You can own a £625k Brixton flat for just £5 in raffle home contest

A one-bedroom flat in Brixton is the latest property to be raffled off in a new style of business to help those without the funds to pay for London homes to afford a property.

The renovated south London apartment is the first home to be placed on the innovative start-up portal Raffle House.

The concept which was created by a dating app inventor allows the property estimated to be worth £625,000 to be won for the price of a £5 raffle ticket.

The property located at Ashmere Grove, Brixton, SW2 also has the potential of a rental income of £1,900 per month.

And it’s available for the first time to view later this month in an open house that allows hopefuls to check it out before they part with their £5 entry fee.

The home in Brixton, South London is valued at £625,000 but will be raffled off for £5

Benno Spencer, 31, founder of Raffle House created his latest idea to help those without funds or a mortgage in place get on the expensive London property ladder.

He told the Evening Standard: ‘I had the extreme privilege of getting onto the property ladder at a time when it was a far more accessible for first-time buyers.

‘Now, it’s become basically impossible for young people to afford their own place in London, so the Raffle House platform will be a fun and affordable way for people to do just that.

‘The market is broken and this start-up intends to level the playing field.

‘This isn’t a one-off punt because I need to sell a flat. This is the beginning of a new property platform, with new houses coming on every few weeks.’

The bedroom is flooded with light and has a beautiful original fireplace 

The bedroom is flooded with light and has a beautiful original fireplace 

Raffling homes is a new phenomenon in the UK with property owners turning to new methods to find ways to sell up amid a slowdown in the market and a drop in prices.

How do I raffle off my home?

Lotteries cannot be held for commercial gain or profit, so home-owners considering raffling off their house would need to run the raffle to benefit a charity or other not-for-profit cause.

Those who want to keep the money gained for themselves must either hold a free prize draw or add a competition element to the raffle. 

Competitors should have to prove their skill, knowledge or judgment in order to win the top prize.

Many people get around this by asking an incredibly simple question such as ‘what style of property is this house: A – Victorian, B – Tudor or C – Georgian’ when people pay for their raffle ticket. Dunstan Low used this question last year when he raffled off his £800,000 country manor.

It is also important to have watertight terms and conditions, such as a setting a minimum number of tickets in order for the raffle to ahead.

Although getting a house for the cost of a coffee is a great deal, the winner will still have to pay stamp duty on the house based on the open market value.

The concept of home raffles first exploded onto the scene when finance worker Marie Segar from Warrington won an £845,000 manor house in Lancashire after paying just to buy £40-worth of tickets last year.

The six-bedroom Georgian manor house failed to sell on the open market and the owners decided raffle it off instead to avoid repossession.

However not all raffles go according to plan with the owners of a gorgeous home situated on the River Thames failed to sell enough £25 raffle tickets to cover the raffle of their property. 

But the owners of a gorgeous home situated on the River Thames failed to sell enough £25 raffle tickets to cover the raffle of their property leaving the concept as something of a gamble for both sides of the coin. 

As a company Raffle House takes a share of the proceeds raised from raffle ticket sales while a proportion of five per cent is also given to charity.

Owners are given their full property costs as Raffle House takes over the complicated and stressful elements of the process. 

The bright and airy one bedroom in London’s trendy Brixton has been completely refurbished and will be the perfect residence for the winner or a good rental income in Britain’s most expensive city.

It comes complete with a spacious living and dining room, as well as a West facing balcony which boasts amazing views of the sunset.

The home leasehold is being offered fully furnished and has 97 years remaining.

Raffle organisers have to sell 150,000 tickets to ensure the deal can go through and say if they don’t sell enough tickets to cover all of the costs a cash prize will be awarded to the winner. 

Raffling a home may sound like an exciting and easy way to get rid of unwanted property but it still has a number of rules attached.

There's enough room to have a party for 25 people on the roof terrace 

There’s enough room to have a party for 25 people on the roof terrace 

 The UK Gambling Commission has oversight of the process and while it’s perfectly legal there are some rules.

Ticket purchasers are effectively taking part in a lottery and to comply with rules companies operating the schemes must implement a competition that requires entrants to have used skill to enter.

 Raffle  House has multiple choice questions for entrants and anyone who would like to enter must be given an option to have a free postal entry.   

Described as the ‘perfect home’ by the website, the central London flat has been looked after to a high standard. 

The property’s balcony us one of a kind in the development and will remain so thanks to new zoning and planning regulations.

The Brixton competition will close on June 15, 2018.

The home leasehold is being offered fully furnished and has 97 years remaining

The home leasehold is being offered fully furnished and has 97 years remaining

Afterwards they Raffle House portal will then put a two-bedroom property in Whitechapel up for competition. 

And the sites owners say there will be more homes to come over the coming months.

Raffle organisers have to sell 150,000 tickets to ensure the deal can go through

Raffle organisers have to sell 150,000 tickets to ensure the deal can go through

The flat is in the trendy neighbourhood of Brixton which is known for it’s lively, multicultural and down-to-earth vibe. 

The local market is popular with tourists and locals alike and offers street food and vintage clothing

Brixton Village also has a party scene with late-night hot spots. 

 

 

 



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