How you could win a 4-bed house worth £600,000 with a £5 ticket
The Northamptonshire home is being raffled off to sell the property and raise funds for charity, and tickets to enter cost the same price as a McDonald's meal
YOU could become the next owner of a four-bed-house in Northamptonshire worth £600,000 for only a fiver - but there's a catch. You've got to win it first.
The home is being offered as a competition prize to sell the house and raise funds for charity in the process, and tickets cost the same price as a McDonald's meal.
The house in Abington Park Crescent has been listed on , and it has recently had the kitchen revamped with heated floors.
There's also a study, utility room and a private garden around the back. There's a train station nearby with good train links to London and Birmingham.
Sounds like a good deal, doesn't it? So how does it work?
The owner, Marty Pumbien, says he's selling the house via a competition in order to raise money for Dementia research at the University of Northamptonshire, but that's not where all of the funds are going.
Raffling a house is often an alternative way of selling a property when a homeowner might have struggled doing it the traditional way.
The goal is to sell 500,000 tickets for £5 each - which will generate £2.5MILLION if all of the tickets are bought.
This leaves £1million for charity and £600,000 covers the cost of the market value of the house, and £900,000 profit that the owner says will go towards building a new house.
What are the risks of buying and selling properties in raffles?
IF selling your property the conventional way isn't working, then raising the funds via a raffle could be another option to explore. But it's not without its risks:
BUYING
- Make sure you're aware of any hidden costs - There are more fees to think about when you're buying house, not just the property value. Make sure you know what all of the added costs like Stamp Duty and solicitor's fees so that it's not a shock if you win.
- You're not guaranteed to win - Remember, just because you've entered the competition doesn't mean you're definitely going to win. Often you can enter it more than once meaning you'll be up against people who've enter multiple times, increasing their chances of winning.
- Are you prepared to move? - If you win the property, you'll need to take into consideration any moving fees.
SELLING
- Gambling rules - You might be able to make a profit on a house you were previously struggling to sell, you'll need to make sure you comply with gambling rules or you could face a fine. It's best to get legal advice but that will cost you too.
- Covering your mortgage - If ticket sales go well then you might make enough for a profit, but if you don't sell enough to cover your mortgage you could end up in negative equity.
If less than 150,000 tickets are sold then entrants will be in with a chance to win a cash prize from the entry tickets instead.
You'll need to answer a "skills testing question" before you can enter and you can even apply more than once.
All you would need to do is enter the competition ONCE to be in with a chance of winning the property, even though you can actually enter multiple times.
Although this will boost your chances, you're not guaranteed to win and you would have forked out more money which you won't be able to get back.
Of course, if you are interested in donating to the charity make sure that you're in a position to take on the property if you do win.
You've got until October 14 to enter the competition via .
LATEST IN HOUSE PRICES
Raffling off property is more common than you might think, especially as stagnating house prices mean that some homeowners are struggling to sell.
Marie Segar, 50, won an £845,000 country mansion after spending £2 in the raffle for it. She never moved in but rents it out for £1,500 a month instead.
There's another house for sale via a competition and it's worth £2.3million - and it costs just £10.50 to enter.
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