Seaside House to be Raffled to Help Boys and Girls Club

[GoodWitch58]

Boys and Girls Clubs raffling off $1.55M beach house | tallahassee.com | Tallahassee Democrat
Interesting article about a couple who is raffling their Seaside home to help the Boys and Girls Club of the Big Bend..."The owners of the house invested in a Seaside property in 2000 hoping to cash out within a few years.

"We've tried to sell our house through traditional venues for the past two years," said homeowner Amber Woodward. "When we were approached, we thought, 'Hey, this is a creative, innovative way that we can sell our home and still make some money for the Boys and Girls Clubs.' "

# To learn more and purchase tickets visit Boys & Girls Club of the Big Bend

..wish the Nature Walk bank would do something like this to turn the Sales Office into a Community Center - might be a good place for SoWal teens to "hang out"; have a competitive sized pool for a swim team, etc.

 

[Smiling JOe]

"Entry:
Raffle tickets are available online at www.BeachRaffle.org for a suggested minimum donation of $50.00."

Winner has 10 calendar days to contact the raffle's sponsor, the Boys & Girls Clubs, and accept the prize"

"The value of prize will be reported to the taxing authorities and any taxes due will be the responsibility of the winner. "

"Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend of 306 Laura Lee Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32301 is in full compliance of the provisions of section 849.0935, Florida Statute and 26 U.S.C Section 501(c) (3). A minimum of 20% of the gross income will be used to benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend and their programs/services."

so, 125,000 (hopeful) tickets at $50 each = $6,250,000
20% (minimum) must be donated to boys and girls club ($1,250,000)
Hopeful sale price of house - $5,000,000 (for what they are billing as a $1,550,000 house.

Interesting. I wonder what happens if they don't sell more than 31,000 tickets (estimated value of house, not including the 20% donation). This "raffle" started in June 2009, and this is the first I've heard of it, which says a lot about the lack of marketing.

A little more information:
"No purchase or donation is necessary. While a minimum $50.00 donation is suggested, eligible individuals are entitled to one raffle entry per family at no cost. Requests for an entry without a donation must be submitted by mail to Raffle Entry, 306 Laura Lee Avenue, Tallahassee, Florida 32301 and include a handwritten, 3 X 5 postcard stating the name, address, phone number and e-mail address of the individual requesting the entry. The request must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a copy of the individual's state-issued photo identification."

I hope for the owner's sake, that not everyone who enters, enters without a donation. If that happens, I guess the owners are in the hole by $1,550,000, plus 20% to Boys and Girls Club. (I hope they thought of this.)

 

[SHELLY]

The owners of the house invested in a Seaside property in 2000 hoping to cash out within a few years.

"We've tried to sell our house through traditional venues for the past two years," said homeowner Amber Woodward. "When we were approached, we thought, 'Hey, this is a creative, innovative way that we can sell our home and still make some money for the Boys and Girls Clubs.' "

Sounds like buyer's remorse, in spades.

Is this the property Amber investulated in in 2000?

Walton County Record Search

According to public records Amber is telling a little fib...the house was actually purchased in January 2008; Amber hasn't even owned the property for 2 years.

And then there's this: http://www.webeffectmarketing.com/WhyJoinBeachRaffle.aspx

To me, this stinks out loud. Just a group of folks trying to make money using the Boys & Girls Club as a front. Why don't they just hold a bake sale or walk-a-thon like people who really care about the cause?

--------------------------------------------

Option C: The raffle sells less than $5 million of raffle tickets

Boys and Girls Clubs of the Big Bend: 20 percent

Winner: 35 percent

Homeowners: 20 percent

Internet Partners/Affiliates: 10 percent

Technology: 5 percent

Marketing: 4 percent

Broker Incentives: 3 percent

Payment Processing: 3 percent

-------------------------

If PT Barnum's theory is correct...they should be selling one of those $50 tickets every minute.

.


.

 

[Here4Good]

"Entry:
Raffle tickets are available online at www.BeachRaffle.org for a suggested minimum donation of $50.00."

Winner has 10 calendar days to contact the raffle's sponsor, the Boys & Girls Clubs, and accept the prize"

"The value of prize will be reported to the taxing authorities and any taxes due will be the responsibility of the winner. "

"Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend of 306 Laura Lee Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32301 is in full compliance of the provisions of section 849.0935, Florida Statute and 26 U.S.C Section 501(c) (3). A minimum of 20% of the gross income will be used to benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend and their programs/services."

so, 125,000 (hopeful) tickets at $50 each = $6,250,000
20% (minimum) must be donated to boys and girls club ($1,250,000)
Hopeful sale price of house - $5,000,000 (for what they are billing as a $1,550,000 house.

Interesting. I wonder what happens if they don't sell more than 31,000 tickets (estimated value of house, not including the 20% donation). This "raffle" started in June 2009, and this is the first I've heard of it, which says a lot about the lack of marketing.

A little more information:
"No purchase or donation is necessary. While a minimum $50.00 donation is suggested, eligible individuals are entitled to one raffle entry per family at no cost. Requests for an entry without a donation must be submitted by mail to Raffle Entry, 306 Laura Lee Avenue, Tallahassee, Florida 32301 and include a handwritten, 3 X 5 postcard stating the name, address, phone number and e-mail address of the individual requesting the entry. The request must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a copy of the individual's state-issued photo identification."

I hope for the owner's sake, that not everyone who enters, enters without a donation. If that happens, I guess the owners are in the hole by $1,550,000, plus 20% to Boys and Girls Club. (I hope they thought of this.)

No, all bases are covered:

"If at least 100,000 tickets are sold, the winner will be able to choose between the three-bedroom home or $1.5 million in cash.If at least 100,000 tickets are sold and the winner chooses the house, the Boys and Girls Clubs will purchase the $1.55 million home for the winner at that price. The Boys and Girls Clubs would receive $1.6 million, and the homeowners would receive $600,000 in addition to the purchase price of the home.
If the winner chooses the cash prize and at least 100,000 tickets are sold, the winner receives $1.5 million cash. The homeowners receive about $1.25 million as compensation for taking their house off the market, and they keep their home. The Boys and Girls Clubs would keep about $1.25 million.
If fewer tickets are sold, the winner will receive 35 percent of ticket proceeds, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Big Bend will receive 20 percent, and the homeowners will receive 20 percent and keep their home."

So, if they don't get the $$, they still ain't selling the house.

 

[Geo]

Sounds like buyer's remorse, in spades.

To me, this stinks out loud. Just a group of folks trying to make money using the Boys & Girls Club as a front. Why don't they just hold a bake sale or walk-a-thon like people who really care about the cause?

I don't know, SHEL. I think yer being a bit harsh. Amber wasn't quoted as saying she bought the house in 2000. So perhaps this was an error on the part of the person who did the write up rather than a fib on Amber's part.

Using the Boys and Girls Club as a front?

"We've tried to sell our house through traditional venues for the past two years," said homeowner Amber Woodward. "When we were approached, we thought, 'Hey, this is a creative, innovative way that we can sell our home and still make some money for the Boys and Girls Clubs.' "

Doesn't sound like anyone is doing anything underhanded to me.

This thing worked on me. I am going to donate for a ticket. I originally had my charitable contributions allocated elsewhere.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Who's complaining, really? You can enter for free, for chance to win...???.... maybe $$$ (I'm curious to know how many tickets have been sold.)

 

[scooterbug44]

Dunno, there is just something setting off my BS sensors.

 

[Smiling JOe]

In that case, enter for free.

I guess it is interesting to note that this kind of raffle isn't permitted in many states, unless it has a minimum of 20% going to charity.

 

[Smiling JOe]

No, all bases are covered:

"If at least 100,000 tickets are sold, the winner will be able to choose between the three-bedroom home or $1.5 million in cash.If at least 100,000 tickets are sold and the winner chooses the house, the Boys and Girls Clubs will purchase the $1.55 million home for the winner at that price. The Boys and Girls Clubs would receive $1.6 million, and the homeowners would receive $600,000 in addition to the purchase price of the home.
If the winner chooses the cash prize and at least 100,000 tickets are sold, the winner receives $1.5 million cash. The homeowners receive about $1.25 million as compensation for taking their house off the market, and they keep their home. The Boys and Girls Clubs would keep about $1.25 million.
If fewer tickets are sold, the winner will receive 35 percent of ticket proceeds, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Big Bend will receive 20 percent, and the homeowners will receive 20 percent and keep their home."

So, if they don't get the $$, they still ain't selling the house.

Interesting. Very interesting. So, if I wanted to create a "legal" raffle, I could do the same thing, and essentially, score 20% of the ticket sales for running it, give the winner 35% of the sales and give a charity 20%. Interesting. Very interesting.

 

[scooterbug44]

Interesting. Very interesting. So, if I wanted to create a "legal" raffle, I could do the same thing, and essentially, score 20% of the ticket sales for running it, give the winner 35% of the sales and give a charity 20%. Interesting. Very interesting.

Yep, that was one of the things that made me go "eh?"

Other question is what value you are paying taxes on if you win - do you end up footing the bill for people who can't sell a house because they have placed too high a value on it?