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HGTV Dream Home winner takes cash option

David Rennie will *not* be calling Merritt Island home sweet home.

Jennifer Sangalang
FLORIDA TODAY

Update April 21:

David Rennie’s decision to take the cash will not affect the “HGTV Dream Home 2016” episode, which will air at 1 p.m. May 27. It'll be hosted by HGTV personality Tiffany Brooks, who surprised Rennie with news that he won the sweepstakes at his church in Connecticut in March. Brooks then filmed a segment with the Rennie family on Merritt Island on April 15 for the big reveal.

In an email to FLORIDA TODAY, HGTV said the “Dream Home” special already is in production and “in these specials, the focal point is the home itself as our viewers get a close-up look at the beauty and design of the house, as well as Mr. Rennie’s reaction to his prize. Regardless of his ultimate decision, he is still the HGTV Dream Home 2016 winner, and people get to share in his joy as he receives the keys and looks around the house for the first time.”

In addition to the Merritt Island riverfront home, there's another HGTV home for sale.

An HGTV Urban Oasis home at 17 Russell St., West Asheville, N.C., is on the market for $490,000, the Citizen-Times in Asheville (N.C.) reports. The winner of the sweepstakes, Crystal Harriman, of Poulsbo, Wash., decided not to keep the 1,300-square-foot, two-bedroom bungalow after she won the HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway 2015.

Like the 2016 HGTV Dream Home, the HGTV Urban Oasis home was designed by designer Bryan Patrick Flynn.

According to HGTV, “Some winners decide to keep the home and some take the cash option. It’s really a very personal decision, and each winner must decide what makes the most sense for them and their family at that moment in time. Everyone wants to live the dream of owning their own ‘dream home,’ but either way, for every winner it’s a dream come true.”

Original story, posted April 20:

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 HGTV Dream Home on Merritt Island is on the market for $1,530,000.

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, Connecticut. 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.

Sangalang is FLORIDA TODAY's entertainment reporter and Nerdgirl columnist.

Contact Sangalang at 321-242-3630

or jsangalang@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @byjensangalang