A North Lanarkshire family have decided to raffle their seven-bedroomed home, in order to dispose of it.
As Shamus Fitzsimons found that he was unable to meet the mortgage repayments on the luxury home after losing his job, he placed the mansion on the market, using the services of an estate agent. However, 18th century Dullatur House, with an estimated value between £600,000 and £800,000, failed to sell using the traditional methods, so Fitzsimons created a website to raffle the home.
‘Win Your Dream Home’ has been created so that people can see more information about the house, and to purchase a raffle ticket for £5. The aim of Fitzsimons is to sell 250,000 tickets, so that he can cover the costs which will be incurred by selling the home. Among the costs will be legal fees, land and buildings transaction taxes, and more. A statement from the family has been included on the website, and says:
“Instead of the banks flexing their muscles and repossessing this lovely home we’ve decided to take matters into our own hands.”
The family hopes to achieve their target of selling 250,000 tickets by 9 December 2017, and if they manage this they have pledged to donate £25,000 to the charity Macmillan Cancer support. According to Fitzsimons, this method has worked for other people, so they hope they experience the same success, while giving someone the opportunity to own a Scottish mansion, mortgage free.
CeMAP qualified mortgage advisors can help to ensure that you take into account financial difficulty when applying for a mortgage.