A couple who spent nearly two years renovating a two-bed cottage they bought for £150,000 are now selling it in a raffle for just £5 a ticket.
Katherine Jablonowska and Ryan Mclean purchased the property – now worth £290,000 – in the Llŷn Peninsula, Wales, in September 2018 and began developing it, working 14-hour days on the project.
The pair are now looking to sell the home through a competition which costs just a fiver to enter and hope to raise some money for The Children’s Society charity, with hopes of attracting at least 80,000 entrants.
Ryan Mclean (L) and Katherine Jablonowska (R) are raffling off a two-bed cottage in Wales and hope to raise money fo charity
It took the couple two years to completely renovate and remodel their £150,000 property in Llŷn Peninsula
The couple took inspiration from YouTube videos and DIY sites in creating their ambitious plans for the former barn
The ground floor layout for the flat that is up for raffle can be seen above
The new plans for the first floor of the two-bedroom cottage are outlined above
The cottage is located on the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales, on the outskirts of the idyllic Snowdonia National Park.
Originally built in the early 1800s, the former traditional working barn has been transformed into a luxurious, peaceful home.
Picture show the stunning result of the couple’s hard work – which they called a ‘wonderful experience’.
There are two double bedrooms that will come fully furnished to the winner of the raffle which will be drawn later this year
The property boasts a dining area which leads into a bespoke kitchen, two double bedrooms with stunning views and a bathroom.
All UK taxes including stamp duty as well as conveyance fees up to and including £1500 + VAT, will be paid for by the couple, while the property is mortgage free and will be furnished minus artwork and personal items.
Katherine, 33, and Ryan, 41, have created a website dedicated to the sale, titled ‘Cwellyn Dream’ – with a tagline of ‘£5 could change your life’.
The competition is open now, with a target of 80,000 entries. A winner will be drawn on September 30.
Before being converted into a luxurious house served as a traditional working barn before undergoing a transformation
The garden of the property, on the outskirts of Snowdonia National Park, boasts some stunning views
The couple are asking people who enter to donate an extra £1 to a children’s charity. They have then pledged to match all donations if the ticket total is hit.
Katherine said: ‘The idea was in the back of our minds for a few years. We had come across raffles in the news every now and then. ‘We thought: ‘That’s a good idea’. So we spent some time researching it – and thought it was a fantastic way to sell a house.
‘It gives someone the chance to get on the property ladder. It’s a little piece of heaven.’
Ryan said: ‘It’s been quite the journey. It took approximately 18 months. It was long, hard days – from 9am to 11pm. It was very much a hands-on project. It started off as a working barn so we tried to keep a few of those features, the ones that were hidden when we bought it.
‘We got a lot of ideas from Instagram and YouTube. There’s a big renovating community – the amount of people willing to share ideas.’
Mclean claimed the renovation was not an easy achievement and did not want to give the wrong impression
Chef Ryan and hospitality manager Katherine took on part-time jobs in the local area to supplement their incomes while they carried out the renovation.
He added: ‘Two years ago, we decided to take a break from it all to do this.. It turned out to be exactly what we needed.
‘But we had some idea of what we were doing. I did come at this with a decent amount of experience.
‘We definitely don’t want to give the impression that this kind of renovation is really easy!’
The couple took part-time jobs in the area and dedicated themselves to the project
Mclean admitted the pair had not decided what to do afterwards amid the ongoing pandemic
The couple added that they are unsure where they are going to go next as their ‘plans have gone out of the window’ due to the current situation with coronavirus.
They will also be giving £10,000 from the raffle ticket sales to the person who shares a link to their website the most.
But, according to the FAQs on the website, the couple will not be able to award Cwellyn Cottage as the main prize, or the £10,000 cash prize, if they do not reach the minimum threshold of 80,000 valid entries.
The website reads: ‘In this unlikely scenario, we will alternatively award the winner a cash prize totalling the sum of all ticket sales, minus a maximum of 20% for administration fees.
‘The cash prize structure will be as follows: 5000 tickets sold – £20,000 Cash Prize; 10,000 tickets sold – £40,000 Cash Prize; 20,000 tickets sold – £80,000 Cash Prize; 40,000 tickets sold – £160,000 Cash Prize; 80,000 tickets sold – Cwellyn Cottage will be awarded!
‘When the ticket sales reach 80,000 we will issue a statement on our website informing all entrants that Cwellyn Cottage is confirmed as the prize.’
he kitchen, along with every other room in the house, has undergone a total overhaul as part of the project
By making the changes, the value of the property has almost doubled from £150,000 to £290,000
Terms, conditions and further information on competition rules can be found on the website while you can also find ‘Cwellyn Dream’ on social media.
Charitable donations will go to the The Children’s Society, which helps protect vulnerable children.