A Unique Approach to Selling a Home
A Londoner has taken an unusual approach to selling her £380,000 flat by raffling it off for just £5 per ticket. Gina, who is offering the fully furnished two-bedroom flat in Tottenham along with £10,000 cash, has also included legal fees and stamp duty in the prize package. This means the winner won’t have to worry about any of the usual buying expenses.
Tickets for the competition are priced at £5 each, with all proceeds going to the local Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. Gina acknowledges that some people might find this too good to be true, but she insists it’s not a scam. “Some people suggest it’s a scam or I can’t sell through the open market. Or maybe I’ve got cladding issues, but none of that is true,” she says.
Gina explains that she wasn’t interested in selling her home through traditional means due to the uncertain property market. Instead, she wanted a faster and more fun process, which led her to turn to social media.
Making the Process Fun
She took a leap of faith and launched theflatraffle.com on the Raffall platform, sharing her journey on TikTok, where she has already garnered over 80,000 likes. “You can spend your evenings scrolling on social media and not doing very much, but I’m participating and learning how to do my own videography and photo editing. I’ve reached out to the local community and I’m connecting with people, it’s a fun experience.”
Gina admits that the process has been challenging, especially when it comes to mental health. “I’m constantly thinking I should be doing more, like should I be doing a TikTok live every hour of the day or giving out leaflets every time I’m in public… I’ll be sitting on the Tube and wondering if I should stand up and start shouting about the raffle.” She adds that she has to take moments to step back and focus on herself.
The Raffle Rules and Expectations
To ensure the competition is successful, Gina needs to sell a minimum of 120,000 tickets by January 4, 2026. If the threshold isn’t met, the winner will instead receive a cash payment amounting to 50% of the total ticket revenue generated. In this scenario, Gina would still keep possession of the flat and receive some of the money.
Gina denies any secret hopes of not meeting the target. “Honestly, I would enjoy the success of reaching the target more. The aim is to get to the £300,000 price that I want for my property.” She adds that if she weren’t to sell all the tickets needed, she would definitely be donating more of the ticket revenue to charity.
Financial Breakdown and Charity Contribution
If the competition is successful, Gina claims the breakdown of the proceeds includes “at least” 5% for charity and the platform takes 10%. She also has to account for stamp duty, marketing costs, and legal fees. “By the end of it, after you take away the £300,000, I think there’s only about £8,000 or £9,000 left. So it isn’t really a profiteering exercise.”
Despite the financial considerations, Gina remains focused on her goal. She wants the home to go to someone local who might never have been able to afford to own a property otherwise. “It would hurt me if it was someone that’s already got a big property portfolio, because I want to try and make the housing situation a bit better and create more equality in that space.”
Important Considerations for Participants
Prospective participants are advised to carefully examine the terms and conditions of the competition before entering. Factors such as whether the property is leasehold or freehold, and any applicable service charges or ground rent, should be taken into account. The Raffall web page clarifies: “The winner will take over the remaining lease term (88 years), and will subject to the leaseholder agreement, including payment of service charges and ground rent (currently £289 per month and £150 per year respectively).”
Gina has also found it difficult to deal with the influx of people begging her to give them the flat. “I’ve had messages from people telling me their life story and begging me to just pick them.” She adds that she can’t choose a winner and urges everyone to wish each other luck.
If it were up to her, Gina says her ideal scenario would be for the home to go to someone local who might never have been able to afford to own a property otherwise. She emphasizes her desire to make the housing situation better and create more equality in that space.
