Shropshire farmhouse raffle: Owners hope for over £500k

Shrubbery Farm House failed to sell when it was put on the market with an asking price of £545,000

A man hoping to raffle his house through £2 ticket sales says £240,000 has been raised in three days.

Mike Chatha said Shrubbery Farm House, in Longnor, Shropshire, was "lovely" but had not sold when it was marketed with an asking price of £545,000.

Mr Chatha and wife Linda, who have separated, want to make new starts.

"Our wish is to just move on from the house and give it to someone who can love and cherish it as we start a new chapter," he said.

Mike Chatha said he expected to raise more than his target of £560,000

The 17th Century four-bedroom house is described as the sort of home "everyone falls in love with", on the competition's website.

The Chathas' target is to sell at least 280,000 tickets and raise £560,000 before a deadline of 16:00 GMT on 31 January.

"We tried to sell it through traditional methods for six or seven months with two estate agents.

"The house is lovely but it wasn't selling so we decided to take matters into our own hands," Mr Chatha said.

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The pair also hope to give a "significant donation" to Hope House Children's Hospices.

The homeowners claim the competition for someone to win their house is "100% legitimate"

"We expect the competition will exceed its expectation and we are probably halfway to that minimum point now in just three days," he said.

He said although unusual, the competition was "100% legitimate" and included paying legal fees.

"We want to make sure that when we hand the keys over everything is taken care of," he said.

The competition includes terms that if the target is not reached, the winner will receive 90% of the cash raised instead.

The closing date for the draw is 31 January

Such property raffles, which include a question as part of the entry, are not considered lotteries and not regulated by the Gambling Commission.

Discussing a similar raffle of a different house, Jenny Ross, of Which? Money, said entrants should pay close attention to terms and conditions.

"The number of failed housing raffles far outweighs the very small number of successes," she said.