually buy the home from Cheryl?
Glad to hear they were FINALLY able to visit their new home. Along with Marie, what are their plans for the house, furnishings, vehicle?
I would hate to have to be making payments on a place I had not even seen for this long.
Hope this is truly a dream for them.
The smiles on the faces expresses it all!
CONGRATULATIONS, Cheryl and Joe!
Congraluations to the winners. You have so much to look forward to……
Hi All…YES,Katydid…BoBo and I were in the welcoming crowd…you can spot me in my green top standing behind Joe Smith!(in photo #2) It was a fun day, and it was a kick to see all the HGTV faces again. Since that day however, the blinds have been drawn shut, and the home remains empty. Will there be a garage sale there soon? Ingrid from Sonoma
I am curious to know how many of the HGTV house winners actually still own those houses or did they all have to sell because of the expense of taxes, insurance, upkeep, etc. How many of them actually lived in their won homes? A follow up on each winner would be nice.
WOW!!! Congrats and I am so happy for you. There is nothing more wonderful than getting your dream house!!!
help,help i have a 100 year old house in the country,farm house. i painted the metal roof a bright red, i like it but need help, what color to paint the shutters and doors, and trim with out being laughs out of the county my zip code is 30439, address is 1520 hunk road, metter georgia, i live alone, iam a bachelor i need help. please email me back and tell me what color to paint the trim the house color is baige or a sand color thank you for your help
I hate to be a sour puss, but why do the winners care so little that they sell immediately? I mean, give people a chance who actually want the house!
The ole “too many taxes” complaint is a bogus excuse- you can sell the furniture, or rent the place or make payments to the state.
my name is trina vontoure.and I hope to be a wiinner, because be a house owner is a dream come true. trina vontoure.
Let's face it most people who enter cannot afford the taxes. Otherwise they wouldn't need to enter the sweepsstake. HGTV should at least cover he first 6 months taxes to give time time to enjoy it before they have no choice but to sell.
I thought the cash payment was supposed to cover the taxes for the initial prize winnings. And, after that, the owners would only have to pay property taxes and insurance, which could be paid monthly, just like on a mortgage, right????? If nothing else, they could sell, the vehicle, put that $30,000 in an escrow account to cover the property taxes and insurance for a couple of years. The only thing I can figure is that these houses are in communities with HOA fees that can really bleed you dry. If I won, that would be the straw that broke the camel's back. I might have to sell unless my husband could get a hardship transfer with the VA right away. I might sell anyway because neither my husband nor I play golf and those fees would be a total waste for us. Plus, I don't like to have a HOA telling me how to live. I'll mow my grass when I'm good and ready……
You have to pay taxes on the value of ALL the winnings. The home is considered an "increase" in income and therefore is taxed as such. There are several articles about this. The value of the prize is 2 million, your taxes would equal over $600,000. One winner tried to keep the home and it wound up having to be sold at auction and they lost everything. Plus property taxes vary from state to state, but say they are $15,000 a year. Some people can't pack up and move to a state without a job and pay $600,000 in taxes plus $15,000 in property taxes and whatever the other costs are to live in the home. The practical thing would be to sell and not be strapped to a home you can't afford to be in.
Exactly, and this year, the cash gift is $500,000, but that still won't cover all of the income taxes. Plus, the property taxes and HOA fees are $14,000 per year. That's just out of reach for the majority of the population. "WHEN" I win it, I will sell it asap and use the proceeds to finish paying the remaining taxes first. Then, I'll look for the perfect lot in a part of New Mexico that has more reasonable property taxes and no HOA fees or restrictions. Then, I will build a completely off-the-grid self-sustainalbe home with a green house for growing my own vegetables and flowers. It will have solar panels, a wind turbine, a rain water captuing system and a salt water exercise pool and spa. The, I'll garden and paint and draw and write for the rest of my life. The drawing is the first day of the rest of my life.
Hi,
Why would anyone enter a sweepstakes, if they couldn’t afford the taxes,HOA, and have the ability to move?
Why would HGTV create a "Dream Home" contest and make it impossible to afford? I guess that's why they call it a dream house. Why can't HGTV pick a winner and then build the house of the winner's dreams and make it a reality type series. This way the winner can have the house of their dreams where they work and live.