2005 HGTV Dream Home is up for sale

Do you remember the name Don Cruz? If you watch HGTV, you probably do. Don and his family were the winners of the 2005 HGTV Dream Home Contest, which gave them ownership of a gorgeous estate in Tyler, Texas, just east of Dallas. You probably also know that since his winning, Don's story unfolded not like the fairytale he had hoped, but rather a nightmare he never expected. I'll let you read the story for yourself, but in a few words, Don's family found themselves swamped with taxes, unable to afford the expenses of a multi-million dollar mansion.

Fast forward to today and Don's mansion is up for sale, but not in the usual way. Actually a company based right here in American Fork, Utah, named Grandshare, is marketing the property as fractional real estate. Fractional real estate is where the property is divided into fractions and buyers can buy those fractions at a cost well below the home's selling price. In this case, the Tyler Texas mansion's price tag is about $2.5 million, so buyers are being offered quarter ownership at about $600,000. That translates into each buyer being able to occupy the home about every fourth week of the year, so you won't be able to live in it as your primary residence. It's meant to be a second or vacation home. And since it is a vacation home, Grandshare takes care of the scheduling and the management.

Judging by the pictures I've seen, the place looks beautiful; an ideal vacation home. The picture up in the corner of this post is the main exterior of the property, and below are a few others.

If you're interested in this opportunity, or you know someone who might be, give me a call.