British couple sell raffle tickets to offload home
A family forced to sell their home have had to get creative to do it after they were knocked back for a loan for a new house - and it could see a new owner claim the property for a £3 raffle ticket.
Declan Garrett and wife Leoni Webb have been forced to sell their property in Weston-super-Mare, a town in North Somerset, due to the soaring cost of their mortgage.
But, they can’t get a loan for a new home as banks knocked them back due to the size of their blended family, with a total of seven kids.
With pressure coming from inflation and a rising cost of living, the couple turned to raffle tickets to raise the money they need for a new home that is big enough for their soon-to-be teenage kids.
All interested buyers need to do is grab a raffle ticket and they could be in the running to win the keys to the coastal home, with the winner to be drawn on October 26.
But, there are some caveats.
The couple launched the raffle through an online platform in June, telling The Sun that they need to sell about 100,000 tickets to raise the £300,000 they need.
If they don’t reach their target, the main prize will instead become 75 percent of the amount raised through raffle ticket sales.
In an emotional clip shared to an Instagram page dedicated to the house and raffle, Ms Webb explained that she and her husband would sell their home the usual way if they would.
“Why on earth would we choose to open ourselves up to the criticism and absolute tolling that we have?” she said.
“The cost of living is absolutely ridiculous right now – we understand more than most. We have seven children who need feeding and clothing.
“My husband is a school teacher and I worked in behavioural education, so I also work within schools. Ordinarily we wouldn’t be able to afford a house. We were very, very lucky to buy a house when we did.
“As we are looking to move…so we decided to raffle off our house to give somebody the gift of owning a house.
“I really hope we can pull this off.”
The sale of raffle tickets for four-bedroom home closes on October 21 local time, with tickets available to be purchased here.
Image: @wsmhouseraffle (Instagram)