$100 Raffle

Reply #19

nsv314 — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:42:51 GMT

The cities in any given year are basically determined by where they can get builders and suppliers to donate the labor/materials to build the house, and also other businesses to donate the secondary prizes.

Agree with the other person who mentioned that St Jude's is a good cause. That was the way I looked at my ticket purchase...basically that I was giving $100 to St Jude's. I never thought that I'd actually luck out and win the grand prize. LOL.

Actually, one of the secondary prizes... [ More ]

Reply #18

nsv314 — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:37:17 GMT

St Jude's raffles off about 20-30 houses a year in various cities across the country.

You pretty much only hear about the raffles that are happening near your local area, as that's where the marketing/promotion is concentrated.

And, realistically, you have to be local to buy a ticket too. Unless you travel to the area and/or know someone who will buy the ticket in person for you. Tickets technically can be purchased online, but it is restricted by ZIP code...online tickets can only be pur... [ More ]

Reply #17

HoLeeKau — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:39:52 GMT

Very true. It is a good cause.

There are other prizes valued at around $1K each, about half of which I'm interested in. I think I'll buy just one ticket.

Reply #16

maximumfun — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:59:54 GMT

sounds like a great thing for everyone... even the 'losers' are winners cuz they contribute to st. judes

Reply #15

HoLeeKau — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:23:10 GMT

Eagle Idaho, an upscale bedroom community of Boise. I wouldn't be interested in keeping it, I'd have to sell it.

Reply #14

dallascowboyfan — Sat, 26 May 2012 14:22:53 GMT

LOL... how about Orangeville or Pearville....

Reply #13

dallascowboyfan — Sat, 26 May 2012 14:21:05 GMT

Reply #12

rdgrnr — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:55:43 GMT

Potatoville.

Reply #11

sully16 — Sat, 26 May 2012 11:42:02 GMT

Depends where the house is.

Reply #10

nsv314 — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:12:54 GMT

Wanted to clarify something for the record, as I realized the above post might sound like I know wealthy people. (Having someone who could front the cash for the taxes, until I secured a home equity loan.)

We are solidly middle class. However, I happened to know someone who had been a small business owner that decided to retire and sell off the business with the plan to live off the proceeds.

That's the only reason I knew someone who happened to have that kind of cash on hand. I was low-ri... [ More ]

Reply #9

LottoBoner — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:00:28 GMT

I had a 1 in 5,000 chance of winning.

Vulcan logic would surmise that if they sell 5,000 tickets...and you have a 1/5000 chance of winning...than 1 ticket was purchased. Anything else would be illogical captain and highly dubious.

Good luck Holy Cow.

Reply #8

nsv314 — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:57:41 GMT

Only one ticket! It was complete blind luck.

Some people initially made the mistake of assuming that we must have ended up being rich because I won a house.

However, technically, our living expenses increased afterwards, with no increase in income. (Had to pay the withholding taxes on the prize, then the ongoing property taxes, utilities/maintenance on a bigger house, etc.)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all, of course. I realize that I was very lucky, and it has worke... [ More ]

Reply #7

HoLeeKau — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:46:43 GMT

Congrats on your win nsv314! Around here they build very nice homes for this promo. How many tickets did you buy if you don't mind my asking

Reply #6

nsv314 — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:35:25 GMT

Since the taxes are paid at the time you take possession of the house, it is possible that a bank would loan a person money the same as if they were getting a mortgage. (Obviously they'd have to qualify for the mortgage, of course.)

A family member fronted the cash to us for closing. Later on, I took out a home equity loan to repay them. So, we never investigated the bank option.

Reply #5

nsv314 — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:33:04 GMT

Typically, they only sell a limited number of tickets.

For example, when I won, the maximum number of tickets that would be sold was 5,000. I'm not sure if all 5,000 tickets were sold or not, but still...at worst, I had a 1 in 5,000 chance of winning.

Reply #4

HoLeeKau — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:32:53 GMT

That kinda sucks because that prohibits lower income people from winning. Unless there's a bank that would work with you before the house is in your name, I can't imagine where a middle class person could come up with that kind of money.

Reply #3

nsv314 — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:30:03 GMT

Also, unless something has changed since I won, there is no cash option.

You either close on the house and take possession of it, or...if you can't do that...you can donate it back to St Jude's.

(I wanted to point that out, because in some cases where a person can win a house there's a cash option in lieu of the house. For example, the HGtv Green Home that will be given away next month. Valued at $800K, but the winner can take a $400K cash prize in lieu of the house. That's not the ca... [ More ]

Reply #2

nsv314 — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:26:41 GMT

I did, and I won.

It is correct that the withholding must be paid at the time you close on the house. You also receive a W-2G form to use for tax filing purposes.

Reply #1

PlayTwoWin — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:14:07 GMT

I'd rather stick a hundred into my local pick 5 game.

$100 Raffle

HoLeeKau — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:02:49 GMT

St. Judes is raffling off a $350K home. They're selling a maximum of 7,777 tickets (which they usually sell out) for $100 each. I'm debating whether to buy one. Would you?

Also, the website says taxes must be paid before they will transfer the house to you. But seriously, who has the money or the credit line to come up with that kind of money without the house to borrow against? I'd paste the relevant paragraph here but I can't, I assume because I'm using Firefox... [ More ]