A mother-of-four is raffling off her £300,000 family home – and is selling tickets for just £2 each.
Kirstie Searle, 44, decided to raffle off their five-bedroom family home in Daventry, Northants, rather than put the house on the market in the traditional way.
The house is situated on the Lang Farm development, and boasts a large lounge and dining room, a kitchen and breakfast room, utility room, two en-suites and a family bathroom.
There is also a garage, off-road parking for three cars and a spacious garden.
Kirstie Searle, 44, is raffling off her £300,000 five-bedroom detached home in Daventry, Northants rather than putting it on the market in the traditional way. She is trying to sell 500,000 tickets at £2 apiece
The house is situated on the Lang Farm development, and boasts a large lounge and dining room, a kitchen and breakfast room, utility room, two en-suites and a family bathroom. There is also a garage, off-road parking for three cars and a spacious garden
The draw runs until midday on November 1, and in order to be finalised a minimum of 500,000 tickets need to be sold. The family say tickets will cover the costs of sale as well as stamp duty, solicitors, marketing, payment processors and website fees
But her unusual sales method has annoyed husband Matthew – who wanted to sell the family home through an estate agent – and the pair stopped talking for a week after Ms Searle started selling raffle tickets.
With just a month to go until the sale of their five-bed home, she is just beginning to win her husband round to the idea.
Stay-at-home mother Ms Searle said: ‘My husband’s initial reaction was horror and we didn’t talk for a few days.
‘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.
‘I think he now sees a need for me to do something and prove to myself I can do it.’
Ms Searle was inspired to give away her home instead of selling it after seeing other people successfully shifting their properties.
Ms Searle was inspired to give away her home instead of selling it after seeing other people successfully shifting their properties. She has lived at the home for six years, having paid £198,000 for it. The family has outgrown the current property and is on the lookout for somewhere with more space
Ms Searle’s unusual sales method has annoyed husband Matthew – who wanted to sell the family home through an estate agent – and the pair stopped talking for a week after Kirstie started selling raffle tickets. With just a month to go until the sale of their five-bed home, she is just beginning to win her husband round to the idea.
Ms Searle said: ‘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’
She has lived at the home for six years, having paid £198,000 for it.
The family has outgrown the current property and is on the lookout for somewhere with more space.
Ms Searle has also struggled with a long-term illness and is also looking after her father who has moved into their home.
She said: ‘After deciding to have my final child twelve 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.
‘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.
‘We converted our garage into another bedroom last year as my father was in need of somewhere more appropriate to live, and needed a downstairs room with en-suite facilities.
‘The whole situation just leaves you feeling hopeless.
‘But then I spotted the idea of raffling your house, and it just seemed perfect.
The £300,000 five-bedroom property could be yours for just £2 – if you are lucky. Ms Searle wants to sell at least 500,000 raffle tickets for the draw
The modern detached house boasts a large lounge and dining room, a kitchen, a breakfast room and two en-suites and a family bathroom
‘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.
‘Fast forward a couple of months and here I am. Running my own competition checking legalities, negotiating payment provider rates. Who would have thought it?’
The draw runs until midday on November 1, and in order to be finalised a minimum of 500,000 tickets need to be sold.
The tickets will cover the costs of sale as well as stamp duty, solicitors, marketing, payment processors and website fees.
If the minimum donation is reached, Ms Searle and her family will make a £10,000 donation to charity.
If she doesn’t shift all the tickets, the amount raised will be judged. If it’s enough to secure the house, the person will win the house, and if not, the winnings are awarded as a cash prize.
For more information or to enter the competition visit www.winthishouse.co.uk. The deadline for entry is 12pm on November 1.