Brit homeowner raffles off 1 m pounds estate

London, June 28 : A British man is raffling off his 1million-pound estate in order to beat the credit crunch and plunging property prices.

Brian Wilshaw, who is losing 12,000 pounds per month, in the process of selling his home is selling 46,000 tickets at 25 pounds each for a chance to win the 11.5 acre Oldborough Retreat.

Located in the countryside near Morchard Bishop near Crediton, Devon, the estate comes with a five-bedroom house, four two-bedroom holiday lodges, 9.5 acres of woodland and a two-acre fishing lake.

The estate was a former holiday complex, but now, as Brian is retiring, he wants to sell it up.

The tickets are available at www.winadevonpropertywithfishing.co.uk, and the lucky winner will get the deeds to the entire estate.

"This has been our dream home but now we are retiring we want to let ordinary people have the chance of a lifetime to live here. Rising house and land prices have put property like this one way out of the reach of most people," The Sun quoted Brian, as saying.

He added: "We put the house on the market last year but it was already becoming obvious that the market was slowing down. We've had this idea for a number of years now. Everyone who came here on holiday used to say 'If I had the money I'd buy this place'. I would absolutely love to see the face of the person that wins it when they walk in because it's going to change their life."

It was 14 years ago that heating engineer Brian and his wife Wendy, 49, bought the estate and rented it as a small holiday park until 2006.

Brian said: "It's well worth 25 pounds a ticket. At 46,000-to-one our odds are a lot better than winning the Lottery. We don't want to make any money out of this. We just want what it's worth and to give someone a chance to live here."

The estate's market price is 1million pounds and selling 46,000 tickets at 25 pounds each, would raise 1,150,000 pounds. And after subtracting 40,000 pounds as stamp duty, solicitor's costs and marketing, the couple would be left with the 1million pounds value of their house.

This unique house-selling competition is closing in December, and in case the ticket sales are close to 46,000, it is also possible to extend the deadline by up to eight weeks.

In case, all the tickets aren't sold, the lucky winner will get all the proceeds raised during the competition minus set-up and running costs. And in order to make sure that the competition is legal and does not turn out to be a lottery, entrants are required to answer a 'skill based' question before entering.

And this question is "What is the cost of an adult full season coarse fishing licence for 2008/2009?', as the grounds have a fishing lake.

And those who answer the question correctly have to then dish out 25 pounds. And when all 46,000 tickets are sold, they will pick up a winner at random.

ANI