Can't sell your home? Raffle it!

17 October 2008
Posted in Organizing House Raffles

With homeowners across the country struggling with tough real estate market conditions, it's no surprise some of them are turning towards alternative ways of selling their properties. A new trend that has emerged throughout the United States is to raffle your home. This allows property owners to sell a fixed number of tickets at a certain price, in order to raise sufficient funds to give away their house as a prize to one winner.

Of course, things are never as simple as they appear and in most states, it is illegal to organize a raffle for private gain. However, if a homeowner partners up with a registered non-profit organization, it is often legal to run a raffle.

For example, this article indicates that Illinois law allows homeowners to set up a property raffle as long as all profits are to be handed to the 501(c)(3) charity. That still allows the owner of the property to pay down their debts and "sell" it closer to market value than they may otherwise have been able to achieve.

It provides more resources for anyone interested in setting up a win a house raffle in Illinois. This includes a link to the state's Raffles Act. Click to read the article on the Redfin blog.

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