Raffle to win £325,000 north Wales flat enters final day

Amelia Jones

Today is the final full day to be in with a chance at winning a £325,000 north Wales property, with tickets for sale at £5 – although the owners have said they plan to take home half of the cash pot if the target price isn’t met.

The property is a two bedroom ‘apartment’ in Rhoscolyn, Anglesey, and is currently owned by Jennie and John Bailey, who say they live there with their two sons.

In the property advertisement, Ms Baker says: “It really is idyllic here – we love it so much that we upped sticks and moved here permanently a couple of years ago.

“We’re only moving round the corner but thought how wonderful it would be to offer our home to someone who may not ordinarily be in a position to buy it outright – it really appealed to our sense of adventure so here we are!”

They decided to use a raffle to sell the property after it failed to get a ‘solid offer’ on the conventional housing market.

Answering questions about the raffle on the family’s social media account, Jennie Bailey said: “We put it on the market and we had a bit of interest, but no solid offers, so we just thought we’d try something a bit different.”

The house was originally the family’s second home, which they used as a holiday property. But after moving into it two and a half years ago, they said they need more space.

On the Raffall website, the home is described as “a freehold flat within a 999-year leasehold arrangement.”

It also says: “The property is one of 3 apartments at Bryn Mor, with all 3 properties having an equal share of the freehold. A monthly contribution is paid by all parties into a shared sinking fund of £100 a month, per apartment which is run by all 3 properties.”

Ms Bailey said running the raffle has involved significant expense, adding that the family had spent just over £40,000 on marketing since launching the competition.

She said: “It’s been really hard and I have to admit quite stressful.

“A lot of stuff’s not worked, some stuff has, but yeah it’s been extremely hard.”

She added that she had no background in marketing and described a lot of the process as ‘taking chance.’

 

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Ms Bailey said the pressure of promoting the raffle involved late nights and uncertainty about whether the ticket target would be reached.

If the target is not reached, the draw will still go ahead, but the ownership of the flat will not be transferred.

She said: “If we don’t hit the target, the draw is still done and the winner will receive 50% of the pot.”

Ten per cent of the remaining ticket revenue will go to the company housing the raffle, with the rest used to help cover the family’s marketing bill.

The raffle has attracted several questions and criticisms on social media, including from people who said they believed the competition was offering a whole house rather than a two-bedroom flat inside a converted building.

One comment on Facebook read: “It’s the top floor apparently, not the whole house. Please check before you buy the ticket. Apparently the brother has the downstairs apartment.”

Others suggested the family could still profit from the raffle regardless of the outcome.

One Facebook commenter wrote: “If they don’t get what they want they plan keep some of the winnings, which I don’t think is right.”

Another said: “So if they don’t sell all the tickets, the winner gets “half” the money. Even allowing 10% for the platform it’s on, the family make a tidy sum of 40%, & still get to keep the house. Or if all tickets sold, make several hundred thousand pounds profit?”

The Baileys have said the terms of the raffle are clearly set out on the competition website and that entrants are encouraged to read them in full before buying tickets.