IN THE MIDST of a housing crisis, a unique opportunity presented itself for those searching for a home – a simple raffle.

The home up for grabs was a two-bedroom bungalow in Co Leitrim. Advertised as sitting on a 1.75 acre site with a large living and dining area, a bathroom, and a kitchen, the property also has large gardens at the front and back.

The house underwent a complete renovation in 2022 and the competition said it would go to the winner fully furnished.

“The current housing crisis in Ireland makes it extremely difficult to buy or rent, so this is an incredible opportunity,” the organiser said.

The raffle, called ‘Win a House Near Sligo’, was hosted on UK-based raffle site Raffall. One ticket to be in with the chance to win the home cost €5.92. The winner will also have stamp duties and legal fees covered. 

The stipulation was that there must be a minimum of 150,000 tickets sold for the raffle to go ahead, which would amount to €888,000. Yesterday, with the minimum number of tickets met, the raffle went ahead. 

The winner posted a short message on the site: “If this is indeed real, I absolutely accept.”

The raffle’s organiser Imelda Collins confirmed to The Journal that she was “delighted” that the raffle was a success and that the winner of her home was “thrilled”.

Imelda Collins / Raffall Imelda Collins / Raffall / Raffall

The winner of the home is a woman from Chicago, Illinois in the US. Imelda said that the winner “is absolutely delighted to have won my beautiful home Butterfly Cottage.”

The raffle has previously been covered by The New York Times. Collins told the American newspaper that she hopes to use the proceeds from the raffle to move to Italy, where she met her husband who still resides there.

Raffall’s founder and CEO Stelios Kounou told the NYT that to date, 18 houses have been successfully sold on the platform, meaning that they had hit sales targets and legally transferred the properties to the winners.

Roughly 50 others attempted to do the same but didn’t reach their targets. Collins’s plan if she didn’t reach the minimum of 150,000 tickets sold was to award the winner of the raffle with half of the ticket revenue.

Kounou said that gross ticket sales on Raffall for those raffling properties have varied between roughly €475,000 and €1.14m.

Collins said that she had purchased the house for the cost of €133,000 in 2022 and estimates that it is now worth around €300,000 due to the extensive renovations and further market demand. 

The raffle is legally classed as a “prize competition” rather than gambling, as entrants must correctly answer a question when purchasing a ticket to be entered into the draw: “Which colour is associated with Ireland?”

Of the total ticket revenue, 10% is to go to the raffle site, while additional funds gleaned from the raffle are subject to tax and covering the winner’s costs in legally acquiring the house. Imelda said that she spent a considerable amount promoting and marketing the raffle.

Collins previously said that she would make a donation to the ISPCA from the ticket revenue, a charity that is “very close to [her] heart.”