MELBOURNE, Fla. — He took the cash option.
David Rennie, the winner of the 2016 HGTV Dream Home on Merritt Island, accepted the $1.2 million cash option in lieu of the $1.7 million grand prize, RE/MAX 2000 Realtor Rhonda Pavone told Florida Today.
"The winner decided to take the cash prize and walk away from the house," Pavone said in a text message.
The grand prize included a $1.3 million Merritt Island riverfront home, $250,000 in cash, a 2016 GMC Acadia Denali, and a 2016 Bryant Sperenza boat. Because he took the cash option, Rennie gets $900,000, the car and the boat.
The house will be listed for sale, fully furnished, by next week. Pavone said a price tag for the 3,150-square-foot riverfront home on South Merritt Island has not been determined.
Earlier this week, Rennie told Florida Today that he was meeting with his tax attorney, accountant, financial adviser and his wife to "hash it all out. It's a possibility that I have enough money in my savings to do it," he said. "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."
Rennie lives in Shelton, Conn. In March, HGTV personality Tiffany Brooks surprised Rennie at his church with news that, out of 127 million entries, he won the 2016 HGTV Dream Home.
Pavone, who helped find the home for HGTV for the network's 20th anniversary, will host a broker open house next week, meaning it will only be open to realtors and not the public.
Designed by Brian Patrick Flynn, the house features water views, a grand staircase, nautical decor and a bold color scheme. Flynn filmed a segment with Brooks and Rennie last week at the home for the big reveal. Rennie, a kidney transplant recipient, details his HGTV Dream Home experience — including the surprise, the reveal and even TV makeup — in his blog, Dave's Dialysis Diary.
Follow Jennifer Sangalang on Twitter: @byjensangalang
