Jul 28 2008
So, Want to Win a House? Write An Essay!
In an effort to fight the housing market and offload a house with incomplete renovations, a couple now living in Florida are sponsoring an essay contest to get their money back out of a failed renovation effort in Danville, Illinois.
That’s right, for the cost of $100 and a 500 word essay, you can have a chance to win this four bedroom, two bath house. The contest details are here: http://winourdanvillehome.googlepages.com/
The couple claims to have made $50,000 in renovations and the house looks beautiful, so I believe it. They admit there is work still to be done and the house needs a new roof, but theya re even willing to pay closing costs to get this gorgeous and historical house off their hands.
One of the owners said they came up with the idea after looking at different ways to market the house in a poor economy. If they get 750 entries, they will give the house away. If not, they will return the money of everyone who entered.
That’s only $75,000 for the house. So, ever mindful for the scam, I started wondering if this wasn’t just a great marketing ploy. Get a bunch of free publicity and people looking at the house and then say they didn’t get enough entries and turn around and sell the house to one of the many people who looked at it because of the contest.
Yes, that might be what they are up to, but they might really also be going to give the house away. After all, you could be suspicious of all giveaways, right?
I don’t know if they will get the 750 entries that they are looking for, but I am certainly considering sending them one. Even assuming that there is $10,000 work that needs to be done on the house, the return for my $100 and entry would be well worth it. Should I waste my money on this kind of a gamble?
Probably not. But really, isn’t life always a bit of a gamble?
