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Jennie Bailey’s decision to raffle off her family’s seaside home for just £5 per ticket surprised many of her friends, who thought she was “bonkers.” The property, valued at £325,000, is located in the coastal village of Rhoscolyn on Anglesey. Originally purchased as a holiday home, Jennie and her husband John moved there from Manchester nearly three years ago, embracing the “slower pace” of life by the sea. However, their two-bedroom flat has become increasingly cramped for their family, which includes their sons Harry, 11, and Sebastian, nine, along with their cocker spaniel, Dylan.
After a year of struggling to sell the flat on the market—reducing the asking price from £365,000 to £325,000 without success—the Baileys grew impatient. Jennie, 43, admitted to feeling stressed by the slow process and decided to explore unconventional options. Following an initial shock at the idea, Jennie researched raffling the house, inspired by a similar case in Ireland. Despite the challenge of finding legal advice, she persevered and eventually chose to list the home on an online raffle platform, removing it from the traditional real estate market.
The raffle tickets are priced at £5 each, with a target to sell 150,000 tickets by January 1. However, even if the goal is met, the family will net less than the full potential £750,000 due to deductions including the platform’s 10% fee, legal expenses, stamp duty, and marketing costs. By the end of last week, they had sold over 50,000 tickets. Should they fail to reach their target, the family will retain ownership of the property, and the raffle winner will receive half of the ticket sales proceeds, with the remainder covering expenses.
Jennie has faced some criticism online and in person, particularly regarding the flat’s price and the fact her family originally hails from outside the community. Despite this, she remains undeterred, explaining, “We’re genuinely just a family who are trying to sell our property in a bit of an unusual way.” She views the raffle as creating an opportunity for someone who might not otherwise afford such a home, noting, “£5 is like a coffee these days.” Jennie also acknowledged the steep learning curve she encountered, spending much of her time marketing the raffle while balancing her own handmade home décor business, with John working as a packaging designer from home. She advises others considering similar ventures to be resilient and committed, saying, “If you can be quite thick-skinned and just carry on, then yes, do it. But you’ve got to devote time to it.”
Stelios Kounou, CEO of Raffall, the global raffle technology company facilitating the Baileys’ raffle, noted that since the first house raffle on their platform in 2020, there have been 54 such attempts in the UK and Ireland, 18 of which successfully resulted in property exchanges. Nevertheless, he does not expect house raffles to become widespread, adding that while the probability of success may be low, those willing to work hard may find the risk worthwhile.
Looking ahead, the Bailey family intends to remain in the area after selling their flat, although Jennie admits she will miss the beach views. She reflected, “It would be amazing to see someone else enjoy this like we’ve done.
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