Batavia couple's HGTV dream house finally sold
A dream that became complicated has come to an end for the Cruz family of Batavia.
But that's OK by them.
The Cruzes, who won a HGTV Dream Home in March 2005, sold the Texas house and some of the furnishings at an auction Saturday for $1.3 million.
About 1,200 people came to bid, Don Cruz said. Many were fans of the annual Dream Home contest on the cable television network. "It was huge," Cruz said.
The Doggie Dream Home alone fetched $1,900, he said.
The cash will help the Cruzes pay the loan they took out to pay property taxes on the house and income taxes on their winnings.
They were one of only two Dream Home winners who actually moved to and lived in a Dream Home. Other winners of the huge, lavish homes have almost immediately put them up for sale, due to the tax bills. The Cruzes' prize package was valued by the IRS at $2 million, and they ended up owing $630,000 in income taxes on it. Property taxes were about $25,000 per year.
The deal did not include the land, which sits on the bank of Lake Tyler. The city of Tyler owns the land and leases it to lakeside property owners.
The Cruzes saw the Dream Home as an opportunity to improve Don's life. He has arthritis that prevented him from working as a carpet installer and had to use a cane to get around. The house came with a swimming pool and whirlpool he could use for water therapy.
The family dreamed of opening the house up to foster children. And to pay taxes and house costs, they planned to rent out a separate guest house. But local authorities squashed that plan, saying the site wasn't appropriately zoned. The Cruzes put the home up for sale in 2006, with an asking price of $5.5 million.
The loss of the house sounds pretty disappointing, but Cruz is cheerful.
"We've had the best vacation of our lives," he said of their time in Texas. "God has done nothing but bless us."
He believes God might have led them to Texas for many reasons, including that they would discover his wife, Shelly, needed brain surgery, and that one of the best surgeons for her type of condition worked in Texas.
Even selling off the furnishings and moving back to a house that's less than 800 square feet doesn't bother him.
"Everybody got a piece of the Dream Home and got to take it home for themselves," he said of those who bought chairs, refrigerators, carpets and other items.
The Cruzes plan to fix up their Batavia home and apply for foster care licensing.
And Cruz has entered the 2008 HGTV contest for a Dream Home in the Florida Keys.
"I would do it all exactly the same," he said.