Air Force veteran raffles house to pay off mortgage

20 February 2009
Posted in House Raffles In the Media

When 33-year-old Arizona Air Force veteran Heather Gray lost her job, like many others she faced possible foreclosure due to the debts she had accumulated. Instead, she decided to donate her home to a local charitable foundation, to raffle offer her home for $100 a pop. In return, the Murray Grey Foundation committed to pay off her mortgage.

According to this interview on the Fox News website, Gray purchased her four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath house in sunny Arizona in November 2007. Unfortunately, she could no longer afford to live in it after she split up with her partner and lost her job as the public information coordinator for the city of Mesa. The plan is to raise half a million dollars and pay off her $350,000 debts. In return, the Murray Grey Foundation will receive at least $150,000.

The winner of the property will most likely be required to pay 25 percent of the fair value of the property, minus the price of the raffle ticket. Based on a valuation of $280,000, that represents a potential tax liability of $69,900. In addition, tax on property must be paid to Arizona at a rate of 5.04%, representing $14,112. Once all other taxes and expenses are taken into account, this could amount to around $84,000 in liabilities according to the article. Of course, the winner could take out a mortgate on the property prize to cover such expenses.

Click to read the full article on the Fox News website.

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