HGTV Dream Home 2005 Winner Announced

[stormi65]

Sigh..... I will try again next year.



Dream Home 2005 awarded to Don Cruz of Batavia, Illinois!




After getting the news he is the winner of Dream Home 2005 from The Insider's Victoria Recano, Don Cruz can't believe it.

The "For Sale" sign in the yard says it all. Don Cruz is ready to move. And now he has a place to go — the $1 million HGTV Dream Home.

A television crew from HGTV surprised Cruz, a 40-year-old native of this West Chicago suburb, just before dinner at his home on Tuesday night to announce that he is the winner of the 2005 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway. Cruz' name was selected from the record 39.1 million entries in this year's sweepstakes, the network's ninth annual.


Now it's wife Shelly and son Donny's turn to be flabbergasted. Dream Home 2005 is yours!

"This is a miracle. It's a true blessing," Cruz said, explaining further, "I injured my knees several years ago and have not been able to work. My wife took a job to support us, but money is tight. We live paycheck to paycheck. That's why the house and property are up for sale."


Oh, the joys of winning HGTV's Dream Home 2005. Life is good!

Cruz's winnings include a fully furnished, custom-built home with more than 5,000 square feet of living area and a dockside guest house overlooking Lake Tyler in Texas. In addition, the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway includes a 2005 GMC Envoy Denali, $250,000 from LendingTree.com, one year of AOL Broadband service, and even a Doggy Dream Home that matches the architecture of the house.


Son Donny turns on the charm with HGTV's Joan Steffend and Victoria.

"I saw the Dream Home on television and told Don, 'This place is awesome. We have to enter,'" Cruz' wife, Shelly, said. "It's as if it was built for us, with what we need in mind, especially because of Don's injury." Shelly was referring to the Jacuzzi and two unique features in the rustic retreat – an elevator and swimming pool – both firsts for an HGTV Dream Home.

"Those could make such a big difference in Don's quality of life. The doctors just told him that he needed to do swim therapy," Shelly said. While Don and Shelly Cruz were overwhelmed with surprise at the news that their names had been selected from almost 40 million entries, their nine-year-old son Donny was not.


For the Cruz family, the incredible news is beginning to sink in.

"I knew we were going to win. I just knew it," Donny told HGTV's Joan Steffend, host of the HGTV Dream Home 2005 special and the person who broke the good news to the Cruz family. "Mom and I sat at the computer and looked at every room in that house and I knew it was our dream house."




The annual HGTV Dream Home Giveaway has become a popular institution for the network and its website. The 39.1 entries this year sets a new record, up nine percent over the 2004 sweepstakes. One of the most successful consumer promotions in cable TV history, the Dream Home Giveaway involves sponsorship from several national advertisers including GMC Division, General Motors Corporation, Lumber Liquidators, LendingTree®, Inc., Nestlé Purina PetCare, 3M Company, America Online, Inc., BISSELL® Homecare, Inc., California Closet Company, JELD-WEN, inc., Moen Inc., The Sherwin-Williams Company, and Simplicity Pattern Company, Inc.



"The HGTV Dream Home is the perfect representation of the HGTV brand – giving our viewers, or in this case one lucky viewer, the experience of having the home of his dreams," said Burton Jablin, president of HGTV. "Though only one person wins the home, every HGTV viewer can take away ideas and inspiration from HGTV’s Dream Home 2005 special that can help them turn their own homes into the homes of their dreams."

For Cruz and his family, it means a new start. "Shelly and I had a lot of dreams when we got married 18 years ago. When I got injured, the dreams had to go on hold," Cruz said. "I guess that's why its called a 'Dream Home,' because it really does have that kind of impact on a life. HGTV has given us back our dreams

 

[binny]

Nice to see it went to someone who needed it :0

I enetered several times but frankly the house did nothing for me.

The one in Oregon a few years back was more my style! I LOVED that one!

 

[stormi65]

I didn't really care for the house either, the separate master bedroom from the main house. We would have sold it and been happy with the cash.

 

[ksjayhawks]

What will they have to pay in taxes for winning the house, furniture, car, money, etc? The $250,000 in cash from Lending Tree probably won't cover it, will it?

 

[HayGan]

What will they have to pay in taxes for winning the house, furniture, car, money, etc? The $250,000 in cash from Lending Tree probably won't cover it, will it?

I don't think it will They will likely be putting it up for sale soon as well when they see what their annual real estate taxes will be. Doesn't sound like a family with tens of thousand sof dollars for taxes each year.

Hope they get to enjoy it for awhile!

(If I would have won it, I would have taken a trip down to see it and drive the vehicle back with a big uhaul attached with all my new furniture in it . I would have taken my final picture of my dream house with the for sale sign in the yard )

 

[stormi65]

I read that the estimated taxes on the house were about 30K per year. The upkeep on the house would be expensive.

 

[Tuffcookie]

Well, they're saying the income taxes alone will be around $530,000! Then, if you can come up with that, figure $30,000 in property taxes. Also to consider: the cost of the electricity to run everything included in the house, the landscaper, the house insurance, etc. I heard that if you make $100,000 or less, you can't afford to keep it! I would immediately sell and use the money to build a dream home to suit me.

TC

 

[Feralpeg]

None of the past winners have kept their dream home. They all sell them, pay the taxes and keep the remaining money. Still not a bad deal!

 

[scarlett873]

My DH will be so disappointed...he wanted this house! lol

He did some pretty extensive research on the dream homes. He's found out that a person has to have an income of at least $120k a year in order to keep the house. Between taxes and maintenance fees...yikes! I told him many times that if we win the dream house, we will have to sell it!

I think it's a shame that they give away something that the majority of the people who will win it, will not be able to keep it. yes, they can sell the home and make the money that way, but I think that they should build a home that's nice, and of dreamy quality of course, but just not so danged expensive to maintain! They can still achieve something quite dramatic and create something that the average person who may win will still be able to keep. just my opinion...

You still come out looking quite rosy if you win the house and then sell it! People are willing to pay top dollar to own one of the HGTV Dream Homes!

 

[minniepumpernickel]

Oh well, it's not me! I registered a few times! I really wanted it too! Thats one reason why I want to keep my credit good, because I want my very own beach house! I guess I will have to buy it!

 

[stormi65]

Batavians will live large in free home

By Gala M. Pierce Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Friday, March 04, 2005


The Cruz family in Batavia will not see their dream house until April 28, but they already know it's perfect.

Home and Garden Television, which drew their name randomly out of almost 40 million entries, will give the family a luxury home in Lake Tyler, Texas, with a boat house and even a $1,000 doghouse.

"It will hit me more when I actually see it - it still seems like a dream," Don Cruz said. "It's prayers answered. We've been doing nothing but thanking the father in heaven for everything."

Don and Shelly Cruz, who will be married for 18 years this July, and their son, Donald Cruz II, will move from a modest 708-square-foot home on Deerpath Road in Batavia Township to a 6,000-square-foot house.

"It will be nice because we finally get a bigger home," Donald said.




Network crews visited the Cruz house Tuesday after drawing the winning entry Monday. Wednesday, the family celebrated with 50 relatives and friends.

Their new dream house seems tailor-made for Don Cruz's needs. He fell down a flight of stairs in late 1998 and injured his knees. Installing flooring for 21 years already had contributed to the damaged cartilage, and after the accident, he was forced to call it quits.

Now, a cane helps him get around. His doctor has repeatedly told him the importance of water therapy and suggested that a warmer climate could mean fewer flare-ups.

The house, just east of Dallas, comes equipped with an elevator, swimming pool and whirlpool.

"I thought it would be great to enter into (the contest) because of all the amenities for my husband," Shelly Cruz said.

"This house was a godsend," Don Cruz said. "It's got everything in there we could ask for."

As Don's the "Mr. Mom," of the family as he calls himself, Shelly Cruz works as an administrative assistant at InCon Processing, LLC, in Batavia.

Money's tight, but with a little overtime here and there, her checks cover the bills. The couple can't afford cell phones or some of the other extras in life.

Before they heard of their winnings, they had put their current house up for sale and thought of downsizing to a condominium - quite a contrast from a picture of their new fully furnished home on 3 acres.

Cruz hopes his son is getting to an age where he can help out with the lawn work.

More importantly, the new home will mean more room for children and pets.

The couple has fostered about 15 children, some very short-term, while others stayed for years.

Right now, no children are under their care as their son became too attached to a few who lived with them temporarily. But as soon as Donald becomes mature enough, they plan to foster more children.

"We love kids," Cruz said. "They are God's greatest gifts."

The family also has fostered animals through the local nonprofit group, Homes for Endangered and Lost Pets. Right now, the Cruz family looks after three dogs, three stray cats and a hermit crab. All will live in Texas with them. As the only outdoor dog, Samuel, already has his name on the doghouse.

The father and son also can't wait to fish together in their new lakeside home.

The waterfront also holds a special place for Don and Shelly. The boat house will store the couple's mahogany 19-foot-long 1959 Century Resorter.

The couple enjoyed their first date on the motorized boat before getting engaged two weeks later and marrying a year afterward. The boat belonged to Shelly's stepfather, Wayne Bozik, now of Sandwich, who restored it and gave it to them as their wedding gift.

Before Don Cruz was hurt in the accident, he began restoring it again.

"We're hoping to get that finished," he said. "Our dream is to hold on to the boat forever."

He wants to pass it on to his son when he marries, too.

The sentimental couple are overwhelmed by the attention and gifts. Other freebies from the sweepstakes include a 2005 GMC Envoy Denali in a color of their choice, a year of free cable from Comcast and AOL broadband service, a 26-inch wide-screen TV, a computer, a DVD player and a PlayStation 2.

To help pay for the taxes, LendingTree.com also gave them $250,000 - money that can go toward anything, HGTV spokesmen said. The winnings will be reflected in the Cruz's next year's taxes.

Don Cruz, a St. Charles High School graduate, feels assured that the family will find a way to pay for the taxes.

"If it's allowed, maybe we can open the house up as a bed-and-breakfast and that will help pay the taxes," he said.

The previous eight winners of the sweepstakes were forced to sell their dream houses, and the Cruz family is determined to live there.

"I'm glad they won - I just hope they can keep it," Don's father, Raymond Cruz, said.

The couple has immediate family in the area, although most of Don's family lives near Tallahassee, Fla., where Raymond intends to retire.

Shelly said she's hesitant about leaving her mother, Susan Bozik. The two are more like sisters, Don said.

"I have always lived near my mom," the Kaneland High School graduate said. "My own father passed away when I was young."

They will miss the area "a lot, but the house is beautiful and if this is what God wants, this is what we'll do," Don said.

"I hear Texans are real nice," he said. "I guess I'll find out."

Home: Electronics, cushy SUV among winnings