On your mark. Get set. Enter! Hilton Head HGTV Dream Home giveaway is on

Update: The winner has been chosen! Read about her here.

The sweepstakes to win the HGTV 2020 Dream Home near Hilton Head Island opened Dec. 30, and anyone 21 or older can enter to win the 3,500 square foot home in Windmill Harbour.

This year’s 3-bedroom dream home was built by Bluffton firms Shoreline Construction and Court Atkins group. They broke ground in March.

It features three large porches, an outdoor in-ground pool and stunning views of the marsh.

You can enter to win the HGTV dream home up to twice a day every day from Dec. 30 until 5 p.m. on Feb. 19. Go online to www.hgtv.com/design/hgtv-dream-home and www.diynetwork.com to enter.

Home promotions manager Chesney Anderson with HGTV said no one has ever won the home without entering twice per day, so setting reminders to enter as many times as possible is the way to go.

Here are some thing you may not know about the HGTV 2020 Dream Home:

Whoever wins the house gets all the furnishings...

The home has been beautifully staged, and the winner gets to keep all the decor.

All three bedrooms boast mattress sets and window trimmings, as well as storage and seating. The rest of the home has comfortable couches and chic patio furniture from Wayfair that will belong to the winner.

... and the taxes.

Taking on another home means taking on the property taxes. While HGTV doesn’t directly release the potential listing price of the home, it sits between $1.75 million and $2 million, according to HGTV promotional rules.

Property taxes on homes of similar value are between $25,000 and $29,000 each year, according to the Beaufort County tax calculator.

But HGTV has a plan for that, according to Anderson.

Along with the gift of the home, the recipient will also get a $250,000 cash prize, which is intended to cover property taxes. The winner is also given one free hour of financial advice, Anderson said.

The home isn’t technically on Hilton Head Island

Although the home is near Hilton Head, the community is in Windmill Harbour on Jenkins Island, which is not part of the Town of Hilton Head Island.

Jenkins and Hog Island residents have been tossing around the idea of being annexed into the town for nearly a decade.

The winner’s friends know first

Anderson said once a winner is chosen, HGTV scouts out a “mole,” or a friend of the winner to help surprise them.

The mole helps plan a gathering where HGTV crews surprise the winner and tell them they’ve won.

HGTV knows a lot about the winner

While the winner is chosen randomly, five alternates are chosen during the drawing.

HGTV performs a background check on the first winner and chooses the “mole” by diving deep into the winner’s social media.

There’s always a cash prize option

While the home, $250,000 in cash and the Honda Passport Elite are an impressive win, not everyone who wins the giveaway wants to take all that on.

In that case, there’s a $2 million cash prize the winner may also choose. In South Carolina, about $640,000 in state and federal income taxes will be taken from the award.

“It’s a commitment,” Anderson said.

This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 4:30 AM.

Katherine Kokal

The Island Packet

843-560-9158

Katherine Kokal graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and joined The Island Packet newsroom in 2018. Before moving to the Lowcountry, she worked as an interviewer and translator at a nonprofit in Barcelona and at two NPR member stations. At The Island Packet, Katherine covers Hilton Head Island’s government, environment, development, beaches and the all-important Loggerhead Sea Turtle. She has earned South Carolina Press Association Awards for in-depth reporting, government beat reporting, business beat reporting, growth and development reporting, food writing and for her use of social media.