Every year, HGTV and DIY Network give away a series of homes. Each home sweepstakes is pretty much the same, wherein you enter twice or three times a day on the sites, with the chance to win the home, a vehicle, and usually an amount of money. Each home follows a different theme. The HGTV Dream Home is usually pretty luxurious, and set in a serene, high end neighborhood. The DIY Network's Blog Cabin is usually a little more remote, often or always on water, and viewers participate in the process of designing and decorating certain aspects of it by interacting on the blog and website. There's also the HGTV Urban Oasis, which is usually a high end loft type home within a large urban center, with all of the customary amenities you'd expect. The current sweepstakes campaign is for the 2016 HGTV Smart Home, which is a home with all of the 'smart' aspects available these days, including alarms, smart thermostats and lighting, as well as entertainment aspects of living. Here's a link to enter to win this year's HGTV Smart Home, which is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The winner will also receive a new Mercedes, as well as $100,000. http://www.hgtv.com/design/hgtv-smart-home/sweepstakes
I've always wondered who has won those sweepstakes. You would think HGTV would do a show or series like House Hunters when they update viewers on the homeowners after a year or so in the homes they purchased on the show.
Yes, and hopefully at some point, they will. Perhaps they're waiting until there are enough winners and enough material for a full hour show. I'd love to see them. I have a feeling many of the winners can't afford to keep the homes, though, which seemed to be the case with at least several of those who participated on the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I used to love that show, but honestly, I'd rather have the designs been scaled back somewhat, and less tailored, especially to the ages and interests of the children, since those things tend to change easily, and then the homeowner would be stuck updating the rooms within a short time frame.
I try to enter every one of their contests. We keep our bags packed, ready to move, but no such luck yet.
I always enter as well @Sheldon Scott. It would be great to win, although I'm sure I'm probably one of the ones who couldn't afford to hold onto the place long term, unless I ultimately rented it out. I guess there'd be a sort of cache to it since it had been built/designed/decorated by HGTV or DIY Network, so that would probably make renting or a successful sale more likely.
I believe that you are right about the people sometimes not being able to keep the homes after the makeovers are finished, @Diane Lane . There was one done for a family in Idaho, near where I lived. I am not sure if it was done by Home and Garden, or another TV show; but it was all over the local new up there. The homeowner was a man tho was raising hiss borther's children after their parents were killed in an accident. They all lived in a basement that had been started for a house; but the house had never been finished over top. The Makeover finished the house and did everything that they do to make it beautiful, with many of the local folks helping out as well. Unfortunately, then the county assessor had to re-evaluate the property with its new expensive home, property taxes went way up, living expenses were a lot higher, because they now had a huge house to keep warm and cooled, whereas the basement home had been much easier to keep the temperature in a comfortable range year-around. I am sure that this probably happened to other people who were thrilled to have such an awesome new home, and then could not afford the extra expense of maintaining it afterwards.
I hadn't heard that particular story @Yvonne Smith, but it makes sense. If you can't afford something small, you can't afford to maintain something larger and more luxurious. Things break or wear out and need to be replaced over time, and if there isn't money to do that, the property will fall into disrepair. There's also a matter of people not knowing how, or not wanting to do what's necessary to maintain a home. I think in many cases, a habitat for humanity type of dwelling is sufficient to meet a family's needs. I don't need anything as luxurious as one of these HGTV homes, but there is also prize money involved, and that would help to maintain the property for a while, during which time I'd be working on a future plan. Here's a story that was in the news here after Hurricane Ike. This family ended up getting a home thanks to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/b...ith-13-kids-now-lives-in-two-FEMA-1724138.php Another story about them, the youngest child they were caring for and in the process of adopting died: http://abc13.com/archive/7335268/ Another story regarding controversy about the family's actual living conditions, and how much hurricane damage they actually received. I think the network/producers chose them because they were particularly sympathetic, seeing as they had all of the children and also one or more in/going into the military. Others in the area had received much more severe damage and could have used a hand, but after all, it was a reality television show, and they did what they thought would play best with their audience. http://legacy.khou.com/story/news/local/neighborhood/2014/07/15/11443310/ And wow, I had seen the other stories before, but just found this one while looking for the links to the other stories posted above. I'm sure the neighbors were thrilled about this. http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/b...xtreme-Makeover-home-in-Kemah-has-5601731.php
It would be fun to win a smart home, but Raleigh is not an ideal location, IMHO. That area is even hotter than here. I love Carolina, but the beach or the mountains are more my speed, not in the central Piedmont, hot area. I would try to sell it if I won it...If that would be against the rules, I would rent it out. It would be fun to walk around in there and have your house do as you command though.