Yes, that's the title of a WTHI story of a Casey, IL dentist, who is desperate to sell his home after 20 months on the market.
It's an ingenious ploy I must admit. The owner, Eric Langellier, has even figured out a way to keep from getting burned in the deal.
More below the crease:
It seems Langellier needed a larger home for his family after the birth of his fourth child. So the family bought a larger home nearly two years ago. The problem is that they haven't been able to sell their old home, and the strain on their budget has reached the breaking point.
So about three weeks ago, Langellier made the decision to raffle off his home by selling tickets for $100 apiece. But he also has a caveat:
Langellier hopes to sell 1,200 [sic--actual number is 1,250] tickets. If he does not reach that goal, then he plans on holding a 50/50 raffle.
So he gets at least $125K or he keeps his house. Maximum number of tickets to be sold: 5,200--meaning $520K for his home, best case. But if he sells less than 1,250 tickets, he's covered. For example, if Langellier sells, say, 1000 tickets, then the winner of the raffle gets $50K, Langellier gets $50K, and Langellier gets to keep his house.
Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. The article doesn't say anything about it, but I've got to wonder if this is legal. According to the owner's website, however,
This raffle is being conducted within state, county and local regulations.
And there is a whole page of legalese. So maybe it is legal.
Regardless, you have to give the guy props for Yankee ingenuity. I wonder if this is or will become a trend and if businesses exist or will exist to raffle your home off for you.
UPDATE I: The WTHI article had the minimum number of tickets wrong. The minimum is 1,250, not 1,200 as reported. I have corrected the diary to reflect that.
UPDATE II: Questions about the legality of this scheme have been raised. H/T to burrow owl for giving us the link to the IL Raffle statute. Based on my reading (IANAL), it certainly looks illegal.
Here's the video: