The idea of raffling your home as an alternative to selling it in the open market is attracting lots of attention from homeowners around the world. Depending on the local jurisdiction however, a pure house raffle may not be permissible unless it is organised on behalf of a charity.

One way to address this can be to structure it as a prize competition rather than as a pure lottery or game or chance. However, regulations can differ greatly from one country or state to another. In some cases, this option may not be available at all; or may prove overly costly or complicated.

In the US, where house raffles and sweepstakes have been a very popular form of fundraising for charities for years, one homeowner has found that combining forces with a local charity could offer a solution to her problems.

Heather Gray, an Air Force veteran, recently lost her job and is about to lose her four-bedroom house in Arizona. Rather than attempt to run a house raffle herself, she decided to donate her home to a charitable foundation instead.

Murray Grey Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Phoenix that provides assistance to military families facing foreclosure, has offered to raffle her property by selling tickets costing $100 apiece. The charity intends to use part of the proceeds of the raffle to pay down Gray's $350,000 mortgage, keeping all other funds for charitable purposes.

This solution allows Gray to raffle her home legally, with all profits going to her chosen charity. If it succeeds, she will be able start a new chapter in her life, mortgage-free.

Click here to read the full article on the FOX News website.

What do you think? Should more people consider partnering up with charities in this way in the UK and the rest of Europe, as an alternative to structuring their property raffle as a prize competition?

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Re: Charity helps US homeowner raffle her property on her behalf

great idea. If you're just looking to pay down your mortgage, this could provide a really simple solution for people

I reckon this could really take off in the UK as well

khan , 21 Feb 2009

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