Since 1997, the HGTV show, “Dream Homes”, has given away a new $1 million home every year. Unfortunately, for the “lucky” winner, HGTV doesn’t help you with the taxes that accompany such a lavish asset. Nearly every winner with the exception of two has sold their home because they couldn’t afford to pay the taxes.
Don Cruz, the 2005 winner of the Lake Tyler house, requested the option to rent out the master bedroom suite on a nightly basis in order to help him pay the taxes. However, his proposition was rejected. Later, after Cruz realized that the house had an even higher value than what he previously believed, he sold the home. Would you still want one of these million-dollar homes?
House Hunters Is Totally Staged, Allegedly
Back in 2012, a blog called Hooked on Houses alleged that the show "House Hunters" was absolutely fake. The blog claimed that HGTV only casts people who have already purchased a house. One of the show's participants, Bobi, said that the producers scramble around pretending to find houses when in fact they've already bought a house.
She added that the properties weren’t even for sale, to begin with, they were allegedly homes of friends. HGTV later released a statement but they never really denied nor confirmed Bobi’s comments. When Entertainment Weekly sought to verify Bobi’s comments and she backed out simply stating that her experience wasn’t "the norm." Perhaps HGTV paid her some hush money.
Contestant Cheats on Ellen’s Design Challenge
"Ellen’s Design Challenge" is produced by Ellen Degeneres and aired on the HGTV network. During the first season, there was a pretty big scandal. Apparently, the winner, contestant Tim McClellan, stole his design from a European designer named Simon Schacht. What a rookie mistake.
This, of course, led to him losing his winning title, which was then given to the runner-up, Katie Stout. Just to let him feel karma a bit more, the show’s producers made sure to do this very publicly which just added to Tim's humiliation, and certainly couldn't be good for business as he also owns a furniture store.
The Fourth of July Table Mishap
In the summer of 2013, the HGTV network aired a special segment titled “Classic Fourth of July Table Setting Ideas,” but they made a rather embarrassing mistake.
They used an actual American flag as a tablecloth. What seemed like a creative idea was deemed treacherous to some viewers. HGTV's patriotic pro-tip didn't help either “...spills can be easily wiped off and the flag can later be hung with pride on a flagpole.” The network ultimately had to issue a public apology for the design.
Where Are Tarek and Christina??
In 2016, it was discovered that fans of the "Flip or Flop" show paid to attend a three-day workshop hosted by Tarek and Christina. They paid to receive advice on how to make money flipping houses, as well as have access to "exclusive investors". Those who signed up; however, felt they were lied to claiming that the hosts never even showed up for the classes.
The participants were instead shown a pre-recorded video of Tarek and Christina because they were “too busy” to attend. To add insult to injury, those who attended said that the workshop gave little practical advice and focused on encouraging them to sign up for more HGTV classes. No thanks!