Raffles: real estate's latest game of chance

24 September 2008
Posted in House Raffles In the Media

This article in the New York Times published today offers an interesting insight into some of the drivers behind house raffles. Backed by interviews of both homeowners that decided to run their own house raffles, together with representatives of charities that are active in this space, it helps explain why we have seen a rise in property raffles in the United States over recent months.

With many homeowners unable to sell their property in the conventional way, a number have turned to house raffles as an interesting alternative. The article features quotes from 60-year old Ms Crawford, the owner of a $375,000 farmhouse in Hancock, Md., who successfully ran a house raffle in partnership with a local charity San Mar Children's Home and an estate agent. Together, they sold almost 6,500 tickets at 100 each, helping raise $214,000 for the charity.

Mr Walters, a homeowner and mortgage broker in Edgewater, Maryland, goes on to explain why he decided to go down the route of raffling off his home by selling 31,500 tickets at $50 each. In his words: "Instead of selling it to one person, we're going to try to sell it to 31,500 people."

The article also provides details of other entrepreneurial people turning to "skills contests" as an alternative to running a pure raffle. This involves introducing a sufficient degree of skill to be able to run it themselves at a profit - i.e. without the involvement of a non-profit organization per se. Of course, there are many challenges involved with any raffle, including this type of solution. With different gaming laws in each state, one should carefully research these solutions to make sure they are legal.

Read the full article on the New York Times website.

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