‘My Lottery Dream Home’ Shows That Even Millionaires Are Having a Hard Time Affording a House

On “My Lottery Dream Home,” David Bromstad helps lottery winners buy a house—but with America’s home prices still sky-high (currently at a median of $450,000 nationwide), it appears that even these lucky folks are thinking of ways to save on housing costs.

In the latest episode, “Philly to Fayetteville,” Bromstad meets Yolande and Toni, who won $2 million on a scratch card. Despite this windfall, they decide it’s time to move their family with two kids from pricey Philadelphia to relatively affordable Fayetteville, NC. They also decide it’s time for Yolande’s mom to move in, so this extended family can pool their housing expenses under one much larger roof.

Bromstad shows Yolande and Toni three houses with features that are designed to meet the needs of a multigenerational household. Check out what homebuyers with a large family might want to consider on their house hunt, which might be smart to keep in mind if you have (or foresee one day) family members moving in.

A big kitchen with plenty of appliances

roomy kitchen — The first house has a spacious kitchen.
HGTV

The first home Bromstad shows these lottery winners is a four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house on a quarter-acre lot for sale for $364,900. While the whole house is nicely updated, Yolande’s attention goes straight to the kitchen. She loves cooking and baking—which is a good thing with so many mouths to feed—but her kitchen in Philadelphia is small and lacks a dishwasher. So she’s delighted to see so much room in this new kitchen, including a dishwasher, and tells her husband he’ll finally get a break from scrubbing plates.

“Now you don’t have to do your chores anymore,” she says.

It’s a good reminder for large families to prioritize kitchen space and appliances—particularly those that make prep and cleanup easier.

Lots of outdoor space

This first house is move-in ready, plus it has a big backyard, which is a great selling point for a large family.

However, this backyard isn’t much to look at.

“The one drawback is that they do have to do some work in the back, but that’s it, nothing else,” Bromstad says. Still, the yard is relatively large. “It’s a good amount of space for being in the city.”

Yolande also sees a lot of potential in this space.

“You know what I can do with this?” she asks. “Do a nice pond with some koi fish.”

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A large living room where everyone can gather

The second house they tour offers four bedrooms and three bathrooms for $398,000. Compared with the first house, it’s massive.

“You said you wanted space,” Bromstad says. “It’s 400 square feet larger than the house that we saw yesterday.”

The extra space is especially apparent in the large living room, which impresses Yolande and Toni. They both know how important it is to have a space for all three generations to gather.

A separate dining room

While the living room in this house is spacious, Yolande and Toni will also need a sizable dining room to accommodate their household of five, especially since they also have five grown kids who might come to visit with little grandchildren.

“More area, more seating, more kids. More the merrier. More the fun,” Yolande says.

Luckily, the second house boasts a separate, large dining room. While many homeowners prefer to knock down walls and create a more open floor plan, a separate dining room can be a big asset for a multigenerational family. After all, teenagers and their grandparents won’t always have meals at the same time, and it could be convenient to have a dining space separate from the main living area.

A large primary bedroom

The third house Bromstad shows Yolande and Toni is a four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom for $370,000. This home is the biggest of the three, but Yolande and Toni quickly notice that the main bedroom is relatively small.

“It’s actually our smallest main bedroom that we’ve seen,” Bromstad confirms.

It’s a shame, because it’s clear that Yolande and Toni not only want large areas where the entire family can gather, but also ample private space where the couple can recharge on their own.

Which house do these winners pick?

After seeing all three homes, Bromstad sits down to talk to Toni and Yolande about which home they prefer. As it turns out, they like the third house, despite the small main bedroom, since it’s the largest of the three. Clearly, having plenty of space matters most of all!

Four weeks later, the couple—plus their kids and Yolande’s mom—are living in their new house.

“We got a house now, our dream home, thanks to David,” Yolande says.

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