Win a Property - Innovative selling concept

From as little as £10, you stand a chance of winning a property - mortgage free. However, experts warn sellers to be diligent and only operate inside the Gambling Commission’s competition rules or else you may be breaking the law.

Over the last year, we have seen the ‘prize draw’ concept develop and become more and more popular amongst struggling developers or homeowners looking for an innovative way to sell their property.  This idea, which was originally developed in the US, has migrated across the pond and hit the UK by storm.

Homeowners, like the Wilshaws from Devon, were on the market for 5 months with not a sniff of a sale. They later decided to launch a competition to sell their property.  The Sunday Times reported that by October, they had sold 46,000 tickets at £25 apiece and raised the £1.15million sale price.  However, all their efforts came to a stand still as the Gambling commission contacted them to say that the competition was potentially illegal and that they would risk prosecution if the draw went ahead.

Companies offering property as prizes in raffles are also becoming popular. PickaHouse.co.uk are offering tickets at a starting price of £10 with the draw taking place in 15 days from today. Other websites such as WinaDevelopment.com are offering customers the chance of winning 4 luxury Devon apartments for the price of a £50.

Although this may sound like a good deal, ticket buyers are advised to watch out for the small print in the competitions rules as homeowers can change the terms, such as the draw date, at their own discretion.