Woman holds essay contest for Ocala home

An Ocala woman is offering her $1.25 million home as a prize to the winner of a "pet lover" essay contest.

[The Dragon]

Nice ruse to try and sell the house...

6,250 x $200 =$1,250,000

Heh, good luck with that one lady.

[Elizabeth Isabelle]

What are the odds that she will actually read a minimum of 6,250 essays to determine the best one?

[Elizabeth Isabelle]

Elizabeth Isabelle wrote:

What are the odds that she will actually read a minimum of 6,250 essays to determine the best one?

Okay, the other article said she had judges. Furthermore, she is an author, so this is really good advertising for her. As good advertising, the pay checks for the judges would probably be tax-deductible.

Pretty smart.

[Theresa Channell]

I just read about this contest. I thought I was the only one who would figure this out :) Good attempt to pay off the mortgage of your house!
Of course no one would win. Is this legal :)

[AFSP]

Holy Mortgage Bankrole Batman!!! WHAT A SCAM.
Are people really that STUPID to even consider signing up for this? She can extend the deadline and change the rules as she pleases..I'm sure the money is non-refundable or good luck trying to get it back should she not get enough entrants to pay her mortgage off. By the way folks; The winner has already been selected. It will be someone in her family or closely related to her by friendship or otherwise. This needs to be looked at before people get ripped off.

[Kathleen in Zephyrhills]

hey Dragon ... that was the first thing I did as well ... figure out how much money she will get ...
I agree that this should not be allowed to happen ... and yes there are many people who will get ripped off because they just don't get it

[Sidecar]

finally. A person who cares.

[Elinor]

Aren't there enough scammers out there??? No doubt, the entrance fee will be non-refundable. The Attorney General of Florida should be investigating this matter. It is no laughing matter. Also, wouldn't you want to interview this lady for your newcast

[wtf]

WTF! So let's get this right. She charges $200 per entry & was trying to sell the home for $1.2 million & is only accepting 6250 entries. Lets do the math. 6250 x 200 =$1,250,000. Oh and the essays are now her property for her "new career" (reason she wants to unload house), yep you guessed it she owns a company Oh Fair Maiden, where she writes books. Go ahead google it, you know you want to. Is it really worth your hard earned $ to PAY her the asking price & PAY her to write a story about your "Beloved Pet" I think not!

[DaveFromNonsense]

WOW! It seems too good to be true! Let me just scrape up $200 and write a charming essay about my sensational pet hamster, Mr Trembles, and soon I'll own my dream home!! Give me a break. Unfortunately, I think enough people will be gullible enough to respond. After all, consider the popularity of "Deal or No Deal", "Dancing With The Stars", and "American Idol". We are not a nation of great thinkers.

[MikeL]

DaveFromNonsense wrote:

WOW! It seems too good to be true! Let me just scrape up $200 and write a charming essay about my sensational pet hamster, Mr Trembles, and soon I'll own my dream home!! Give me a break. Unfortunately, I think enough people will be gullible enough to respond. After all, consider the popularity of "Deal or No Deal", "Dancing With The Stars", and "American Idol". We are not a nation of great thinkers.

Precisely. But we are right on top of that wizard in the school thing.

[Elizabeth Isabelle]

Hey, if someone can afford a $200 lottery ticket, who are we to stop them?(Yeah, I know, it clearly states that it is not a lottery, it is a game of skill, but you can see the analogy.) Just because most of us are struggling to cover the necessities right now doesn't mean that there are not people who view $200 the same way we view $2. For the cost of a day at Disney, you can have weeks of dreaming "what if" with the possibility that the dream might come true.

Plus it looks like she's probably going to compile the best of the stories into a book and sell that. True, that means more money for her, but people struggling to break into the writer's market might view this as a business opportunity to get something published, thereby getting their name out there.

It does not make sense to do if you can't afford the $120K+ taxes that winning would incur (even if you sell it at a deep discount, if you sell it at all you'll probably only make as much as the real estate agent off the deal), but it could actually make sense for some people.

[Sandra Malawka]

I entered the contest. I like my odds of 1 in 6250 of winning with my essay. I do believe that the essays will be read. I went to the open house and meet the owner and lawyer handling the contest. As I understand this is well regulated and legal. If the amount of 6250 is'nt recieved then 180 is refunded. I donnot mind my story being used in a book, as I am not a writer, but I do have a very funny and entertaining story. I have thought about doing this to sell my condo with the economy the way it is why not. Americans can allways figure out a way to survive when the banks and politician mess it up(and no I am not behind on my payments, just need a bigger place because I am taking care of my Dad).Hope to hear what everybody has to say about me!!!!

[tish]

So, if she only gets 6249, she gets to keep her home and $124,980.00. What a deal.

[Sandra Malawka]

tish wrote:

So, if she only gets 6249, she gets to keep her home and $124,980.00. What a deal.

Or She extends the contest, also Fox news is doing a story on the winner(so there has to be one!!!!!) Not good on her if no winner, no story. She does'nt want that in the news. People that have entered this are not stupid, We have read all the rules and this for real. Just a clever way to sell your house and make someone rich( or comfortable).

[Sandra Malawka]

tish wrote:

So, if she only gets 6249, she gets to keep her home and $124,980.00. What a deal.

Why would she stop at having just one more entry to have the whole amount. She would be an idiot to take 124 if she can get 1.25 million. Sounds like pepole hate her because she has figured out a way to do this legal. Smart if you ask me......And please don'nt tell me your an accountant That would be too funny.

[Sarah]

I've been considering doing the same thing. After looking at the costs involved, the taxes that have to be paid out for the entries (which is a huge amount. It's not the same as selling your house. You have to pay the taxes on the whole amount you receive at a large percentage. what you have left over might cover the cost of moving and purchasing a home. Maybe!
The extension of the dates are to ensure that you receive enough entries to cover all the costs that are involved for taxes, legal fees, and the accountant, not to mention the taxes on the home.
As for family memebers winning, that is totally unethical! True, that should be checked on the winning entry. It should stipulate in the rules: No Family or friends eligible to participate!
As I said, I'm planning to do the same thing and my goal is for someone to WIN! I want to move and as we know, the house market is SLOW to DEAD!
Maybe you could win! Check with me after Christmas 2008!!! Pinellas Park, FL

The Dragon wrote:

Nice ruse to try and sell the house...
6,250 x $200 =$1,250,000
Heh, good luck with that one lady.

[Sarah]

As I said, I'm planning to do the same thing after Christmas 2008. I want to put a spin on it and put a new Aveo in the driveway too! Bonus!
Cost of Entry will be 120.00, 100 for Entry fee, and 20.00 for processing Costs. Any color choices on the Aveo???

[Johnny]

The house owner cancelled the contest due to poor response. She was getting very few contestants. She returned the full $200 entry fee to each contestant so that none were out any money. The house was put up for sale on the real estate market.