To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

​Stunning £1 Million Country Home Raffled Off For Only £2 A Ticket

​Stunning £1 Million Country Home Raffled Off For Only £2 A Ticket

It will be someone's for a massive bargain.

James Dawson

James Dawson

If you fancy winning yourself a stunning country home then you're in luck, a hat-maker is raffling hers off in order to raise money for her business.

Tricia Hamilton wants to sell her home to move closer to her family but after a year on the market she's failed to find a buyer, so instead she's decided to shift the 19th century cottage is by selling tickets.

Roselands, near Bristol, was built in 1829 and has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two reception rooms, a number of outbuildings and an acre of land.

Tricia said: "The house has been up for sale for a year but we just haven't found the right buyer.

"It's very unique, which works well for such an unconventional sale.

Credit: SWNS

"It's not a typical four-bedroom and I'd describe it as a 'Tardis', as it's much more spacious than it first appears."

The milliner is originally from Surrey, and her children and 91-year-old mother are still based there in the town of Oxted.

She added: "I'd love to move back home and be near my family. I'm also developing business opportunities in the area, which I'd like to build on."

The retired schoolteacher, who runs Tricia Designs, has sold her hats to customers around the world and currently displays them at Amulet Boutique in Bristol.

She will need to sell 500,000 tickets to meet her £1 million asking price - although the house is currently on the market with Knight Frank for £875,000.

Her intention is to raise the funds from the raffle and reinvest it in Tricia Designs so hats can be manufactured in the UK.

Details of the competition are yet to be finalised but it is against gambling laws to raffle off anything over a certain value unless there is some test of skill involved.

Credit: SWNS

As a result, she is having to consider a variety of different ways to sell tickets - including a history quiz.

She has six months to sell her home through the contest, with an option to extend. If the asking price is not reached, a winner will take all the money collected - minus the costs.

Under the terms and conditions of the competition, the winner will have all the fees and stamp duty paid for them.

Peter Ellis, director of Accommodation Unlimited letting and property agents in Chandos Road, Redland, said: "It sounds like a brilliant way to sell your property and in some cases it has worked - whereas in others it has failed spectacularly.

"It can involve selling a lot of tickets - in this case to nearly one per cent of the population. We could be talking around a thousand tickets a day for the next six months."

The transaction could also have tax implications, as the income would be from proceeds of a competition rather than the sale of their property.

Credit: SWNS

Rebecca Cave, of Taxwriter Ltd, said: "Contracts would have to be drawn up very carefully to ensure that liability to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is met by the correct person.


"As for Capital Gains Tax (CGT), many factors could be relevant to this tax, such as if the property was used for business purposes or let out while the current owner held it."

Tricia added: "This is a chance for someone to win a life-changing mortgage-free house.

"I would love to see someone with a family win it as it's a great place to raise children. Everybody I've spoken to has said they would be interested in buying a ticket. But I want to make sure it would be legal and above board before going ahead."

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: House