MELBOURNE, Fla. — The million-dollar clock is ticking for the HGTV Dream Home winner.
David Rennie of Shelton, Conn., has until Friday to decide whether he'll accept the $1.7 million grand prize or the $1.2 million cash option in the HGTV Dream Home sweepstakes.
"I haven't totally finalized that," Rennie said. "I'm meeting (Tuesday) with my financial adviser and the tax attorney and my accountant and my wife, and we're going to hash it all out. It's a possibility that I have enough money in my savings to do it. I just don't know if I'm prepared to take that kind of risk and wipe everything out to have to have a second house."
The grand prize includes a $1.3 million Merritt Island riverfront home, $250,000 in cash, a 2016 GMC Acadia Denali, and a 2016 Bryant Sperenza model boat. If he takes the cash option, Rennie gets $900,000, the car and the boat.
"There's a lot to be said for both keeping the house and for taking the cash option," Rennie said. "We just haven't decided which offers us the best chance for going forward."
Of his home in Shelton, he added, "The dream home bathroom in the master suite is bigger than my living room. There are closets in the dream home that are bigger than the bathrooms I have. And the view, I mean, my view is the house across the street. It's a nice little house, too, but it's nothing like the million-dollar view of the Indian River and what's down there."
Rennie and his family visited Merritt Island this past weekend for the big reveal. The private event catered by Crush Eleven in Cocoa Village featured 85 people, sponsors of the dream home and HGTV personality Tiffany Brooks.
In March, Brooks surprised Rennie at his church in Connecticut with news that, of 127 million entries, he won the dream home.
"It was very overwhelming," he said. "I thought when I got my (kidney) transplant a year ago that was the best thing in my life that had ever happened at that point. It totally saved my life."
Rennie shares the details of his transplant in his blog, Dave's Dialysis Diary, from being on a waiting list, to losing weight to looking for work. "Winning the dream home has given us new opportunities of things we can do," he said. "I guess my wife said it best: It's not the icing on the cake, it's the ice cream and sprinkles and whipped cream and cherries on top of the cake. I couldn't imagine my life getting any better after the transplant, and now it's taken off in a totally new direction."
The Merritt Island home was chosen as part of the network's 20th anniversary. The HGTV Dream Home 2016 episode hosted by designer and TV personality Tiffany Brooks will air at 1 p.m. ET May 27 on HGTV.
Follow Jennifer Sangalang on Twitter: @byjensangalang
The rules
According to HGTV Dream Home 2016 Sweepstakes rules:
Grand Prize: One (1) Grand Prize Winner shall win the Grand Prize, which consists of: (i) the home located in Merritt Island, Florida (the “HGTV Dream Home 2016”) that is featured in the “HGTV Dream Home 2016” special (including home furnishings, fixtures, artwork, and merchandise) (approximate retail value (“ARV”): $1,389,201; (ii) Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) (awarded in the form of electronic funds transfer) courtesy of Quicken Loans (the “Cash Prize”); (iii) a 2016 GMC Acadia Denali automobile (MSRP: $53,805) (the “GMC Prize”); and (iv) a 2016 Bryant Sperenza model boat (MSRP: $57,750) (the “Boat”).
In lieu of taking title to the HGTV Dream Home 2016 (and the contents of the HGTV Dream Home 2016), the Grand Prize Winner will have the option of receiving $900,000 in cash in lieu of the HGTV Dream Home 2016 (the “Cash Option”). If Grand Prize Winner elects to take the Cash Option, the Grand Prize winner will still receive the Cash Prize, the GMC Prize, and the Boat. If the Grand Prize Winner cannot take possession of the HGTV Dream Home 2016 due to a force majeure event, failure of construction, or any other reason as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, Grand Prize Winner shall receive the Cash Option, Cash Prize, the GMC Prize, and the Boat. Total ARV of Grand Prize is $1,750,756 if Grand Prize Winner takes title to the HGTV Dream Home 2016 or $1,261,555 if Grand Prize Winner selects the Cash Option in lieu.
