Time’s up to win the HGTV 2020 dream home near Hilton Head. What happens next
Update: The winner has been chosen! Read about her here.
Time’s up on entering the giveaway for a $2 million dream house near Hilton Head Island.
The entry window for the HGTV 2020 Dream Home in Windmill Harbour closed at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Feb. 19, according to the HGTV website.
Now that the sweepstakes has ended, the secret work begins.
HGTV home promotions manager Chesney Anderson told The Island Packet the winner is chosen in a random ping-pong ball draw. Five alternates are chosen during the drawing, and HGTV performs a background check on the potential winners.
The television network then chooses the “mole” by diving deep into the winner’s social media and finding a friend to help organize the big surprise where the winner is notified “ambush-style” on television.
The winner will be announced in April and can choose to accept the home, $250,000 in cash and a Honda Passport Elite, or take the cash prize — which is valued at $2 million.
In South Carolina, about $640,000 in state and federal income taxes will be taken from the award.
“It’s a commitment,” Anderson said.
About the HGTV 2020 Dream Home
The 2020 Dream Home is a 3,500 square-foot coastal-style house on the water.
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.
Shoreline Construction built the home based on architecture and design from Court Atkins Group. Both firms are based in Bluffton.
The home’s master suite opens to a wide porch that overlooks the marsh and in-ground pool. The winner of the home will also get all the furnishings.
While HGTV doesn’t directly release the potential listing price of the home, its value is 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.
Lowcountry cities are no strangers to “dream homes.”
In 2013, Charleston was selected as the site for the home.
In 1998, the dream home was built on St. Helena Island.
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 10:16 AM.
