With the pound plummeting and mortgage rates through the roof, how do you fancy winning a house for the price of a coffee?
Declan Garrett, 38, and wife Leoni Webb, 35, are auctioning off their four-bedroom family home for just £3 a ticket.
With seven kids under the age of 12, the couple were struggling to fit the whole family round the dinner table and on the sofas to watch TV in their four-bedroom converted bungalow in Weston-super-Mare, north Somerset.
After repeatedly being turned down for a mortgage due to the size of their brood, the blended family-of-nine have opted for a unconventional way of selling their home.
The couple did a bit of research online and realised they could auction off 300,000 tickets for £3-a-pop to raise the funds for a new home.
“It was just proving impossible to go down the conventional route and the current volatility around interest rates and the economy really concerns us,” teacher Declan told NeedToKnow.online.
“In a few years most of our kids will be teenagers so we need as much space as we can get.
“Our fixed rate runs out next year so it compounds our concerns and takes us even further away from being able to use the conventional route.
“The main problem with mortgages is that affordability checks suggest that no one with seven kids could afford any reasonable mortgage.
“But they fail to take into account we are already paying one and could afford more.
“Plus, even if we got one with the current volatility quite a few houses on our street have taken a really long time to sell in the past few years.”
Mortgage rates, which have been rising since the Bank of England started to increase interest in December, shot up sharply after the government’s mini-budget last month.
Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s promise of huge, unfunded tax cuts led to expectations the Bank will have to raise interest rates more aggressively than previously thought – leading to mortgage providers rising their loans accordingly.
With millions of Brits facing hundreds of extra pounds in repayments each month, one lucky family could be in with the chance of being mortgage free.
Declan added: “If the raffle is successful, it’s a big win-win for everyone in that regard.”
The raffle advert reads: “The house is situated in a desired area of Weston-super-Mare, just a 10 minute walk from both the nearest primary and secondary School, with 4 additional Primary schools a further 5 minute walk away.
“The beach is a short 5 minute drive away and the town boasts of shops, a brand new bowling alley, cinemas and shopping facilities. Did you know Weston-super-Mare sees on average 2000 hours of sunlight a year which is 500 hours more than the UK average!
“The house itself consists of a living room, dining room, kitchen, good sized utility, bathroom, and a bedroom downstairs. Upstairs there is a master bedroom and 2 further double bedrooms and a shower room with dressing area.
“The property has 2 good sized gardens, the front garden has largely been rewilded, with bee and butterfly plants, a 50-gallon pond, 6 fruit trees and enough parking for 3 cars.
“The rear garden houses a shed and an outbuilding the previous owners used as a workshop.
“The rear of the house opens out onto a large 6m x 3m decking area plus an additional patio area. Currently in the garden there is also a 12ft trampoline and a large greenhouse, with plenty of space left to play and entertain.
“Good luck to everyone that takes part, and we look forward to hopefully handing the keys over in time for Christmas in your new home.”
To enter the raffle, which closes on 21 October, visit: https://raffique.co.uk/product/win-a-house-in-weston-super-mare/
Read more: Inside incredible ALL PINK Essex mansion where you can live out Barbie dreams from £2,000 a night
Do you have an amazing story to share? Come and talk to us [email protected]
