Every day for the last two months, I’ve been entering to win the HGTV Dream Home. It’s a beautiful Victorian style house in southeastern Georgia, with a cupola and tower — I always wanted a tower. The odds are pretty poor that I might win, even after entering the contest the maximum number of times. But I began to think, in my daydreamy way, what could happen if I actually won.
The house and furnishings are valued at $1.2 million. Even if I won the home, could I afford it? Yeah, free house, furniture, and a big ol’ SUV; but how much would the taxes be? How much for upkeep and maintenance on a house like that? And where could I find a job there that would pay enough for those expenses?
According to HGTV, none of the past winners have kept their Dream Homes.
A schoolteacher from Tulsa sold the house immediately after she was presented with a $250,000 tax bill.
It’s sad to think that because of taxes and the like, you can’t afford to live in a big house even if the house itself is free. That tax thing is what keeps neighborhoods segregated by affluence, not the cost of the homes themselves.
I dunno. It seems like sometimes your dreams may be tough to deal with if they’re fulfilled.
