Yahoo Finance Mum raffles off £300,000 family home for £2 a ticket
A mum decided to raffle the £300,000 family home for £2 a ticket – but neglected to run it past her angry husband.
Kirstie Searle thought raffling off the five-bed property would be the best way to make the most money – only husband Matthew thought differently and they didn’t speak to each other for a week.
With a month to go until the sale of their home in Daventry, Northamptonshire, she is just beginning to win her husband round to the idea.
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“My husband’s initial reaction was horror and we didn’t talk for a few days,” said Kirstie, 44, a mother of four.
“The kids are split, with half of them loving my ingenuity and the other half can’t believe I’d do something so embarrassing.
“I hope we’ll look back at this experience and laugh one day.
“My husband is very old school, and thinks we should just sell the house the traditional way. He believes you work hard and do the best you can rather than secure a property in a raffle, whereas I’m an optimist and I like to believe that for my family it’s always worth a try.”
Stay-at-home mum Kirstie was inspired to give away her home in instead of selling it after seeing other people successfully shifting their properties.
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The family has lived there for six years, having paid £198,000 for it. It has a generous lounge and dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, utility and downstairs cloakroom, two en-suites and a family bathroom.
But they have outgrown the current property and are on the lookout for somewhere with more space.
Kirstie has struggled with a long-term illness and is also looking after her father who has moved in.
“After deciding to have my final child 12 years ago, I always knew life would be a little more costly, after all, four children will always be expensive – although having twins didn’t help,” she said.
“I had thought as soon as my daughter was old enough, I would return to work but I never got the chance as my health took a turn for the worse seven years ago.
“Half of my children are now old enough to be working, saving like mad to get house deposits together, but they are a long way off being able to afford anything.”
The garage was converted into another bedroom so they could take Kirstie’s father in but it was all getting very cramped.
Then she read about the increasingly popular practice of house raffling and took it from there.
“Fast forward a couple of months and here I am,” she said, “Running my own competition checking legalities, negotiating payment provider rates. Who would have thought it?
“It would be such a fantastic opportunity and great way for someone to get on to the housing ladder for £2 and best of all, mortgage free.”
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The raffle runs until midday on November 1, and in order to be finalised a minimum of 500,000 tickets need to be sold.
Proceeds will cover the costs of sale as well as stamp duty, solicitors, marketing, payment processors and website fees.
If the minimum amount is reached, Kirstie and her family will make a £10,000 donation to Cancer Research UK Kids and Teens, the Alzheimer’s Society and Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.
For more information or to enter, visit www.winthishouse.co.uk.
