What are some downsides from winning a dream home?
Like higher property taxes.
ect.
Humor welcome.
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You have to take your shabby, old furniture and put it in a brand new house.
@chyna Also you need to dust more.
One person’s “dream house” is another person’s nightmare.
Paying the taxes on what you have won! (Figure 30% of the home’s value.)
I am fortunate to have a relatively large yard with about 2 acres of lawn plus an orchard and woods.
Years ago, my father, who lived near NY City at the time, came to visit and was amazed at the quiet and all the space.
One morning, he was sipping coffee and relaxing at the kitchen table that overlooks the backyard. He was enjoying the view when he quietly said: “You know, if I had that much lawn to mow…
I’d kill myself.”
If you win a dream house, you haven’t got much choice where it’s at, or what it looks like.
I, for example, would be very, very picky about both these criteria.
So that’s a con, in my book.
At least in the US, you would pay mega-income taxes for the prtoperty and the building, which sort of takes away the joy of it. Plus increased property tax.
Honestly, I would rather have the money than the house.
winning something has a different level of appreciation than by building it or earning it the hard way.
Basically:
High tax ( $700,000 on average)
Maintenance ,upkeep bills are much more expensive.
Cleaning: who is going to clean huge windows ..so cost of hiring someone to do it goes up.
Heating/cooling the home costs are higher.
Most winners do not stay more than one year due to the additional expenses.
Knew a young man who won a Dream Home on the west coast of Canada and a year later
he returned to visit his family and told me that without the extra $25000 that he also received
he would not had been able to foot the bills incurred from living in it.
Thus he stated that is why they also give a Cash prize.
He used all of the cash prize to pay the upkeep for six months until he could sell the home.
He finally at the last week sold it and turned that money from the sale into a local Business of
his own. ( Restaurant : Jasper Brewing Company) and its still going strong.
He was only 23 years old but his parents advised him ( they had their own Restaurant too).
How is paying 30% of the value of the house not better than having to pay 100% of the value of the house?
I rent an apartment and winning a house would solve a huge problem for me. Also, it is not just any house, the OP states a dream home, even if I had the money to buy a house, it would probably not be my dream house, but whatever house I could afford.
Also, if it is too inconvenient, can’t you just resell it?
@Yeahright
The problem becomes that buyers realize the predicament that the owner is in and holds out until the last moment to buy it cheaper.
Another couple who won a dream home years ago , but who also had a farm and property, and doing well, decided to sell the furniture in the dream home and with that cash were able to pay off the expenses.
They then rented it out to friends who stayed for a few years but later moved.
The couple ended up selling it anyways, staying on there farm instead.
Seems to me like “winning” a house ”should” (in a non-punitive society) be considered a gift, and the “winner” not subject to taxes. The giver might need to pay taxes (or have it count towards their tax-free gift “limit” as we discussed in another recent question), but some company claiming to award houses as prizes should maybe be responsible for that too if they want credit as having really given someone a house.
In general, I’d rather see home-owning (for one, anyway) as something that’s supported rather than taxed.
Guys….what if the person’s dream home is a 1500 Sq ft ranch?
not the size that matters.
1500 square feet in Beverly Hills has a different value than 1500 square feet in Wa Keeney Kansas.
My point is people are imagining that a dream home must be a mansion with pools and tennis courts. If your dream home lands in Beverly Hills where it’s too expensive to live that’s not your dream home. It sure wouldn’t be mine.
Wakeeny Kansas?? :)
@Yeahright Paying 30% of the value of the home, (income/winner’s taxes) is different than paying 100% of the value in mortgage payments because the winning/income taxes are due the first year (immediately) and the mortgage payments can be monthly for 30 years.
If I win $10,000 in the lottery I have to pay the tax man 30% right when I pick up my winnings. Same with winning a house. But you could probably finance the tax amount…
But that is a matter for your bank, not the tax man.
And all this does not include the property tax.
I’ve heard many stories about the Home Makeover show fixing up houses so much the people had to sell them. It looks like a feel good dream come true but in the end losing the house when you’re disabled and thing’s isn’t really a benefit.
It’s kind of like the Lottery or Price Is Right, you always have to pay.
For 30k lottery win, you pay the government $8k right off the top. Then you get a little back at tax time, maybe $2k.
I’ve heard on game shows you have to pay the state tax before you get the prize you ‘won’, but maybe one of you know that for sure.
@KNOWITALL I had a neighbor, many years ago, that won a 10,000 shopping spree to our local mall. She very generously included her siblings in the spree. One got a washer/dryer, one got a fridge, another got an expensive ring. They actually spent more than the neighbor that won. She had to pay taxes on her winnings and her siblings refused to help her. Nice family. ~
@chyna Sounds right. Even a radio quiz makes you sign tax papers for anything over $100 value here.
1. No neighbours means more loneliness.
2. Too much walking around in the vast kitchen.
3. Some good friends become insanely jealous
4. You can’t imagine a dream home any more.
5. Heating bills in winter and AC bills in summer.
6. Leaves in the pool.
7. Two acres of weedy lawn and borders.
8. Cleaning the windows.
9. The mail box is inconveniently far
10. Fast food deliveries expect a huge tip.
11. Homesickness for the old place.
I could be bothered to clean leaves out of the pool.
Hopefully, they give you some cash with the dreamhouse to pay any initial taxes for the value of the home. Porsche raffle does that, they usually give the winner a Porsche and @25K.
If you can’t spend any time there you have to either pay for the upkeep or deal with selling it. If you keep it as a second home, second homes can be a headache worrying about them.
@Inspired_2write $700K in taxes? Where do you get that number?
I wish they would build affordable dream homes that real people can afford.
On another note, but along the same lines: St. Judes built a “dream home” in my town and tickets were 100.00 to be donated to St. Judes Children’s Hospital. I bought a ticket as it was for a good cause. They had an open house before the drawing and I went. This house was estimated at 500–600K.
The bathrooms had the same vanity that I had just installed in my own bathroom. I think it was about 150.00. It looks nice in my house, but in a 500k home I would expect higher end fixtures. I really think the builder cheaped out and cut corners.
@chyna
My late brother told me yes they built Dream Homes cheaply with inferior products…so if you have a choice between taking the cash or the Dream Home…go with the cash,
I didn’t realize the dream homes are sometimes so expensive, $2 million? I thought most of them were in remote-ish areas. I really had no idea.
I’d take the cash. They can always sell the house and still make up the money.
I would have to sell the house to get the tax money. But I could then probably buy a lesser expensive house, maybe more in line with my needs. And in a more desirable location.
Oh, I didn’t realize you people were referring to some product brand name “Dream Home.”
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