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House Raffle

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JS5
JS5 Posts: 1 Newbie
in House buying, renting & selling
I saw a House Raffle in the Metro this morning. Search for "Win a Country House" for more details.

Is this a scam, what are the downsides if you win, will you have to pay Stamp, Taxes?
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  • Oakdene
    Oakdene Posts: 2,560 Forumite
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    JS5 wrote: »
    I saw a House Raffle in the Metro this morning. Search for "Win a Country House" for more details.

    Is this a scam, what are the downsides if you win, will you have to pay Stamp, Taxes?

    No its not a scam, the property is on the market for £650k (assuming its the same one I read an article on earlier) but the owner is trying to sell to prevent reposession & is looking to raise £500k through raffle sales. If he doesnt receive a suitable offer by a specified date he will (as long as he's sold 250,000 tickets by then) pick a lucky winner.
    Dwy galon, un dyhead,
    Dwy dafod ond un iaith,
    Dwy raff yn cydio’n ddolen,
    Dau enaid ond un taith.
  • Hermia
    Hermia Posts: 4,473 Forumite
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    I think all the ones I have seen in the past did not sell enough tickets so they withdrew the house and just had a prize draw with the money raised as a prize. I'd love to know if any of these raffles worked out?
  • Oakdene
    Oakdene Posts: 2,560 Forumite
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    Hermia wrote: »
    I think all the ones I have seen in the past did not sell enough tickets so they withdrew the house and just had a prize draw with the money raised as a prize. I'd love to know if any of these raffles worked out?

    Me too but to be honest I'd have a go for £2
    Dwy galon, un dyhead,
    Dwy dafod ond un iaith,
    Dwy raff yn cydio’n ddolen,
    Dau enaid ond un taith.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
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    Sounds like a great scheme to pay off the mortgage arrears and get to keep the property..........

    Cynical? Me???
  • principlecounts
    principlecounts Posts: 300 Forumite
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    He's created a lot of publicity on this, so it's worth a shot. Like everyone says, a better chance winning here than the lottery.
    Student loan: Cleared.
  • MegaBloc
    MegaBloc Posts: 2 Newbie
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    Entered the " Win Your Dream Home " raffle for the house in Glasgow over three weeks ago. On their website they clearly state on both their payments section and under the receipts section you will get notification your payment and application has been accepted within 48 hours. Three weeks go by and nothing, even though I answered their simple question correctly. On their Terms & Conditions section they state : The Promoters will not be liable for any loss suffered by an Entrant as a result of incomplete entries or failed computer communications or for any loss suffered as a result of use of the Website.
    The Promoters do not accept responsibility for entries which they do not receive due to failures in computer systems, other malfunctions, high Internet traffic, hardware failure, software failure, server faults or any other reason. In theory using these Terms & Conditions they could eliminate most, if not all entries. In addition to this, we found a Surveyors Report dated 03-06-2016 floating about on the internet regarding the same property. The report indicates the property needs a lot of money spent to to put things right. It has rising damp, rot and roof issues. Also the property has had ground movement problems in the past and presently to the rear of the property around the garage and shed area. These raffles clearly need to be regulated and a system put in place that only allows an independent accredited body/organisation to run these raffles for the property owners at a reasonable capped fee. Not to would be an open invitation for all sorts to potentially deceive.
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    edited 22 August 2017 at 9:48PM
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    MegaBloc wrote: »
    In addition to this, we found a Surveyors Report dated 03-06-2016 floating about on the internet regarding the same property. The report indicates the property needs a lot of money spent to to put things right. It has rising damp, rot and roof issues. Also the property has had ground movement problems in the past and presently to the rear of the property around the garage and shed area. These raffles clearly need to be regulated and a system put in place that only allows an independent accredited body/organisation to run these raffles for the property owners at a reasonable capped fee. Not to would be an open invitation for all sorts to potentially deceive.
    Gift horse / mouth etc.

    In Scotland I presume the Home Report still needs to be made available anyway?

    Unless it's actually a net liability (e.g. you inherit the responsibility for decontaminating the whole neighbourhood or rebuilding a listed building) I don't see the big problem.
  • Running_Horse
    Running_Horse Posts: 11,807 Forumite
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    I was under the impression the government was shutting these down a few years ago for breaking gaming laws. Has something changed?
    Been away for a while.
  • hazyjo
    hazyjo Posts: 15,470 Forumite
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    Don't forget the actual costs of buying a house, especially if you already own one cos of stamp duty, etc. You may be able to get a mortgage on it (if they don't make you wait 6 months) or on your current property, if you have one, to release some funds, but if you weren't looking to buy, can you afford it? Know I couldn't!
    2023 wins: *must start comping again!*
  • davemorton
    davemorton Posts: 29,066 Forumite
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    Running_Horse wrote: »
    I was under the impression the government was shutting these down a few years ago for breaking gaming laws. Has something changed?

    They have to now put an element of skill into it now, so get round this by asking an easy question. The house in question was won by a lady a few days ago.
    “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”
    Juvenal, The Sixteen Satires
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